International News Bulletin — September 23, 2026

Politics

• Iran’s president tells the UN Tehran will not bow to force – Masoud Pezeshkian told the General Assembly on Wednesday that Iran was ready for “dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiations without accepting the language of force,” adding that the nuclear issue “cannot be settled on the battlefield.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Tuesday’s mediated talks with Iranian officials “positive, but it was not a breakthrough,” and said President Donald Trump has “a number of options available, including military options.” Tehran has said it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if Washington eases military pressure, Al Jazeera reported.
• Xi Jinping begins his first Washington state visit in a decade – The Chinese president was due to land at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, where Trump planned to greet him planeside, a rare gesture, according to the Associated Press. Formal talks run on Thursday and Friday, with trade, artificial intelligence, Iran and Taiwan on the agenda and a state dinner on Thursday. China is expected to announce purchases of US farm goods, while Washington is expected to cut tariffs on some consumer goods such as footwear and apparel, CNBC reported.
• Moroccans elect a new parliament after last year’s youth protests – Voters chose all 395 members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, with 27 parties fielding 7,288 candidates, according to the Associated Press. Turnout reached 28.05 percent at 5 p.m., the Interior Ministry said, against 11.34 percent at noon. Results are expected on Thursday, and the king then appoints a head of government from the party that wins the most seats.
• Milei calls the UN a “useless organization” at the General Assembly – Argentina’s president said on Wednesday that the United Nations’ “sacred covenant has been broken” and that it served “to sustain a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats,” according to UN News. He called the Falkland Islands a “national cause,” described British-backed oil licences in disputed waters as “illegal and illegitimate” and urged London to resume negotiations.

Economy

• US 10-year Treasury yield hits its highest level since 2007 – The benchmark yield climbed above 5 percent on Wednesday after S&P Global’s flash composite PMI rose to 58.4 in September, its highest reading since July 2021, from 56.0 in August. Investors raised bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike in October, a week after the Fed lifted its target range to 3.75–4.00 percent. Wall Street fell, with the Nasdaq Composite down about 1 percent in late trading.
• South Africa’s central bank raises its repo rate to 7.25 percent – The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday for a 25-basis-point increase, its second hike this year, effective 25 September. Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the fuel-price shock had intensified, with little oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi exports disrupted by fighting in Yemen. Statistics South Africa reported the same day that consumer inflation edged up to 4.4 percent in August from 4.3 percent in July.
• Oil ends a five-day slide as US-Iran talks fall short – US crude recovered from an intraday low of $88.27 to settle near $92 a barrel on Wednesday, according to FXStreet and CNBC, as traders weighed Rubio’s assessment of the talks and Pezeshkian’s vow not to surrender to military pressure. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below normal, with three vessels crossing on Tuesday against a ten-day average of 15. US crude inventories rose by about 3 million barrels, against expectations of a small draw.
• ADB lifts developing Asia’s 2026 growth forecast to 5 percent – The Asian Development Bank raised its projection by 0.1 percentage point from July on Wednesday, citing private investment, government stimulus and technology exports driven by the AI boom, though growth would still slow from 5.5 percent in 2025. It cut its 2026 regional inflation forecast to 4.2 percent and named a wider Middle East conflict, a strong El Niño and a sharp correction in AI equities among the main risks.

World News

• Police hunt three gunmen after eleven killed at South African party – Gunmen opened fire on a gathering at a house in KwaMakhutha, south of Durban, on Tuesday night, killing 11 people, including a woman believed to be pregnant, and wounding three, police said. Acting national police commissioner Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane ordered a 72-hour manhunt on Wednesday. Police said a feud between rival groupings could not be ruled out.
• Hurricane Polo weakens to Category 4 but threatens Mexico with floods – Polo’s maximum sustained winds eased to 145 mph (about 233 km/h) on Wednesday, down from Category 5 strength on Tuesday, with the storm roughly 150 to 165 miles south of Zihuatanejo, according to the US National Hurricane Center as cited by CBS News and NPR. Forecasters expect it to skirt the coast rather than make landfall, but warned that 3 to 6 inches of rain in Guerrero and Michoacán through Thursday, with higher isolated totals, “may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides.”
• Scores killed as Houthis battle government forces on Yemen’s coast – Houthi military officials said at least 118 people had been killed since Sunday in clashes and in Saudi air and artillery strikes on Taiz, al-Jawf, Marib and Saada provinces. Yemeni government sources put the toll on their side at at least 36. The fighting centres on high ground near the port city of Mocha, which the Houthis are trying to cut off after seizing most of the Red Sea coast this month.

Bulletin automatically generated on September 23, 2026.