International News Bulletin — September 22, 2026

Politics

• Trump tells the UN he could “annihilate” Iran as envoys hold talks – President Donald Trump used his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to say he faced a choice between a deal with Iran and annihilating the Islamic Republic, adding “I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election”, NBC News and Al Jazeera reported. He also said US envoys had held a “very good” three-hour meeting with an Iranian delegation in New York, with another planned “in the very near future”, according to Al Jazeera. Trump said Washington was seeking “a fundamental change” in Cuba, prompting the Cuban delegation to walk out, NBC News reported, and cited Venezuela as proof the United States would no longer let threats gain “a foothold anywhere in the Western Hemisphere”.
• Lula opens UN debate with warning against interference in Brazil’s election – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, speaking first under the General Assembly’s tradition, told world leaders that “Brazilian democracy belongs to Brazilians” and that “Brazil does not belong in anyone’s backyard”, Al Jazeera reported. Without naming Trump, he criticised what he called hegemonic ambitions and US economic pressure, including tariffs imposed in July, twelve days before Brazilians vote on October 4, The Rio Times and Al Jazeera reported. He also said the UN was failing in its mission to rid humanity of war and blamed Security Council vetoes for paralysis.
• Erdogan accuses Israel of a “genocidal mindset” as delegation walks out – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the General Assembly that “we face a genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing” and said more than 1,300 civilians had been killed in Gaza despite the ceasefire, Al Jazeera and The Times of Israel reported. The Israeli delegation walked out during the speech while Palestinian representatives applauded, according to Al Jazeera. Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, also condemned Israel’s conduct in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria in his own address, Al Jazeera reported.
• Zelenskyy meets Trump after overnight Russian strikes on four regions – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Trump at the UN on Tuesday and said he hoped Trump would “help us end this war”, while Trump said “I think we’re going to make a deal”, the Associated Press reported. The meeting followed Russian missile and drone strikes on at least four Ukrainian regions overnight; the AP, citing officials, put the death toll at five, while Al Jazeera reported three killed in Dnipro, citing regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha. French President Emmanuel Macron said Kyiv and Moscow had “agreed to work together to secure a moratorium” on strikes on energy networks and civilian infrastructure after his talks with Trump, according to Al Jazeera.
• Takaichi meets Trump two days before Xi’s White House visit – Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met Trump in New York on Tuesday and discussed China, Bloomberg reported, with China’s military activity around Taiwan, Chinese export controls on rare earths and Japan’s $550 billion US investment pledge on the agenda, according to South Korea’s SBS. SBS said Tokyo had sought the meeting out of concern that a US-China “big deal” could be struck without reflecting Japan’s interests. Chinese President Xi Jinping is due in Washington for talks and a White House state dinner on Thursday.

Economy

• Nigeria’s central bank cuts its key rate to 23 percent – The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee cut the monetary policy rate by 350 basis points to 23 percent from 26.5 percent at its meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, Nairametrics and P.M. News reported. Governor Olayemi Cardoso described the move as a reset following sustained disinflation, with inflation at 15.39 percent in August, according to Nairametrics. The committee adjusted the standing facilities corridor to plus 50 and minus 300 basis points around the rate and kept the cash reserve requirement for commercial banks at 45 percent.
• Brent dips below $100 as Saudi Arabia restarts its East-West pipeline – Saudi Aramco restarted its East-West crude pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu at reduced capacity on Tuesday after it had been offline since September 13, when drone attacks damaged pumping stations, The National reported. Brent fell as low as about $97.50 a barrel before recovering towards $100, according to The National and the Associated Press, as a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if Washington lifted its blockade of Iranian ports. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite was up about half a percent at a record late in the session while the S&P 500 was little changed and the Dow slightly lower, according to Yahoo Finance and the AP.
• Hungary pauses rate cuts and moves to lower its inflation target – The National Bank of Hungary held its benchmark rate at 5.5 percent on Tuesday, ending a run of three consecutive cuts, a decision all 24 economists in a Bloomberg survey had expected, Bloomberg and Investing.com reported. Governor Mihály Varga pointed to serious global inflation risks, including energy prices, and told reporters the bank would lower its inflation target to 2.5 percent from 3 percent, a step Bloomberg described as a pivot towards euro adoption.
• Australia’s central bank chief says AI boom is adding to excess demand – Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock said on Tuesday that “we are in a situation of excess demand and the AI boom is adding to that demand”, with data-centre investment arriving before any productivity gains, ABC News reported. She said there were “very few signs yet” that AI was influencing the supply side of the economy, ahead of the bank’s September 28-29 policy meeting. The S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.3 percent at 8,758 points.

World News

• Hurricane Polo strengthens to Category 5 off Mexico’s Pacific coast – Polo grew into a Category 5 hurricane on Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 257 km/h, after forming as a tropical storm off southwestern Mexico late on Sunday, the US National Hurricane Center said, according to NBC News and the Associated Press. Forecasters expect it to turn sharply northwest and skirt the coast for several days without making direct landfall. Heavy rain with a risk of flooding and landslides is forecast for coastal Guerrero and Michoacán through Thursday, and a tropical storm watch covers the coast from south of Manzanillo to Tecpan de Galeana.
• UN refugee agency warns Yemen fighting could drive thousands to Djibouti – The UNHCR said on Tuesday it was planning for more than 10,000 arrivals in Djibouti in the coming months and projected that more than 230,000 people could be displaced inside Yemen, spokesperson Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva, Al Jazeera reported. More than 3,000 people have already crossed the Red Sea to Djibouti this month since Houthi forces seized Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. The agency said its Yemen operation was 18 percent funded for 2026 and that it urgently needed $25 million.
• European court hears case of ten Crimean children given to Russian families – The European Court of Human Rights held a hearing on Tuesday in a case brought by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union and three other groups over ten Ukrainian children taken from childcare institutions in Crimea after Russia’s 2014 annexation, Al Jazeera reported. The applicants say the children, then aged one to five, were given Russian nationality, had their names and dates of birth changed and were placed with Russian families for adoption, with no information on their whereabouts since. The court will now deliberate on the admissibility and merits of the case.
• Former Rwandan official appears in UK court over 1994 genocide killings – Vincent Brown, 65, a doctor formerly known as Vincent Bajinya, appeared at a London magistrates’ court on Tuesday charged with conduct ancillary to genocide over six killings in Kigali in April 1994, Al Jazeera reported. He is the first person charged in Britain over genocide-related crimes, and did not enter a plea. He was granted bail and the case was sent to the Old Bailey, where he is due to appear on October 9.

Bulletin automatically generated on September 22, 2026.