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Middle East crisis live: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warns it will ‘change geography of war’ if US escalates conflict

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps warned it would “change the geography of the war” if the US escalates the conflict, after Donald Trump issued fresh threats against the Islamic Republic. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Trump said “very big things are going to be happening in the not-so-distant future”, adding that the options he was considering were “wiping Iran out, letting them rot economically or making a deal”. A spokesperson for the IRGC, Hossein Mohebbi, responded with a warning that if the US were to launch fresh attacks against Iran, Tehran would use “new weapons with capabilities into the battle”. “If a new aggression takes place, we will definitely change the weapons and geography of the war,” Mohebbi was quoted as having said. “Our targets will no longer necessarily be the same as before,” he said, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, adding that Iran has targets that have not yet been struck. The comments come after attacks on the Saudi capital, Riyadh, by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The Houthis, who operate independently of Iran’s instructions, have seized territory along the country’s Red Sea coastline, including near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital shipping route that links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez canal. Iran hugely benefits from the Houthis fighting Saudi Arabia, as the Saudis are more likely in turn to put pressure on the US to relent over Iran, which has insisted it will not allow the reopening of the strait of Hormuz until all its conditions have been met. With negotiations to reach an agreement stalled, traffic in the vital maritime corridor continues to be severely disrupted, with Iran firing on commercial ships and demanding it approve passage. In response, the US, which started the war on Iran alongside Israel in February, is maintaining a counter-blockade of Iranian ports while intensifying economic pressure.

Trump’s bizarre social media blitz leaves world guessing ahead of UN address

The annual gathering of the United Nations general assembly has historically been a platform for US presidents to display their most serious face and a positive vision to the world. From Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower to John F Kennedy and Barack Obama, over eight decades US leaders have used the setting to expound on grand themes before a global audience at pivotal moments in international affairs. As world leaders and officials gather in New York for the yearly event, and Donald Trump prepares to address them on Tuesday, how he will contribute to this historic catalog of remarks is a matter of speculation. The US president has spent recent days blitzing social media on a variety of topics, from his planned triumphal arch in Washington to a bid to rebrand artificial intelligence, as he contends with an unpopular war and low approval ratings that threaten to drag down his party in November’s US midterm elections. His previous addresses to the assembly suggest that the chances of a non-divisive and uplifting message are low. Last year, Trump shocked the august gathering in his first appearance since returning to the White House the previous January by declaring to those present that their countries were “going to hell” while launching a full-frontal assault on the UN and the concept of open borders. In 2018, during his first presidency, Trump drew laughter from fellow leaders when he opened his address by claiming: “In less than two years, my administration has accomplished almost more than any other administration in the history of our country.” The previous year, he had attacked longstanding allies, singling out Germany for its energy policy, and declaring that the US “can no longer be taken advantage of, or enter into a one-sided deal where the United States gets nothing in return”. This time around, Trump’s recent social media activities hinted at an even more volatile than usual state of mind from a leader who can be erratic at the best of times. Arguably the most eye-catching was his declaration in an early Sunday morning post that he intended to turn his highly controversial planned arch in Washington DC into a military storage facility, claiming – without providing evidence – that the move was requested by the US military. There was a surfeit of others. A post headlined “His Hemisphere” and depicting Trump gazing at a map of the globe ominously hinted at an imperious tone he could strike, less than nine months after US forces seized the former Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, in his compound in Caracas and spirited him and his wife to New York. The Trump administration has since trumpeted a deal giving it control over a significant segment of Venezuelan oil reserves. In another post, Trump postures as the defender of AI – denouncing recent fears that its rapid development could presage the destruction of the human race. Instead, he painted it as the latest target of “many hoaxes, all generated by the radical left dumocrats, for purposes of destroying our country” and announced his plans for an “AI force”– headed by an “AI Czar” – in the image of the space force, established during his first presidency. “AI is the next Industrial Revolution, or Internet, but will be even larger and more impactful, possibly as much as 25% of our country’s GDP,” he wrote. “We are leading China, and the rest of the world, and I intend to keep it that way.” There is every chance Trump returns to previous themes at the UN on Tuesday. In an echo of his 2018 speech, on Friday he posted a list of his “Top 25 Trump Achievements” since returning to office. Trump’s appearance before the general assembly will be his first before his fateful decision to launch, in tandem with Israel, a war against Iran in February. The conflict – despite his predictions that it would last a few days, and result in the collapse of Tehran’s Islamic regime – shows no signs of ending. The regime still stands. Iran’s closure of the strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that was a conduit to one-fifth of the world’s oil exports before hostilities began, has sent global energy prices soaring and stoked inflation in the US, challenging the prospects of Trump’s Republican party in November’s midterms. Polls show a majority of Americans oppose the war, which has further deflated his approval ratings. Further piquancy to Trump’s political dilemma is likely to be added by the presence of Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, at the UN. While Trump has signaled a willingness to meet his Iranian counterpart, Pezeshkian – a relative pragmatist, under pressure from regime hardliners to stand firm and avoid compromise with an enemy still branded by Tehran as “the great Satan” – is thought unlikely to agree to such an encounter. The sting of being snubbed by an Iranian leadership he likes to depict as “dying to make a deal” could add further fuel to a fiery speech before the general assembly and witnessed by a global audience. Traditionally, US presidential speeches to the UN go through a long drafting process and are subject to reviews by the state department, the Pentagon and the intelligence community, as well as well as fevered last-minute rehearsals. That all may still hold true for this address. Yet equally likely is a no-holds-barred, scattergun diatribe, rehashing the themes of Trump’s recent social media output.

Tuesday briefing: Europe thinks Russia is preparing to test Nato’s limits

Good morning. As the UN general assembly kicks off in New York later today, we anticipate a heavy focus on the ongoing conflicts in Iran, Ukraine and the Gulf – as well as the inevitable body language analysis of Andy Burnham’s first in-person meeting with Donald Trump. But another related conflict is likely to dominate informal discussions: the intensifying acts of sabotage on European states that are believed to trace back to Russia but deliberately fall below the threshold for military response – a so-called hybrid or “shadow war” with the singular purpose of disrupting support for Ukraine. As Vladimir Putin consolidates his grip on power in tightly controlled Russian elections and the Kremlin welcomed further success for the far-right AfD in German state polls yesterday, European intelligence officers have shared with the Guardian their starkest warnings yet about potential Russian attempts to test Nato resolve with an attack on European soil. For today’s newsletter, I spoke to Shaun Walker, our special correspondent for eastern Europe, Ukraine and intelligence matters, about whether Europe is already at war. First, this morning’s headlines. Five big stories Yemen | The UK has agreed to provide defensive air support to Saudi Arabia to help counter Houthi fighters and restore stability in the Middle East while driving down the cost of living at home, Andy Burnham has said, ahead of his first meeting with Donald Trump. Environment | The “jaw-dropping” El Niño currently heating up the planet has burst through the highest temperature ever recorded for the phenomenon, several months before its expected peak. Gaza | Israeli and UK military commanders could be requested to give evidence to an inquest concerning three British aid workers killed in Gaza when aid vehicles they were travelling in were hit by an airstrike. US | After President Trump’s snap decision to ban CNN from the White House, the four other networks that comprise the White House’s TV pool decided they would cease their pooled coverage of the president. Slavery | Bones of the enslaver Edward Colston are likely to remain interred in a church in Bristol if and when the currently unused building is given a new lease of life as a community resource, it has emerged. In depth: The line between peace and war In a series of interviews with Shaun Walker in Prague and Riga, European intelligence bosses from the Czech Republic, Latvia and Sweden raised the possibility of an imminent Russian test of Nato, with one suggesting a potential attack could come in a matter of “months, not years”. These sources were speaking days after Polish prime minister Donald Tusk told his parliament that intelligence assessments suggested Russia might launch an attack with drones or missiles on Nato territory in the coming months. French president Emmanuel Macron has also summoned party leaders for an emergency meeting to discuss similar warnings. When I catch up with Shaun in a taxi on the way to Warsaw airport, he’s still assessing the gravity of these warnings. “One thing you always have to bear in mind when reporting on intelligence is that – because the way spy agencies gain information usually remains secret – you often don’t know if a source is talking about a very specific intercept of a plan that’s almost certainly going to happen, or if it’s less concrete chatter that analysts have put together.” His view is that these concerns are not at the level of early 2022, when American intelligence repeatedly warned Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine and had hard evidence of the Kremlin’s plans (as Shaun revealed here). What did surprise him was his sources’ willingness to be quoted: “Normally I go into these interviews assuming that we’re going to talk off the record. All of these people were happy to be on the record, which does suggest they want to get a message out.” (Quick note, readers: “off the record” is a phrase that reporters in books, films and even real life throw about with abandon, but what does it mean? Say your source tells you about seeing a piece of fruit in a bowl. On the record means you can report that Jill Bloggs told the Guardian exclusively: “There’s a banana in the fruit bowl.” Off the record allows you to use that information to aid your investigation, but you mustn’t reveal where it came from. You can approach other fruit bowl-watchers, to check if they agree with Jill’s sighting. Then you might write: “Several sources with knowledge of the fruit bowl confirmed that a banana was present.” It’s a journalistic convention with no legal consequences, of course.) *** What is this hybrid war and how can Europe fight it? This systematic campaign has developed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four and a half years ago, with common features: designed to seed chaos and anxiety among Ukraine’s allies, while it is often difficult to prove conclusively Russian involvement as Kremlin security services pivot to recruiting local foot soldiers online. Since the beginning of this year, there has been a catalogue of unexplained fires at defence facilities supplying Ukraine in Italy, Bulgaria, Estonia and Slovakia. An explosives-laden drone was discovered next to a Ukrainian cargo plane at Germany’s Leipzig airport. Authorities in Denmark warned Russia is recruiting Danish citizens to sabotage defence firms with ties to Ukraine; in Lithuania, an Ikea was set on fire; and in France, five coffins inscribed with the words “French soldiers in Ukraine” were left under the Eiffel Tower. In the UK, the Rycroft review found online disinformation from hostile foreign states including Russia was warping political discourse when it published in March, while two Russian-linked arsonists who targeted property connected to former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer were jailed in June. Given the recent escalation, it’s not surprising that Shaun observes some EU politicians “getting irritated” with the term ‘hybrid war’, and arguing that such direct attacks amount to more than “grey zone” activity. Although European governments have become much quicker publicly to call out Russian involvement, the challenge for these politicians is deciding what effective measures they can take. After the Leipzig incident, Germany expelled more than 150 Russian diplomats and promised tighter border controls for Russians entering Germany. But the Schengen free movement zone makes this tricky: one of the suspects in the Leipzig incident reportedly entered Europe using an Italian tourist visa. EU sanctions blacklist Russian banks and energy companies, as well as entities in the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and China for helping Moscow evade western restrictions. And there’s a growing willingness among EU nations to clamp down on Russia’s shadow fleet – ships illegally carrying Russian oil and other supplies in the Baltic and North seas. While there are vocal critics who argue these diplomatic and economic measures don’t go far enough, others worry that even more decisive responses would riskdragging the bloc into military escalation. “What Russia is working to is that they know even the most hawkish people in Nato countries would really like to avoid having a direct conflict.” *** What is the mood in Europe? For decades, politicians and analysts in those Baltic states most at risk of Russian aggression have warned western Europe to take that threat more seriously. But that mood has flipped of late, with the secretary general of Estonia’s foreign ministry, Jonatan Vseviov, for example, cautioning against “panic” on social media. These states remain the strongest voices in terms of tangible responses to Russian aggression, but are well aware that the vast majority of Russia’s military capability is tied up in Ukraine. They are also concerned about the impact that a narrative of tanks rolling into Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania has on their societies and economies – which is of course partly the point of concerted Russian psyops. “Somebody put it to me recently – which I thought was the perfect description – that Baltic states prefer western Europe to see it as a chronic rather than an acute problem”. With that in mind, European leaders at the UN in New York this week will be keen to create a united front and wary of interventions from Donald Trump, who has previously dismissed concerns that Russia will strike a Baltic country or other member state to test Nato resolve and repeatedly criticised the alliance. *** Is Europe already at war (and what does that mean)? When Shaun was researching his latest book, The Illegals, about Russia’s deep-cover spies, he waded through archives of KGB documents from the 70s and 80s. They often referred to “the special period”, a Soviet term that described a stage between friendly coexistence and war between communist and capitalist worlds, and was characterised by plans for relentless sabotage. “It sounded a lot like where we are now”, he says. Like Europe, Russia doesn’t want a direct confrontation with the West but it’s clear, adds Shaun, “that their risk appetite is increasing.” The scale of sabotage has led to prominent military voices in the UK and across Europe suggesting that the bloc is already at war – although the very definition of ‘at war’ is now liminal – and that governments ought to be more transparent with their public. Does he agree? Shaun’s one word answer is “no”. The nuance is as follows: “There is a clear campaign from Russia, using methods that are not military, but are pretty aggressive. Some people may consider them as being something close to a war. It’s clearly absolutely nothing like the war in Ukraine.” He suggests that European governments find themselves in a bind domestically. “If they choose to spend on defence rather than social issues, those social issues get worse and voters move to the populist right, the AfD in Germany or Le Pen in France, then you end up with leaders who are very sympathetic to Russia in power.” “There’s a careful path between dismissing this as a fake threat and the kind of alarmist rhetoric that we’re on the path to war and every other issue is secondary.” What else we’ve been enjoying This week, the Guardian is following five Palestinians as they go about their lives, each telling us the story of their day. The latest moving account is from Alaa Hessi, who shares what it’s like to be pregnant in Gaza. Lucinda Everett, newsletters team I learned so many movies by heart in those turbulent adolescent (and younger) years when identities form. So I loved Hannah Marriott’s take on learning Dirty Dancing by heart as a littl’un, and why it’s her feelgood movie as a result. Poppy Noor, newsletters team As someone who has never had the patience (or bladder control) to queue for hours for a front-row concert spot, I was fascinated by Rosalind Adams’ piece about the lengths superfans will go to, to get close to their favourite artists. Lucinda The process of “cuckooing” – where drug gangs take over vulnerable people’s homes – is as terrifying as it sounds, but journalist Max Daly brings another layer to it in his reporting here, that shows the very complex, very human side. Jacqui Housden, newsletters team I loved Rafael Yaghobzadeh’s picture essay about the cold war bunkers in Finland, Sweden and Norway that have been given unlikely second acts as go-kart tracks, swimming pools, children’s soft play centres and more. Lucinda Sport Football | Thomas Tuchel has been rocked by five withdrawals from his England squad because of injuries ahead of the Nations League programme. Football | The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, has agreed to commission an independent governance review after coming under mounting pressure to do so in the wake of the World Cup sale debacle. Cricket | Harry Brook is hopeful that Brydon Carse will break back into his England white-ball teams once the fast bowler is clear of his ongoing disciplinary, describing him as a “very good mate” who is “working on a few things behind the scenes”. The front pages “UK to give support to Saudi jets in bid to counter Houthi fighters”, is the Guardian’s front page today, while the Telegraph says “Burnham sends RAF to help Saudis”, and the Times writes “PM agrees military aid for Saudis over Yemen”. The i Paper has “UK fires torpedo from undersea drone in new warning to Putin” and the FT leads with “Kremlin-aided forgers moved $7bn through global banks”. The Mail leads on “New small boat farce”, the Express splashes “‘More freedom handed to new arrivals than British citizens’”. The Mirror writes “NHS need 55,00 more nurses”. The Sun has “Letby doc: we need a retrial”, and lastly Metro says “Air traffic out of control”. Today in Focus: The Latest Rise of the far right in Germany: how worried should we be? The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has vowed to stay in office despite heavy losses in two state elections that he described as a ‘disaster’. The anti-immigration, Kremlin-friendly Alternative für Deutschland won with 38% of the vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while the leftwing Die Linke was victorious in Berlin. Merz has promised political change, but speculation is growing that his party could soon oust him. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s Berlin correspondent, Deborah Cole. Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad Despite 18 million people in the UK having hearing issues, there is still no dedicated centre for the Deaf community. Now, Amanprit Arnold, an urban planner and activist, is campaigning to create one. The DeafCity Hub would be a national centre for Arnold’s community, as well as a co-working and cultural space, and a home for Deaf-sector charities. It would be designed using deaf-friendly architectural guidelines called DeafSpace principles, which include wide corridors and staircases so people can walk next to each other while talking in BSL. This month, the project has landed a year-long “meanwhile” space (a building awaiting redevelopment), which Arnold hopes “will act as an incubator to develop this idea further.” Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply

Grief, trauma and solidarity as South African running club mourns member killed in wave of femicides

The runners smiled and laughed, congratulating each other on finishing their 5km or 10km Saturday run, their foreheads glistening with sweat in the early morning sun. They helped themselves to water, instant coffee and sugary snacks, provided by waiting volunteers on the lawn outside a gated community of modern apartment blocks, and then stretched out together. But there were sombre moments too, as they mourned one of their own, who had lit up their Saturday runs around Sandton, an upmarket area of Johannesburg. Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo’s body had been found a week earlier, on Saturday 12 September. The 38-year-old went missing three days earlier, after going out for a run alone after work. South Africa has been overwhelmed with shock, anger and grief at the discovery of nine women’s bodies dumped across Ekurhuleni, the municipality adjoining Johannesburg to the east, since 15 July. Six of the women were found in the last two weeks and two still have not been formally identified. Suspects have been arrested in two of the cases. South Africa has one of the world’s highest rates of femicide. Women were killed at a rate of 12.2 per 100,000 people in 2022, nearly six times the global rate, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Across the country, protesters have marched and running clubs have gathered to demand that police and the national government, which declared gender-based violence a national crisis in November 2025, do more to protect women. “This has really affected all of us,” Moselakgomo’s friend Sakane Mokoena said to her fellow runners, as they stood in a circle with their arms around each other’s shoulders. “I really want to thank each and every one of you for honouring Tsontso’s name. She really came and ran with us. She was an amazing lady.” Mokoena then thanked the men who ran with the majority female club, acknowledging that some slowed their pace every week to make sure that no woman was left behind. The group then bowed their heads for a moment’s silence. “It’s traumatic, scary, confusing,” said Sange, a female runner, who only wanted to share her first name. “Before I joined this group, I was running alone for years in this area … in the mornings, early winter mornings, late winter nights, and with music, earphones in my ears. You know, anything could have happened to me.” “There’s no scenario where women are prioritised,” she said. “The government doesn’t take us seriously. The men of South Africa don’t take themselves seriously. They don’t take us seriously. It’s just dangerous to be a woman in South Africa and it’s very sad to be a woman in South Africa.” The club first came back together to run on 15 September, after Moselakgomo’s body was identified by her family. “I think we all needed that Tuesday run, because we were all sad,” said Nokwanda, who has been running with the group since February last year. “And then we met as a community. And after that, I think we are getting there.” She called on all men to take responsibility for violence against women: “We as women have been fighting for our safety. I think it would be nice to see men fighting and not men saying ‘some men’, but standing up for women.” Thabiso, who had volunteered to provide the post-run refreshments instead of running, agreed. “If there’s a message that I can send out to other men is to be better,” he said. “I think as brothers and men, we need to really leave the animalistic ways behind us. There’s much better ways that we can build a society and we need to not be making these women feel like the country’s so bad.” Meanwhile, the families of the murdered women found across Ekurhuleni are still struggling to come to terms with their loss. Ayanda Nano was admitted to hospital in shock at how her cousin, 38-year-old Dineo Motapane, who she had grown up with, was discovered. “The state she was in is what put me in this hospital bed,” Nano, who is now raising Motapane’s two-year-old daughter, told the local Sunday World newspaper. “She was decomposed, like she had been dead for days. It pains me that she left us this way.” At Moselakgomo’s funeral which was broadcast by South Africa’s national TV news channels, her eight-year-old daughter, dressed in a pale pink padded jacket, took the microphone. “Dearest mother, how heartbreaking that you left me,” she said. “The day feels quiet without your voice. But your love is still here, surrounding me with love … Your beautiful daughter loves you so much. She misses you every day. But I know that I have gained a beautiful angel in you. Love your beautiful princess, Khumo.”

Briton due to face Cypriot court after tragic death of two-year-old son

A British father is expected to appear in court in Cyprus accused of “recklessly” causing the death of his two-year-old son, who was fatally injured falling from a fourth-floor window. The 37-year-old, who has not been named publicly, was on the first day of a family holiday in Paphos on 12 July when the toddler died. At 9am on Tuesday, 10 weeks after his son’s death, the distraught City executive will appear before the resort town’s district court to answer a charge that until last week he hoped would be suspended. “My client’s disappointment is obvious,” his lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, told reporters after the island’s top legal official rejected an appeal to discontinue the procedure on humanitarian grounds. “He is not in a good way.” A desperate plea for George Savvides, the attorney general of Cyprus, to intervene was the last hope of a reprieve for a family still reeling from the “unimaginable loss”. “In these exceptional circumstances, we do not believe a continued criminal process serves the public interest,” said Alexandrou. “The focus now should be on [the family’s] welfare and recovery.” The toddler’s father was inconsolable when he appeared in the same courtroom to be formally charged in July. After posting €30,000 (£26,100) in bail to return to the UK to attend the toddler’s funeral in August, the father was forced under threat of extradition to return to Cyprus and surrender his passport by 14 September. In a move that has stirred further debate over the way Cypriot authorities have handled the case, state prosecutors, addressing Paphos’ district court last week, said while Savvides recognised the father’s grief, it was a matter of “public interest” that the criminal proceedings went ahead. If convicted, the defendant, described as a banker at one of the big four accountancy firms, faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison. He now confronts the agonising choice of either pleading not guilty – which will open the way to a trial expected to last months – or entering a guilty plea in the hope that the court will take mitigating circumstances into account at sentencing. In the event of a criminal trial, there could be weeks of high drama at a time when he was still mourning the loss of his son, his lawyer said, adding: “I will have to sit down, explain the procedure, explain where we stand today and what the pros and cons are.” On the eve of the plea hearing, it remained unknown how the defendant would contest the charge of causing his son’s demise “through negligent, reckless or dangerous actions”. The boy, who would have turned three last week, fell from the fourth-floor window at the King Evelthon hotel and resort on the Chlorakas coastline outside Paphos. The father claims he placed him on the windowsill, – along a corridor leading to a lift that his relatives were about to use – not realising the window was ajar. The toddler then fell backwards, suffering fatal cranial injuries when he hit a veranda 10 metres (33ft) below. In a nation so dependent on tourism, criticism has mounted as human rights defenders, media pundits and diplomats have questioned the perceived lack of compassion with which officials have approached the case. While the letter of the law had been adhered to so assiduously by police and court officials, “no one had asked why the window did not have bars”, said a diplomat based in Nicosia, the eastern Mediterranean island’s capital. “It’s perplexing that there’s all this emphasis on the father being a criminal and so little focus on the circumstances in which the boy died,” he added. “Why was there even a window there and why was it open? In a country where permits to build hotels are often lax, these are questions that should not be ignored.” In an editorial last week, the Cyprus Mail echoed that sentiment. “Why are authorities so eager to treat tragic accidents as criminal acts?” it asked, after a similar incident in which the three-year-old son of African immigrants fell to his death from the balcony of his family’s sixth-floor apartment in Nicosia. Like the Briton, his parents were held in custody for several days although they were eventually released without charge. With the prospect of prolonged criminal proceedings in store for the Essex-born executive, debate has intensified over the role of Cyprus’ attorney general, long regarded as one of the most controversial legacies of the island’s former status as a British colony. In his ninth-floor office in the heart of Nicosia, the island’s leading human rights lawyer, Achilleas Demetriades, said the Briton had fallen foul of “an archaic system” that was long overdue an overhaul. Under Cyprus’s post-colonial justice system, such decisions remained entirely at the discretion of the attorney general, he said, and could not be challenged. “Sadly, this man has fallen victim to an archaic system in which one man, the attorney general, has unfettered power which is finally under review,” said Demetriades, a candidate in the last presidential elections. “This certainly raises human rights issues.”

Ukraine war briefing: Sanctions must continue, EU’s top diplomat stresses, as Russian attacks kill five

The EU’s top diplomat has urged member countries to maintain sanctions targeting Russia, as Moscow’s forces continued their attacks on Ukraine, killing at least five people. “Sanctions are a core pillar of our response to Russia’s war”, Kaja Kallas told reporters in New York after a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers. Officials aimed to close talks on a rollover of Russia sanctions soon and have the extension take place swiftly, she said. “We need to have this stability,” with sanctions remaining in place for a longer time, Kallas added on the sidelines of the UN general assembly. She stressed the EU’s position has not changed: “That’s why we are also working on a new package of sanctions.” Discussions on the sanctions are ongoing as some EU member states sought to remove certain individuals from the bloc’s blacklist. EU countries failed on Monday to finalise a deal that involved lifting sanctions on Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman. Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sybiga denounced the move to remove them as “unacceptable” and said it would send Moscow the “wrong signal”. Negotiations are set to continue in Brussels in efforts to extend sanctions on almost 3,000 other individuals and entities over the war as the bloc scrambles to reach a deal ahead of late Tuesday’s deadline. Russian forces continued their attacks on different ⁠Ukrainian regions along the 1,200km frontline on ⁠Monday, killing at least five people, regional officials said. Prosecutors in ⁠north-eastern Kharkiv region said a drone strike on the town of ⁠Lozova killed one person and injured three. Farther south ‌in Dnipropetrovsk region, ‌a drone killed a car driver ‌in Nikopol. In the Donetsk ‌region, a Russian strike badly damaged an apartment building in the strategic Kramatorsk, killing one person, while another person was killed in ⁠a nearby village. A sustained attack on a village in Mykolaiv region killed a three-year-old child. The attacks could not be independently verified. Russian also bombarded Zaporizhzhia overnight to Monday, hitting apartment blocks, a university and a shopping mall, among other sites, and wounding five people, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Donald Trump is expected to press the Ukrainian president on an energy ceasefire during a face-to-face meeting this week, on the sidelines of the UN general assembly, Andrew Roth reports. It comes as world diesel prices have soared due to the war in Iran as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine. Ukraine stepped up its attacks on Russia’s energy sector over the weekend, and the US president said the whole world was suffering due to an energy shortage he said was being exacerbated by the Ukraine war. Russia’s new parliament will include 49 deputies who have taken part in the war against Ukraine, officials said after a landslide victory by the ruling United Russia party in widely criticised elections. Luke Harding reports that the pro-Kremlin party won a record 355 seats in the country’s 450-seat Duma lower house of parliament, according to preliminary figures, further consolidating Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. Escalating infrastructure attacks by both Russia and Ukraine are leaving civilians increasingly vulnerable as winter approaches, UN investigators have warned, expressing fear of a repeat of last winter’s suffering. In a fresh update, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine warned the attacks raised concerns that already difficult living conditions could worsen dramatically with the arrival of winter, as was the case last year. Last winter, Russian forces “continued to launch systematic waves of attacks against Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure as temperatures plunged to minus 20C”, it said in a statement. “Millions of civilians endured prolonged power outages, shortages or lengthy absence of heating.”

Inquest into British aid workers killed in Gaza may call on Israeli and UK military chiefs

Israeli and UK military commanders could be requested to give evidence to an inquest concerning three British workers killed in Gaza when aid vehicles they were travelling in were hit by an airstrike. It is also possible that the inquest into the deaths of John Chapman, 57, Jim Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, may examine whether the weaponry that killed the men was made in the UK. Until now, the focus of the inquest has been on the role played by the aid organisation in charge of the convoy and the security firm that was protecting it. But at a pre-inquest review, Maria Voisin, the senior coroner for Avon, indicated that the scope of the final hearing would probably be widened to include the role of Israeli authorities in the deaths. The coroner said she was “minded” to designate the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the colonel who ordered the strikes, Nochi Mendel, as “interested parties” for the inquest. Interested parties are often relatives of the person who died or an organisation or individual believed to be closely involved in what happened. Israeli military authorities last month said they would not open criminal investigations into the strike which, along with the three Britons, also killed the Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, and one each from Poland, Palestine and the US. The UK, Australian and Canadian governments called the Israeli decision “shameful”. In a written submission to the court, Pete Weatherby KC, for Henderson, compared the case to that of the novichok attack by the Russian state in Salisbury, in which the British woman Dawn Sturgess was killed. In that case, the high court in London ruled the lack of any criminal investigation by the Russian authorities and the strong public concern surrounding the circumstances of Sturgess’s death necessitated the expansion of the scope of the investigation. Lawyers for the three men accepted that it was possible Israel would not cooperate with the inquest but called for UK ministers to try to apply pressure if needed. Another element the families are keen to have investigated is the role the British military may have played in the incident in April 2024. Weatherby’s submission says that a Royal Air Force surveillance plane spent about five hours above Gaza on the day of the attack, seemingly returning to base minutes before the airstrikes were launched. The families want to know what, if any, surveillance the plane gathered about the convoy – and what was shared with the Israeli authorities. The barrister also told the review hearing in Flax Bourton, near Bristol, it was a “matter of public concern” and “great importance to the family” to find out if the weaponry that killed the men was made in the UK. Voisin said she was open minded about which issues the inquest would consider and would keep some under review. “It’s very much a case of throwing the net wide at the moment,” she said. Henderson’s father, Neil Henderson, said in a statement: “We hope the coroner will carry out a thorough investigation into the attack that killed Jim and the others [including] an exploration of all the issues relevant to his death, encompassing the decisions and policies leading to the attack, and what role, if any, UK authorities or military equipment originating from the UK may have played.” Tayab Ali, who is representing the Kirby family, said: “On behalf of the Kirby family they are very pleased that the coroner took onboard their concerns and extended the scope of the inquiry to include those actors that actually caused James’s death.” The scope of the inquiry has also been widened to include inquiries of the IDF and the Israeli defence ministry. It is understood that inquiries will be made of the UK Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems as well. Ali said after Monday’s hearing: “In order for the inquiry to establish the real circumstances of James’s death it’s crucial that information is provided by the Israeli authorities including the IDF and MoD there, that’s the only way we’ll get to the bottom of how and why he was killed.” A further pre-inquest review will take place in March. No date for the final hearing has been set.

Race to be next UN secretary general could rest on US and China trade-offs

Numerous last-minute entrants in the race to become the new UN secretary general are being discussed amid concerns that the world powers may not be able to agree a successor to António Guterres from the current field of seven candidates. Three rounds of secret ballots have so far not produced an obvious frontrunner, with probably only three candidates regarded as still having a realistic chance of gathering the required support. The new leader, due to take office in January, will face an organisation at the start of a cost-cutting overhaul programme and seen as marginal to the major global conflicts. But surveys still show strong international support for the institution among a public that blames world leaders as much as the UN itself for its recent failing. A survey by GeoPoll for the UN Foundation published last week found six out of 10 people trust the UN to deliver on the issues that matter to them, but 85% said they had heard nothing or little about the process to choose a new secretary general. The successful candidate must win the support of nine current members of the 15-strong security council with no veto by any of the five permanent members of the council – France, the UK, China, Russia and the US. Achieving consensus among the permanent five is fraught given the breadth of political divisions. Guterres’s term ends on 31 December. Names being mentioned as potential late drafts include Lana Nusseibeh, the minister of state at the United Arab Emirates and a former UAE ambassador to the UN, and Sigrid Kaag, a former UN under secretary general and Dutch centrist politician. She was briefly the senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza before joining the advisory committee to Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. Other candidates mentioned include Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the polyglot president of Kazakhstan, and, in deference to the US, Viktor Orbán, the former prime minister of Hungary, who is still much admired by Trump but reviled as a disruptive populist by many European leaders. Vuk Jeremić, a Serbian former president of the UN general assembly who came second behind Guterres in the 2016 race, has also been mentioned. None of the speculated candidates have given any public indication they wish to be drafted. A communique at the end of this month’s Brics summit attended by 21 countries, of which 10 are full members, said: “We note that no woman has ever been elected for the role of secretary general, and only one national from Latin America and Caribbean, and only two nationals from Africa and Asia each have ever occupied this position.” Some would also resent a late candidate, regardless of their origin, entering the field since strenuous efforts have been made to democratise the selection process by holding regional and global hustings. The last general assembly president, Annalena Baerbock, has helped spearhead the attempt to open the selection process. But the need to avoid alienating any of the five, internally divided, veto-wielding security council members inevitably incentivises the candidates to issue slightly bland consensus-seeking statements at a time when the organisation needs firm leadership. All the candidates have said they would like to see the UN return to an active role as a peacemaker – a task often demanded by amateur US diplomats close to Trump. In the third and last straw poll of the 15 security council members on Friday, Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica regained the lead after receiving nine “encourage” votes from the security council. She got five “discourage” votes and one “no opinion”. Her fear is that the discourage votes came from Russia and China, an opposition she would need to overcome. In the second straw poll on 21 August she had dropped behind Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, a Guyanese politician who then came first – receiving eight encourage votes, three discourage and four no opinions. Last Friday, Rodrigues-Birkett maintained the eight encourage votes, but her discourage votes had risen from three to six. A third candidate, the Ecuadorian former finance minister María Fernanda Espinosa, is just about still a viable contender despite the numbers discouraging her reaching six last week, up from three in August. She has been calling for an early warning system inside the UN to help prevent wars, and for a secretary general more willing to take risks in mediation. It will not be until later in the process – when colour-coded balloting reveals if a vote is from a permanent member of the security council or not – that it will be clear whether a candidate faces an insurmountable barrier. In reality the decision may turn on the horse-trading between the US president and the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and whether Trump accepts that China cares more about the UN’s future than him, and that may mean accepting a candidate that China wants and the US can tolerate. The Trump administration appears to have softened some of its scepticism towards the UN under the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz. The US not only provided $1.8bn (£1.35bn) in additional humanitarian funding in March but also recently sent $827m in dues, admittedly less than a quarter of what it owes the cash-strapped organisation. Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile and a human rights campaigner, became the first candidate to drop out of the race at the weekend after she received only one encouragement in last week’s poll.