Lead Story
Trump envoys hold marathon Moscow talks with Putin before taking Ukraine peace push to Kyiv
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed in Moscow on September 5, 2026, where they were received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev before meeting President Vladimir Putin for more than three hours as part of President Trump's latest bid to end the war in Ukraine. The White House said the talks covered "substantive plans for next steps," with further announcements expected in the coming weeks, and the envoys headed on to Kyiv afterward in Washington's latest attempt to break a diplomatic stalemate in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a halt to air attacks during the visit, but despite the constructive tone, Russia's core demands of Ukrainian territorial withdrawal and an end to NATO ambitions reportedly remained unchanged.
Read more →Lead Story
Trump envoys hold marathon Moscow talks with Putin before taking Ukraine peace push to Kyiv
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed in Moscow on September 5, 2026, where they were received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev before meeting President Vladimir Putin for more than three hours as part of President Trump's latest bid to end the war in Ukraine. The White House said the talks covered "substantive plans for next steps," with further announcements expected in the coming weeks, and the envoys headed on to Kyiv afterward in Washington's latest attempt to break a diplomatic stalemate in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a halt to air attacks during the visit, but despite the constructive tone, Russia's core demands of Ukrainian territorial withdrawal and an end to NATO ambitions reportedly remained unchanged.
US destroys three Iranian oil tankers after Tehran targets Navy warships with ballistic missiles
US Central Command said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles on September 5, 2026, at a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer, both of which evaded the attack with no American personnel harmed. In retaliation, US forces permanently disabled two crude oil carriers, the M/T Downy off Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask, and destroyed a third vessel, the M/T Kylo near the Gulf of Oman, after directing its crew to abandon ship. CENTCOM said the tankers were part of a shadow fleet funding Iran's Revolutionary Guard and its regional proxies, with commander Admiral Brad Cooper warning, "If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours."
Read more →US destroys three Iranian oil tankers after Tehran targets Navy warships with ballistic missiles
US Central Command said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles on September 5, 2026, at a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer, both of which evaded the attack with no American personnel harmed. In retaliation, US forces permanently disabled two crude oil carriers, the M/T Downy off Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask, and destroyed a third vessel, the M/T Kylo near the Gulf of Oman, after directing its crew to abandon ship. CENTCOM said the tankers were part of a shadow fleet funding Iran's Revolutionary Guard and its regional proxies, with commander Admiral Brad Cooper warning, "If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours."
Nepal rescuers pull two hydropower workers alive from tunnel nine days after catastrophic floods
Rescue teams pulled mechanical foreman Sanjay Sah, 30, and supervisor Kabir Maharjan, 45, alive from an underground tunnel at the Trishuli-3A hydropower plant on September 4, 2026, nine days after the August 26 floods believed to have been triggered by a glacier collapse. Roughly 115 people are still believed trapped in that single tunnel, part of about 500 thought trapped across a dozen hydropower projects where some 900 workers went missing; Sah, in stable condition, said he had to ask rescuers what date it was and kept his spirits up chanting Hindu mantras while trapped. The floods have killed at least 1,287 people in Nepal with more than 5,000 still missing, while China reported 31 dead and 531 missing on the Tibetan side of the border.
Read more →Nepal rescuers pull two hydropower workers alive from tunnel nine days after catastrophic floods
Rescue teams pulled mechanical foreman Sanjay Sah, 30, and supervisor Kabir Maharjan, 45, alive from an underground tunnel at the Trishuli-3A hydropower plant on September 4, 2026, nine days after the August 26 floods believed to have been triggered by a glacier collapse. Roughly 115 people are still believed trapped in that single tunnel, part of about 500 thought trapped across a dozen hydropower projects where some 900 workers went missing; Sah, in stable condition, said he had to ask rescuers what date it was and kept his spirits up chanting Hindu mantras while trapped. The floods have killed at least 1,287 people in Nepal with more than 5,000 still missing, while China reported 31 dead and 531 missing on the Tibetan side of the border.
Hurricane Lowell roars back to Category 5 strength as it churns toward Hawaii
Hurricane Lowell, the fifth hurricane and second Category 5 storm of the 2026 Central Pacific season, weakened briefly to Category 3 on September 4, 2026, before rapidly re-intensifying back to Category 5 the following day with a minimum pressure of 922 millibars, the first storm to reach that strength in the basin since Hurricane Walaka in 2018. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center project Lowell will pass west of Kauai and Niihau this weekend, but emergency officials in Hawaii warned the storm's exact path remains uncertain and its effects, including dangerous surf and rain, could be felt well away from its center. Hawaii residents were urged to finalize storm preparations as the state braced for possible impacts from the powerful system.
Read more →Hurricane Lowell roars back to Category 5 strength as it churns toward Hawaii
Hurricane Lowell, the fifth hurricane and second Category 5 storm of the 2026 Central Pacific season, weakened briefly to Category 3 on September 4, 2026, before rapidly re-intensifying back to Category 5 the following day with a minimum pressure of 922 millibars, the first storm to reach that strength in the basin since Hurricane Walaka in 2018. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center project Lowell will pass west of Kauai and Niihau this weekend, but emergency officials in Hawaii warned the storm's exact path remains uncertain and its effects, including dangerous surf and rain, could be felt well away from its center. Hawaii residents were urged to finalize storm preparations as the state braced for possible impacts from the powerful system.
Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte posts bail after arrest order over alleged threat to assassinate Marcos
A Philippine court ordered the arrest of Vice President Sara Duterte on September 4, 2026, on three counts of grave threats stemming from a 2024 online news conference in which she said she would have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed by an assassin if she herself were killed amid their escalating political feud. Duterte, 48, who has said she was only expressing concern for her own safety, posted 360,000 pesos ($5,740) bail on September 5 and was fingerprinted by court staff. The charges add to mounting legal pressure on Duterte, whom the Marcos-allied House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impeach in May over separate allegations of unexplained wealth and misuse of confidential state funds.
Read more →Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte posts bail after arrest order over alleged threat to assassinate Marcos
A Philippine court ordered the arrest of Vice President Sara Duterte on September 4, 2026, on three counts of grave threats stemming from a 2024 online news conference in which she said she would have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed by an assassin if she herself were killed amid their escalating political feud. Duterte, 48, who has said she was only expressing concern for her own safety, posted 360,000 pesos ($5,740) bail on September 5 and was fingerprinted by court staff. The charges add to mounting legal pressure on Duterte, whom the Marcos-allied House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impeach in May over separate allegations of unexplained wealth and misuse of confidential state funds.