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HARD NUMBERS: Adolescence cleans up at Emmys, Canada unveils new housing agency, India-Pakistan rice wars paralyze the EU, sea levels put coastal Ozzies at risk
Stephen Graham, winner of Best Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and Best Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, Owen Cooper, Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, and Erin Doherty, Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, for "Adolescence", Best Limited or Anthology Series pose with their awards at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2025.
8: Netflix teen murder series "Adolescence" won eight Emmys including for best limited series. Supporting actor Owen Cooper,15, became the youngest male actor to win an Emmy. The series centers on a schoolboy accused of killing a female classmate. It has provoked a global conversation about toxic masculinity and social media use by young boys.
9 billion: Canadian PM Mark Carney announced the creation of a new federal agency tasked with building affordable housing for low-income Canadians. The Build Canada Homes agency will receive an initial capitalization of more than $9 billion. Housing shortages, and broader cost of living pressures, have become a major national issue in Canada in recent years.
7: India has waited seven years for the EU to rule whether “Basmati” rice is a trademarked Indian product. But India’s rival Pakistan also produces basmati and wants that protection itself. The issue has paralyzed a new EU-India trade deal, because basmati is produced in Kashmir, a region contested by India and Pakistan. Granting the trademark to one side or the other would imply recognition of Kashmir claims. So far, Brussels is doing what it does as well as anyone: punting on the issue pending further review…
1.5 million: Australia’s first National Risk Assessment warns that rising sea levels will put at risk the homes of 1.5 million Australians by 2050. The report also predicts worsening floods, cyclones, heatwaves, droughts and bushfires, as well as more heat-related deaths, reduced water quality, and lower property values.What we’re watching: Trump reaches TikTok deal, Far-right surges in German state election, Africa to team up on critical minerals
Senior U.S. and Chinese led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang meet to discuss trade and economic issues and TikTok, in Madrid, Spain, September 14, 2025.
TikTok deal emerges ahead of possible Trump-Xi phonecall
In an announcement teeming with viral potential, the White House said the US and China have outlined a deal for TikTok to continue operating in the US. The China-controlled social media giant faced a September 17 deadline to accept US ownership or be banned over national security concerns. So far so good, but the news comes as both sides are jockeying very strongly for position in trade talks this week: Beijing has accused US chip giant Nvidia of violating Chinese antitrust laws, just days after Washington blacklisted 23 Chinese tech companies. Donald Trump says he and President Xi Jinping will speak directly on Friday.
Germany’s AfD triples vote in state election
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 14.5% of the vote in Sunday’s local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state and home to a quarter of its population. Centrist parties received the most votes, with the CDU at 33.3%, and the SPD at 22.1%, but the AfD surpassed the Greens at 13.5%, as they had done in February’s federal elections. This time, twenty thousand parliamentary seats in 400 towns and municipalities were up for grabs, and while the election does not directly impact the national government, it confirms the AfD’s growing popularity outside its traditional eastern base, chiefly due to concerns about housing and migration.
African Union to form critical minerals coalition
Africa holds 30% of the world’s reserves of critical minerals – an essential component of advanced and green technologies. But producers there exert little control over the global market for these resources, and the wealth they generate. To change that, the 54-nation African Union has announced a coalition of producers to coordinate strategies for production and investment. China currently dominates the industry on the continent, but the US is muscling in too. This new coalition hopes to balance this great power scramble, and profit from it.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a letter from Britain's King Charles as he meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 27, 2025.
As US President Donald Trump travels to the United Kingdom this week, there is an unnerving sense in which the ghost of Christmas past will be greeting the potential ghost of Christmas yet to come. The former imperial power meets with the current global leader at a moment when both countries face an expanding set of domestic and global tests.
Each will be hoping this visit provides an opportunity to convey bonhomie and unity against a landscape that is anything but friendly and settled. All eyes will be on this heavily choreographed visit.
It’s coronation day
In February, just a month into his second term, Trump hosted UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House. In separate remarks following those sessions, Trump and Starmer extolled the “special relationship” between the US and UK, declaring that it remained “very special” and “true.” The leaders discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and efforts to bring peace by standing “side by side.” The most telling moment, the know-your-audience moment, came when Starmer handed Trump a letter from His Majesty King Charles. Opening it, Trump found it bestowed an invitation to Windsor Castle for a historic second state visit. The invite landed as it was intended, with Trump visibly tickled and honored.
That was February, when the return of Trump was still fresh and the UK, Europe, and the world had so many questions about the future of US engagement. Already at that moment, some of the answers were coming into view. Trump had imposed 10% tariffs on Canada and Mexico – two of the US closest trading partners - and an additional 10% tariff on imports from China. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was a casualty of Trumpenomics, stepping down after it became clear there were no knots he could tie himself in that would appeal to Trump. Also, by February, the Trump administration had taken steps to dismantle the US Agency for International Development and six decades of US foreign aid policy. The retrenchment in American international funding and soft power raised alarms for food and security programs, health missions, climate and sustainability initiatives.
On security, just days after Starmer handed the King’s letter to Trump, the US president and Vice President JD Vance met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. The televised conversation devolved from cordial to contentious over the course of 45 minutes. An anticipated deal for Ukrainian natural resources went unsigned, and Zelensky was told he held “no cards.” Within a week, the US sided with Russia on a series of United Nations resolutions marking the third anniversary of the invasion. Europe was put on notice that the US commitment to Ukraine would be elusive.
We’re going to the palace
Seven months on, with Trump arriving in the UK this week, those early February trendlines have only accelerated. On trade, US partners, allies, and nearly everyone else have been “liberated” and hit with individualized “reciprocal” tariffs. On foreign aid, the administration has stayed its course. Just last week the US Supreme Court granted the Department of Justice’s application allowing the administration to continue withholding billions of appropriated foreign aid funding. Inn Ukraine, the conflict appears no closer to a resolution. After innumerable conversations, a Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, and much European handwringing, Russian drones incurred Polish air space last week.
The Trump administration’s ambitions to redefine the US global footprint is a familiar proposition in the UK, which has struggled to find its footing in the aftermath of Brexit. According to policy documents like the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, successive British governments have sought to position the UK for a more active posture on the world stage amidst increasing geopolitical volatility. Thus far, these ambitions have borne few tangible results.
Even as their global trajectories diverge, Trump’s arrival in the UK comes at a moment of domestic precariousness for both countries. From migration pressure to untenable budgets, divisive partisanship, fluctuating political attitudes and concerns over crime, these Transatlantic partners face a long and overlapping list of maladies.
The visuals are meant to be televised.
Against this backdrop, ambitions will be low for Trump’s visit. Neither side is likely to wade into sensitive domestic dynamics like the recent removal of the UK ambassador to the US, or American political violence. Announcements of a nuclear energy accord and promises of UK technology investments by US AI and chip private sector leaders will be the main takeaways, but are really window dressing. What is called for is a show of allegiance, an optical win at a time when other global leaders have themselves been busy.
Collegial images of China’s President Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) earlier this month grabbed widespread attention. A slew of analysis argued that this was the new world order, evidence that the powerful “rest” were joining forces against “the West.”
While it is not, in fact, the case that India, China, Russia (+ North Korea and Iran) are now locked into an exclusive alliance that will by magnetism bring others into their realm, countries are hedging their bets. With all the grandeur of a royal visit, Trump will be seeking out the spotlight and looking, once again, to rewrite the script.
What we’re watching: Kirk’s suspected killer in custody, Germany’s largest state goes to the polls, Turkish court weighs ouster of opposition leader
A combination photo shows a person of interest in the fatal shooting of U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S. shown in security footage released by the Utah Department of Public Safety on September 11, 2025.
US authorities arrest suspect in Charlie Kirk murder
Law enforcement has arrested Tyler Robinson, a 22-year old man, accusing him of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday. Officials said Robinson had admitted involvement in the crime and left extensive physical and digital evidence tying him to the killing. His political beliefs and motivations are not yet known, but they are sure to be a source of bitterly polarized debate and tension as they emerge. People close to Robinson reported he had become more political in recent months. Authorities said bullet casings belonging to him had been found carrying messages including “Hey fascist, catch!” and “if you read this you are gay, LMAO.”
Germany’s heavyweight state holds key election
This Sunday voters go to the polls for a local election in Germany’s most populous and industrialized state, Rhineland-Westphalia, in an early test for conservative Chancellor Freidrich Merz, who took power in May amid widespread concerns about immigration and the economy. Merz’ governing coalition holds a lead in the former West German state, which is home to a quarter of Germans, but faces a stiff challenge from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has notched record gains in recent elections. Can the AfD, which has historically been strongest in eastern Germany, start to translate its eastern promise into western gains? The results will be a major political bellwether in Europe’s largest economy.
Turkish court to decide fate of key opposition leader
A Turkish court will rule early next week on whether to depose the leader of the country’s main opposition group, the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Over the past year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has cracked down ferociously on the CHP, arresting hundreds of its members including, briefly, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan’s most prominent rival. Erdogan and his allies say the moves are meant to root out corruption and ties to terrorism. Critics say they’re an attempt to undermine Turkey’s democratic institutions. The ruling is expected Monday.Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years for coup plot
Former president Jair Messias Bolsonaro is inaugurating Route 22 in eight cities in Rio Grande do Norte, starting with the cities of Extremoz, Natal, Parnamirim, and Mossoro, in Natal, Brazil, on August 16, 2024.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro of plotting a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election — a historic first in a country that’s lived through 15 coups.
Four of the court’s five justices voted to find Bolsonaro and seven allies, including his running mate and top military officials, guilty of conspiring to overturn the result and hatching a plan to kill their opponent, current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro, who had already been banned from seeking public office again, has been sentenced to a 27-year prison sentence. He is expected to appeal.
How we got here. Bolsonaro, a former army captain far-right firebrand who was elected president in 2018, spent the 2022 re-election campaign spreading claims of election fraud that were disproven by official investigations. After losing to his leftwing nemesis Lula, his supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace on Jan. 8, 2023, demanding the military step in and overturn the results.
In recent weeks, the US has put pressure on Brazil over the trial. Bolsonaro is a close ally – and stylistic emulator – of US president Donald Trump, who has publicly pressured Lula to force the court to drop the charges, threatening high tariffs, sanctions on court justices, and other punitive measures on Latin America’s largest economy.
Those attacks have seemingly backfired – boosting the popularity of the aging and unpopular Lula, who has styled himself as a defender of Brazilian honor and sovereignty. The court justices, meanwhile, appear not to have been swayed by American pressure.
But Bolsonaro’s movement isn’t going away. Eurasia Group Brazil expert Silvio Cascione warns this is not the “turning of the page” many of Bolsonaro’s opponents may hope for. The ruling “crystallizes Brazil’s deep polarization rather than resolving it,” he said. Public opinion is split almost evenly: 43% say the trial was unfair, 51% back the conviction.
“The real concern isn't massive street protests,” Cascione says, “but rather the continued erosion of institutional trust that's been poisoning Brazilian politics for years. Courts, media, and political parties all suffer from a credibility deficit.”
Bolsonaro is still the kingmaker of the Brazilian right. Polls still show he’d be the strongest challenger to Lula in next year’s presidential election, so his endorsement could still shape the race. São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas has already emerged as a top heir to Bolsonaro’s movement, courting the former president’s base and floating an amnesty bill in Congress.
The conviction is set to roil relations with Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the ruling a “witch hunt” and signaled possible retaliation, including sanctions on the justices who voted to convict.
If so, Brazil is unlikely to hit back directly, as an actual trade war with the world’s largest economy – and a major source of investment – could get ugly fast.
But tensions with Washington could still have a political upside for Lula. “In what promises to be a highly competitive race,” says Cascione, “playing the victim of American bullying could actually help Lula
HARD NUMBERS: Nigerian docs strike, UN closes aid centers in Afghanistan, Russia cuts rates, Ebola emerges again in Congo.
A clinic support staff takes blood sample from a child at a clinic operated by Doctors without Borders in Bagega village in northeastern state of Zamfara August 14, 2013. Picture taken August 14, 2013.
8: The UN office in Afghanistan has closed eight aid centers set up to support Afghan refugees returning to the country, because the Taliban government is preventing female UN staff from entering the facilities. Afghanistan is suffering a refugee crisis as Pakistan and Iran have begun deporting hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghan migrants.
17: Russia’s central bank cut interest rates by a single point, but they are still at a staggering 17%. The central bank is in a tight spot: cautiously trying to prop up flagging economic growth even as inflation remains sky high due to Ukraine-related sanctions and military spending.
32: The WHO says it is still confident that an ebola outbreak in Congo can be contained, but only if prompt action is taken. The country has recently registered 32 suspected cases and 16 deaths. It is the country’s 16th outbreak of the deadly disease.A drone view shows the scene where U.S. right-wing activist, commentator, Charlie Kirk, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S. September 11, 2025.
The assassination of 31-year old conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a college event in Utah yesterday threatened to plunge a deeply divided America further into a cycle of rising political violence.
Who was Charlie Kirk? The founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization active on more than 3,500 college campuses. Kirk built his formidable brand by challenging students, in particular liberals, to open debates on hot-button culture war issues.
An ultra-conservative Evangelical Christian, he advocated for values of faith, family, and patriotism. He held divisive views on race, women in the workplace, gun control, and gay marriage.
A titan in the MAGA movement. Kirk’s outreach to young voters is considered a major reason why Donald Trump won 56% of young male voters in the 2024 election.
The manhunt: The shooter remains on the loose, and nothing is known about their background or motivations. A weapon and other evidence were reportedly recovered near the scene of the killing on Thursday morning.
The context: Violence against prominent political figures is becoming more commonplace in America, and it affects both sides of the political divide. Earlier this year, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, survived an arson attack. Two months later, two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota were assassinated. Last year, of course, there were two separate attempts on Donald Trump’s life. A recent Marist poll found that 73% of Americans see political violence as a major problem.
The White House response: a crackdown on “the left”? In a four minute special address from the White House, President Trump eulogized Kirk and condemned radicalism and violence. He blamed “the left” – pledging to “find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including those who fund it.” This framing has raised concerns in some quarters about a possible wider crackdown on ideological opponents of the White House.
Most politicians on both sides condemned the killing but tensions simmered beneath the surface. Congress erupted into a shouting match over GOP leader Mike Johnson’s call for a moment of silence for Kirk on the same day as a school shooting that went largely unmentioned. Many prominent MAGA influencers and supporters of Trump responded with outrage, blaming Democrats or liberals for the killing, and claiming Kirk as a martyr.
Some Democrats responded to Kirk’s murder with calls for more gun control. But Eurasia Group US expert Noah Daponte-Smith says those are unlikely to make headway. Kirk himself was a staunch opponent of tighter gun laws, once declaring, in typically controversial style, “it’s worth the cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
Are things about to get worse? Daponte-Smith says that while an escalatory cycle can certainly still be avoided, “there is a higher potential for more political violence.”