Houthis Seize Strategic Red Sea Port (Conflict)
Israel Destroys Hezbollah Tunnel Complex (Conflict)
US Expands Economic Campaign Against Iran (Middle East)
Canada And Ukraine Sign 100-Year Partnership (Geopolitics)
Russian Church Sends Medieval Relic To Front (Russia)
North Korea Expands Uranium Enrichment Network (Asia)
BRICS Summit Tests Unity Over Iran War (Diplomacy)
US Lawmakers Push New AI Safety Rules (Technology)
NATO Foils Russian Undersea Cable Exercise (Europe)
Bayeux Tapestry Returns To England (Culture)
A succinct daily briefing delivered each weekday to help you stay on top of the stories shaping the world.
Houthi forces captured Yemen’s Red Sea port of Mokha on Thursday, pushing out forces allied with the Saudi-backed government and securing their biggest territorial gain since the 2022 truce. The city lies less than 50 miles from the Bab al-Mandab Strait, giving the Iran-backed group a foothold closer to a crucial global shipping route.
The advance involved Iranian-supplied weapons, drones and guidance from Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders. Iran publicly denies directing the Houthis and says the group is an ally rather than a proxy.
The capture comes as Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi Arabia has pivoted towards the Red Sea for most oil exports. Houthi attacks have also disrupted that route, including a blockade on Saudi oil tankers declared in July. Brent crude rose above $105 a barrel after Mokha fell, its highest level in several months.
Sources: New York Times, Times of India
Israel destroyed Hezbollah’s underground complex beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon on Thursday, using 1,100 tons of explosives after capturing and clearing the tunnel system last week. The blast was detected by the United States Geological Survey as a magnitude 4.1 tremor.
The Israel Defense Forces said the two-kilometre network served as the command centre of Hezbollah’s Badr regional division and contained Iranian-made rockets, missiles and drones, anti-tank weapons, mines, command centres and living facilities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the site had been built over two decades with Iranian funding and planning.
The demolition comes as Israel maintains a security zone about 10 kilometres inside Lebanon. Israel and Lebanon signed a June framework agreement linking Hezbollah’s verified disarmament to a progressive Israeli withdrawal. Further withdrawals remain suspended until Hezbollah is disarmed.
Sources: Times of Israel, France 24
Washington imposed new sanctions on firms and individuals in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Turkey that it says support Hezbollah and Kata’ib Hezbollah, extending its campaign to isolate Iran economically. The measures form part of Operation Economic Outcast, launched on August 24 to restrict funding for Tehran’s war effort, missile construction, cyberattacks and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Treasury Department also tightened Iran-related licensing, saying most requests would be denied until Iran changes its behaviour, including obstructing the Strait of Hormuz and attacking US personnel and partners. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the campaign would target networks financing terrorism, laundering money or helping Iran evade sanctions.
Bessent also said a large bank would be sanctioned on Monday, without naming the institution or country. US officials said Iranian oil loadings had fallen to about 0.2 million barrels per day over the past 30 days.
Sources: Reuters, CNBC
Canada and Ukraine signed a declaration for a 100-year partnership on Thursday as Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to expand Canadian drone production and send one-third of the output to Ukraine. Carney said the framework will deepen cooperation across defence & security, trade, investment, reconstruction, energy, critical minerals and technology.
Canada will launch a national drone marketplace giving its armed forces access to about 400 suppliers as part of a plan to build capacity to produce millions of drones within two years. Canada and Ukraine will also jointly produce uncrewed systems, counter-drone technologies and priority munitions, combining Ukrainian battlefield experience with Canadian manufacturing, software and AI.
The two countries also finalised a C$350 million agreement for air-defence interceptors through the US Jumpstart mechanism, while Canada pledged loan guarantees to support Ukraine’s energy supply as winter approaches.
Sources: Bloomberg, The Guardian
In an attempt to buoy troop morale the Russian Orthodox Church has sent part of the right hand of medieval prince Dmitry Donskoy to Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, saying the relic will strengthen soldiers spiritually. Donskoy, canonised in 1988 and revered for defeating the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, had his remains formally uncovered during restoration work at the Kremlin’s Cathedral of the Archangel last month.
The relic was first taken to the Saur-Mogila war memorial in Russian-occupied Donetsk and will be transported along the more than 1,000-kilometre front line. President Vladimir Putin inspected Donskoy’s remains in August, calling their discovery unique and marvellous.
The transfer reflects the Russian Orthodox Church’s deepening involvement in the war. Priests have been sent to military units and occupied territories, while churches across Russia have been instructed to recite prayers asking God to grant victory.
Sources: The Independent, The Guardian
North Korea has built a second uranium enrichment facility at its Yongbyon nuclear complex that could accommodate up to 28 centrifuge cascades, while operations also appear to have begun at an expanded annex at Kangson near Pyongyang. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the developments point to a steady expansion of nuclear infrastructure at multiple locations.
The IAEA identified the new two-storey Yongbyon building by comparing North Korean state media photographs with satellite imagery. Images indicated gas centrifuge cascades on both floors. The agency said Kangson’s annex showed signs of operating from January.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the continued operation and further expansion of weapons-grade nuclear material production was a cause for serious concern.
Russia rejected the watchdog’s conclusions, arguing that without inspectors in North Korea since 2009, satellite imagery and open-source material could not provide reliable assessments.
Sources: CNN, NK News
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday ahead of a BRICS summit expected to be dominated by the wars in Iran & Ukraine and tensions within the expanded bloc. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chinese President Xi Jinping are also attending, with bilateral meetings involving Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi planned around the two-day gathering.
The central challenge is whether members can agree language on the Middle East conflict. Iran and the United Arab Emirates hold opposing positions, and BRICS foreign ministers failed to issue a joint statement in May because of their differences. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said those divisions were hindering efforts to draft a declaration.
The summit also brings President Xi to India for the first time since 2019. Modi and Putin are expected to discuss trade and economic cooperation as India tries to balance ties with Moscow against US pressure over Russian oil purchases.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Reuters
Growing numbers of US lawmakers are calling for new rules on artificial intelligence after Anthropic researchers warned that rapidly advancing systems could pose an existential threat to humankind. Anthropic scientist Evan Hubinger said he believed there was a greater than 10% chance AI could kill all humans within the next decade. Researcher Jacob Coxon resigned, saying leading companies were gambling with lives.
Lawmakers from both parties have responded with proposals for tighter oversight. Senator Ted Cruz said he was working on legislation addressing catastrophic risks, while Representative Anna Paulina Luna called for a special House session on AI. California has also enacted the first state law governing independent audits of AI products.
The debate is sharpening as safety researchers leave major laboratories and developers expand testing of increasingly capable systems, raising fresh questions about whether current safeguards can keep pace with rapid advances.
Sources: Reuters, Washington Post
NATO allies intercepted Russian submarines training to deploy secret technology designed to disable critical undersea cables without leaving evidence during an operation near Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. Western officials said Russia’s GUGI undersea warfare directorate used deep-sea submersibles to simulate deployment of the technology during a potential conflict with NATO.
Britain, Norway and the United States jointly tracked and confronted the Russian vessels, preventing them from completing the exercise before they left the area. No cables were damaged, and officials declined to explain how the technology works.
Norwegian Defence Minister Tore Sandvik said the operation showed Russia could not operate covertly and warned that attempts to target critical infrastructure would be detected and face consequences.
Undersea fibre-optic cables carry almost all global internet traffic and are critical to connectivity and financial transactions. NATO allies have increased their focus on protecting subsea infrastructure since the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline destruction.
Sources: Euronews, Reuters
The Bayeux Tapestry went on public display at the British Museum on Thursday, returning to England for the first time in more than 900 years. The nearly 230-foot, 11th-century embroidery depicts the events leading to the Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings in 1066, including the death of King Harold II.
The work is on loan from its museum in Bayeux in Normandy, while renovations are carried out there. It will remain in London for a sold-out 10-month exhibition running until July 2027. The tapestry is displayed flat beneath glass in a darkened room to limit light damage.
Scholars believe the tapestry was stitched in England, probably by women, before being taken to France in the late 11th century. Its return follows years of diplomacy and a carefully controlled July transfer using a refrigerated, shock-absorbing truck through the Channel Tunnel, with curators monitoring vibration, temperature and humidity.
Sources: NPR, The Guardian
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On this day …
On this day in 2001, nineteen al-Qaeda hijackers seized four passenger aircraft in the United States. Two were flown into the World Trade Center in New York, one struck the Pentagon and the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew resisted the hijackers.
The attacks killed 2,977 victims and triggered consequences far beyond the immediate devastation. The United States invaded Afghanistan weeks later, beginning a war that would last two decades, while counterterrorism became a defining element of Western foreign, defence and security policy.
Few events have reshaped the international system so rapidly, influencing wars, alliances, surveillance, aviation security and relations between governments and their citizens.