Malta refused on Tuesday to accept 90 migrants rescued by an Italian Coast Guard vessel in its search and rescue zone, setting up a potential standoff with the new Italian government. Source: Euronews
Geopolitics
An Italian soldier was stabbed in the throat by an assailant who reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” outside the Central Station in Milan on Tuesday. Source RT
The leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran meeting in Ankara on Monday agreed to try to ease tensions in northwest Syria’s Idlib region, but disagreements between the countries appeared to linger, especially over the threat from Islamic State. Source: Reuters
A total of 141 migrants landed on the shores of Lesvos between midnight and noon on Monday, according to data provided by the Northern Aegean police directorate cited by state-run news agency ANA-MPA. Source Ekathemirini
Intercity coach network Flixbus has announced they will offer free rides to climate change protesters this month. Over 400 protests are planned in Germany as part of a global day of action on September 20 and 27. Source Deutsche Welle
Russia and Belarus may partially merge their economies starting from January 2021, Russia’s Kommersant business daily reported Monday. “This degree of integration is higher than in the European Union. Basically the talk is about the creation of a confederate state at the level of economies in 2022,” Kommersant said, quoting a draft economic integration program, initialed by the parties in early September, but not made public. Source Xinhuanet
A young student was seriously injured Saturday morning when an explosion occurred in Lund in southern Sweden, reported Swedish news SVT on Saturday. Source Xinhuanet
South Korea has removed Japan from its list of most trusted trading partners, the latest sign of unraveling ties between two U.S. allies mired in a series of disputes. Source JapanTimes
For the first time ever, regional rivals China and India are taking part in joint military exercises organised by Russia. This year’s theme is the battle against an imaginary terrorist state in Central Asia. But what is the real message? Source RFI
The defence lawyer of a crown witness in a major gangland investigation was shot dead in the Amsterdam district of Buitenveldert on Wednesday morning, police say. Derk Wiersum was representing Nabil B, a key witness in the case against gangland boss Ridouan Taghi. Taghi is said to be behind a string of killings in Utrecht and Amsterdam in the ongoing the ongoing ‘mocro mafia’ drugs wars. Source DutchNews
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry has shown off what it says is wreckage of drones and cruise missiles that proves Iranian involvement in weekend attacks on two oil facilities. It said 18 drones and seven cruise missiles were fired from a direction that ruled out Yemen as a source. Source BBC
The Army Reserve activated seven new units this week, including a regional support group capable of supporting thousands of soldiers, such as those in Poland, where troops are deployed to deter Russian activities. Source: Military.com
The former prime minister of Italy has parted ways with the Democratic Party, saying it lacked vision for the future. His decision could destabilize a coalition government between PD and the populist 5-Star Movement. Source Deutsche Welle
French police have begun an operation to evacuate a gymnasium and a tent camp near the northern port of Dunkirk amid an increase in migrants trying to cross the Channel. Some 1,000 people, many of them Iraqi Kurds, have been living on the Grande Synthe site. Source BBC
Malta refused on Tuesday to accept 90 migrants rescued by an Italian Coast Guard vessel in its search and rescue zone, setting up a potential standoff with the new Italian government. Source: Euronews
An Italian soldier was stabbed in the throat by an assailant who reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” outside the Central Station in Milan on Tuesday. Source RT
The leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran meeting in Ankara on Monday agreed to try to ease tensions in northwest Syria’s Idlib region, but disagreements between the countries appeared to linger, especially over the threat from Islamic State. Source: Reuters
A total of 141 migrants landed on the shores of Lesvos between midnight and noon on Monday, according to data provided by the Northern Aegean police directorate cited by state-run news agency ANA-MPA. Source Ekathemirini
Technicians are busy examining a new Magnetic Levitation Train prototype in a factory in Zhuzhou, central China’s Hunan Province, SHINE reported. Zhuzhou, a city known as a forerunner of China’s rail transit manufacturing industry, is fostering innovation and production of Maglev trains. Source Asia Times
The Federal Reserve Wednesday lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point and many policy-makers said they believed another quarter-point cut this year would be appropriate. Source MarketWatch
Borrowing rates skyrocketed on Tuesday in a corner of the markets the public rarely notices but that is critical to the functioning of the global financial system. The spike in overnight borrowing rates forced the New York Federal Reserve to come to the rescue with a special operation aimed at easing stress in financial markets. Source CNN
The Federal Reserve stepped into financial markets on Tuesday to keep short-term interest rates from rising — the first time the central bank has had to carry out this type of “market operation” since the global financial crisis. Source The New York Times
Gold is moving to Singapore and Switzerland as some individual investors eye other offshore jurisdictions to store their holdings of the precious metal, according to companies that sell gold in the city. Source: Financial Times
Liberal professions to rally against government’s plans to simplify France’s pensions system amid fears over rights and payments. Lawyers, flight attendants, pilots, doctors, physiotherapists and self-employed nurses were due to demonstrate against the government’s pension reform plans on Monday, days after Paris was crippled by a public transport workers’ strike in protest at the same issue. Source Connexion
Iran has seized a boat suspected of being used to smuggle fuel and arrested its 11 crew members near a vital oil shipping lane, state television reported on Monday. A naval patrol of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intercepted the vessel carrying 250,000 litres of fuel near the Strait of Hormuz, state TV’s website said, citing a commander of the force. Source France24
China’s economy slowed further in August, indicating more stimulus steps may be needed to shield the economy from the worsening effects of the trade war with the U.S. Industrial
output rose 4.4% on year, missing a consensus of 5.2%, while retail sales expanded 7.5% versus 7.9%. Working-level U.S.-China trade talks resume this week. Source: Bloomberg
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Iran is responsible for the drone attacks on important facilities in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province that reportedly forced the kingdom to shut down half of its oil production on Saturday.
- Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the attacks, which created a huge fire at a processor essential to global energy supplies.
- “We call on all nations to publicly and unequivocally condemn Iran’s attacks,” Pompeo said. Source CNBC
Germany is confident that hitches threatening the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be resolved to allow completion of the project on time this year. Source Bloomberg
Italy is unlikely to clash with the European Union over its draft budget for next year because the new government in Rome is more likely to play by EU fiscal rules than the previous one and Brussels does not want it to fail, officials said on Friday. Source Reuters
