Lead Story
World leaders open UN General Assembly high-level week as Gaza ceasefire enters phase two
Nearly 130 heads of state convened in New York on Sunday, September 20, 2026, for the UN General Assembly's high-level week, with the widening conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and the risks of artificial intelligence dominating the agenda. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, opening the last high-level week of his mandate, welcomed the start of phase two of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire and reiterated that humanitarian aid must flow unimpeded and that the path must be cleared toward an irreversible two-state solution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to address the chamber later in the week, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, denied a US visa, will appear by video after the Assembly voted to permit it; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are also due to speak as the post-World War Two order comes under mounting strain.
Read more →Lead Story
World leaders open UN General Assembly high-level week as Gaza ceasefire enters phase two
Nearly 130 heads of state convened in New York on Sunday, September 20, 2026, for the UN General Assembly's high-level week, with the widening conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and the risks of artificial intelligence dominating the agenda. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, opening the last high-level week of his mandate, welcomed the start of phase two of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire and reiterated that humanitarian aid must flow unimpeded and that the path must be cleared toward an irreversible two-state solution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to address the chamber later in the week, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, denied a US visa, will appear by video after the Assembly voted to permit it; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are also due to speak as the post-World War Two order comes under mounting strain.
Trump announces Greenland security deal with Denmark, dropping annexation threats
President Donald Trump announced Friday, September 18, 2026, that the United States had struck a deal with Denmark granting it what he called 'permanent control over security' in Greenland, months after repeatedly threatening to seize the Arctic island by force. The island remains part of Denmark under the agreement, which explicitly recognizes Danish sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as Greenlanders' right to self-determination, while the US begins building a large military presence in an as-yet-unspecified part of the territory. The pact bans any non-NATO base or troop presence on Greenland and includes screening mechanisms meant to block Russian and Chinese investment; Denmark and Greenland said the agreement would be formally signed at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Read more →Trump announces Greenland security deal with Denmark, dropping annexation threats
President Donald Trump announced Friday, September 18, 2026, that the United States had struck a deal with Denmark granting it what he called 'permanent control over security' in Greenland, months after repeatedly threatening to seize the Arctic island by force. The island remains part of Denmark under the agreement, which explicitly recognizes Danish sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as Greenlanders' right to self-determination, while the US begins building a large military presence in an as-yet-unspecified part of the territory. The pact bans any non-NATO base or troop presence on Greenland and includes screening mechanisms meant to block Russian and Chinese investment; Denmark and Greenland said the agreement would be formally signed at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman, hands title to son Howard
Warren Buffett, 96, stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway effective Friday, September 18, 2026, announcing the move in a letter to shareholders that closed with the line 'Father Time always wins.' His son Howard Buffett succeeds him as chairman, tasked with guarding the conglomerate's culture and values, while Greg Abel, who took over as chief executive earlier this year, continues to run day-to-day operations. Buffett becomes chairman emeritus and will remain on Berkshire's board, marking the final formal step in a succession plan he had been telegraphing to shareholders for years.
Read more →Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman, hands title to son Howard
Warren Buffett, 96, stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway effective Friday, September 18, 2026, announcing the move in a letter to shareholders that closed with the line 'Father Time always wins.' His son Howard Buffett succeeds him as chairman, tasked with guarding the conglomerate's culture and values, while Greg Abel, who took over as chief executive earlier this year, continues to run day-to-day operations. Buffett becomes chairman emeritus and will remain on Berkshire's board, marking the final formal step in a succession plan he had been telegraphing to shareholders for years.
Russia holds first parliamentary election including annexed Ukrainian territory
Voting in Russia's State Duma election ran Friday through Sunday, September 18-20, 2026, marking the first time the Kremlin has extended a parliamentary vote into the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions it illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2022. Russian authorities say more than 3.5 million voters are registered across the four 'new regions,' where balloting had actually been underway since late August alongside some Russian border areas, part of a push to cement Moscow's territorial gains four and a half years into the war. Kyiv has denounced the vote as illegal and unrecognized internationally, and human rights activists say residents in occupied areas have faced coercion to participate in what the Kremlin is framing as a demonstration of public support for the invasion.
Read more →Russia holds first parliamentary election including annexed Ukrainian territory
Voting in Russia's State Duma election ran Friday through Sunday, September 18-20, 2026, marking the first time the Kremlin has extended a parliamentary vote into the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions it illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2022. Russian authorities say more than 3.5 million voters are registered across the four 'new regions,' where balloting had actually been underway since late August alongside some Russian border areas, part of a push to cement Moscow's territorial gains four and a half years into the war. Kyiv has denounced the vote as illegal and unrecognized internationally, and human rights activists say residents in occupied areas have faced coercion to participate in what the Kremlin is framing as a demonstration of public support for the invasion.
Poland's Tusk warns Russia is planning 'accidental' strikes on NATO's eastern flank
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told lawmakers on September 17-18, 2026, that intelligence from NATO, Ukraine and US agencies indicates Russia is preparing to send drones or missiles into NATO territory and then disavow the strikes as accidental, part of a hybrid campaign against countries supporting Ukraine, including Poland. Tusk said the intended goal is to 'paralyze NATO' by showing that its Article 5 mutual-defense guarantee 'exists only in theory,' pointing to a string of recent incidents blamed on Russia along the alliance's eastern flank, including an attempted drone strike this month on an airport serving as a major NATO hub in Germany. Russia's foreign ministry has dismissed the accusations as 'contrived' and 'far-fetched.'
Read more →Poland's Tusk warns Russia is planning 'accidental' strikes on NATO's eastern flank
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told lawmakers on September 17-18, 2026, that intelligence from NATO, Ukraine and US agencies indicates Russia is preparing to send drones or missiles into NATO territory and then disavow the strikes as accidental, part of a hybrid campaign against countries supporting Ukraine, including Poland. Tusk said the intended goal is to 'paralyze NATO' by showing that its Article 5 mutual-defense guarantee 'exists only in theory,' pointing to a string of recent incidents blamed on Russia along the alliance's eastern flank, including an attempted drone strike this month on an airport serving as a major NATO hub in Germany. Russia's foreign ministry has dismissed the accusations as 'contrived' and 'far-fetched.'