WORLD

DAMASCUS, 16 September, 2026 (Kamran Raja): Syria's parliament on Wednesday voted to abolish the Assad-era Counter-Terrorism Court and nullify the legal effects of its rulings, state television reported, marking one of the first major legislative decisions by the country's new assembly. The court was established in 2012 under then-President Bashar al-Assad to prosecute Syrians accused of terrorism-related offences amid the uprising against his rule and was used in thousands of cases. The parliamentary vote formalises its abolition after Syria's new authorities had already treated the court as defunct. In June 2025, President Ahmed al-Sharaa dismissed 67 judges who had served at what he described as the “abolished Counter-Terrorism Court.” Syria's March 2025 constitutional declaration also ...

 KYIV, 16 September, 2026 (Nosheen): Ukraine is proposing record defence spending for 2027 as the cost of its war with Russia, now in its fifth year, continues to rise and the country seeks increased financial support from international partners, officials said on Wednesday. Defence spending is expected to reach 4.89 trillion hryvnias, or around $110 billion, in 2027, marking a 12% increase from this year and accounting for about two-thirds of the total spending in the draft 2027 budget of 7.27 trillion hryvnias presented to parliament. State revenues are projected at 5.6 trillion hryvnias. Parliamentary Budget Committee Chair Roksolana Pidlasa told lawmakers that the proposed budget would be the sixth budget of the full-scale war and that the rising cost of the conflict was putti...

BRUSSELS, 16 September, 2026 (Ghufran): European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed opening the way for Canada to become the European Union's first “associate member” as the bloc seeks to strengthen ties with allies in what she described as an “openly hostile world.” EU lawmakers gave a standing ovation after von der Leyen made the proposal during her annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg, before she walked over to embrace Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was attending the European Parliament session. Von der Leyen said new partnerships were needed amid the “cold fragility of today’s world.” The 27-member European Union is facing war on its borders following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while both the EU and Canada are dealing with growing co...

 WASHINGTON, 16 September, 2026 (Kamran Raja): The six-month-old US war against Iran has cost approximately $38 billion so far, with the cost projected to increase by around $3 billion per month, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The CBO said the conflict is expected to increase inflation by 0.5% during the first three months of 2027. The mounting costs have placed pressure on US munitions stockpiles and contributed to higher energy prices, raising concerns over Washington's ability to respond to other potential conflicts while managing an already strained federal budget. The budget office estimated that the majority of the costs resulted from the rapid use of munitions and said replenishing US stockpiles could take up to five years. The report noted that the US ...

 CAIRO/GAZA, 16 September, 2026 (Nosheen): Gaza rescuers searched through the wreckage of a seven-storey apartment building that collapsed overnight after being damaged in an Israeli airstrike, killing at least 20 Palestinians, including six children, and injuring 14 others. Nearly 100 people were believed to remain trapped beneath the rubble. Gaza's civil defence said several families were living in the building, while rescue workers continued efforts to locate survivors. Raed Al-Dahshan, director of Gaza City's civil defence service, said there was still hope of finding survivors, noting that voices could still be heard from beneath the rubble. Rescue operations have been hampered by a lack of heavy machinery and proper equipment, with some people forced to dig through the debri...

 Cairo/Gaza, 15 September, 2026 (Kamran Raja): Israeli airstrikes hit a vehicle in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing at least two Palestinians, including a child, and wounding seven others, according to Gaza health officials. The Israeli military said it had targeted a militant in the area but provided no further details. Witnesses said some of the casualties were caused by a second strike that hit near a group of people who had rushed to the scene to help with the rescue. A video that could not be immediately verified by Reuters appeared to show a missile exploding near at least five men. Earlier, Palestinians held funerals in Gaza for Ahmed Al-Batsh and Rafat Zummar, who were killed in Israeli strikes a day earlier. Hamas sources and ...

Kyiv/London, 15 September, 2026 (Nosheen): Ukraine is accelerating efforts to develop new interceptor drones to counter Russia’s increasingly powerful jet-powered attack drones, after a recent military test exposed major challenges in controlling the faster aircraft. In early July, Ukraine’s military invited a large group of drone manufacturers to test a new generation of interceptors designed to counter Russian jet-powered attack drones, but the exercise did not go as planned, according to two sources familiar with the test. Several interceptor drones proved difficult to control at speeds sometimes exceeding 400 kilometres per hour, while some crashed into nearby fields and forests, the sources said. The exercise highlighted the challenges Ukraine faces as it heads into another winter wit...

Riyadh, 15 September, 2026 (Ghufran): Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched a new wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia and strengthened their positions along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast as urgent discussions were held in Riyadh over how to respond to their rapid advance. Meanwhile, Gulf Arab states postponed planned talks with Iran, raising concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could spread further and threaten global oil supplies. The Houthis said on Monday that they had fired dozens of missiles and drones at a military airbase in Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia, targeting aircraft hangars, radar systems, runways and ammunition depots in retaliation for Saudi airstrikes in Yemen. Saudi authorities issued emergency alerts in Khamis Mushait and three other southern cities, whil...

KYIV, 15 September, 2026 (Ghufran): A drone struck a petrol station in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early Tuesday, injuring one person, while warehouse facilities in another part of the city were also hit, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The attacks came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities. A Reuters witness heard an explosion in Kyiv. Ukrainian authorities said Russia has recently expanded its targets to include petrol stations, with around 300 such facilities hit in recent months, mainly in or near frontline regions. As Russian strikes targeted Ukraine, Poland briefly activated military aviation operations as a preventive measure, although its Armed Forces later said there had been no violation of Polish airs...