BRICS Agreed to Build Payment Alternatives in New Delhi

Frame the Globe News

At the BRICS summit held in New Delhi on September 12, 2026, an official technical mandate was set up to enable local-currency settlements and link the payment systems of its eleven member states. The move is intended as a way of decreasing reliance on Western financial infrastructure after the €210 billion in assets of Russian central banks had been frozen. Because of the geopolitical concerns caused by unilateral sanctions, the finance ministries have been looking for alternative channels for cross-border payments and for deposit services.

There are, nevertheless, serious internal disagreements within the group, especially between the strategic rivals India and China, as well as differences between the various countries concerning the adoption of currency. While India is advocating the use of its Unified Payments Interface in order to reduce transaction costs, China is aiming at extending the international usage of the renminbi. As a result, there arises operational friction. In the end, the creation of a single 'BRICS Pay' system is hampered by the absence of common clearing houses, capital controls, and liquid hedging markets. It is therefore the dollar that still holds the position of being used for international trade invoicing and in the legal infrastructure.

Only China, India, and Russia Can End the Iran War

Foreign Policy | Amir Handjani

The fact that Washington is depending on China, India, and Russia to bring about an end to the war in Iran shows a significant change in Middle Eastern diplomacy, since the United States can no longer achieve a peaceful settlement by itself. Western sanctions and military deterrence have not been able to secure the special diplomatic and economic influence that these three major powers have over Tehran.

The fact that the United States is now dependent on diplomatic means arises from the fact that it has reached the limit of its ability to act alone and has therefore had to depend on the major powers in order to achieve stability in the region. Beijing, New Delhi and Moscow have established important energy partnerships and diplomatic links with the Iranian government which Washington does not have. Cooperation among the great powers is still the only feasible option. In the end, the course that the conflict will take will depend on whether these opposing countries decide to use their combined influence to reduce tensions in the region or else take advantage of the current instability to systematically diminish American influence in the Middle East.

Afghanistan fell one checkpoint at a time

Danish Institute for International Studies | David Mansfield

The Afghan Republic collapsed in August 2021 due to a decentralised roadblock political economy that hollowed out state institutions while funding the Taliban insurgency. Five strategic Taliban checkpoints on arterial highways generated US$245 million annually by taxing commercial transport, including NATO supply convoys. This illicit revenue stream easily eclipsed the group's annual earnings of US$35 million from drugs and US$22 million from minerals.

In contrast, corrupt government officials and provincial powerholders siphoned US$650 million annually through 180 domestic checkpoints, while border crossing corruption cost the Ministry of Finance another US$767 million. The state was financially self-sabotaging. Following their takeover, the Taliban immediately centralised fiscal control by dismantling these local checkpoints and restoring 24/7 border operations to secure national revenues. Any resurgence of internal roadblocks under the current regime will signal that their centralised political authority is beginning to fracture.

An Appraisal of the Taliban’s Return

E-International Relations | Grant Farr

The Taliban has consolidated its governance over Afghanistan since seizing Kabul on August 15, 2021, defying widespread expectations of an imminent collapse. Despite severe international isolation, the regime maintains firm control through strict enforcement of Islamic law, which has severely restricted women's rights and triggered International Criminal Court arrest warrants for supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada.

This domestic stability is underpinned by a marked reduction in active conflict and systemic corruption, which previously drained over 1.4 billion dollars annually at border checkpoints under the former Republic. However, the humanitarian situation remains dire. Over 90 per cent of the population faces acute poverty. This crisis is exacerbated by the 2025 halt of United States aid and the forced repatriation of 3.4 million refugees from Pakistan and Iran since 2023. Poverty is rampant. While the National Resistance Front poses no immediate threat, the regime's survival depends on managing these compounding economic shocks.

Trump and Xi Can’t Stop the U.S.-China Spiral

Foreign Affairs | Orville Schell

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping remain unable to halt the deteriorating geopolitical spiral between their nations through personalist diplomacy and high-level summitry. This persistent bilateral friction defies deep-seated expectations among observers that skilled executive leadership can decisively resolve intractable international deadlocks. Historical precedents drive these high expectations.

During the twentieth century, landmark diplomatic achievements—such as the 1945 unconditional surrenders of Germany and Japan, the 1949 creation of NATO, and the 1962 resolution of the Cuban missile crisis—accustomed Americans to decisive diplomatic breakthroughs. Furthermore, the landmark arms-control agreements negotiated by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s reinforced the belief that personalist diplomacy could wind down intense systemic rivalries. Ultimately, the structural forces driving the current Sino-American confrontation limit the efficacy of summitry, rendering personal relationships between leaders insufficient to bridge deep ideological and strategic divides.

The US Can Slow Down AI and Stay Ahead of China

American Enterprise Institute | Hal Brands

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and United States officials are preparing to address artificial intelligence safety during bilateral talks in Washington amid growing fears of recursive self-improvement in frontier models. While some American executives advocate for a coordinated global slowdown, unilateral US restraint risks ceding a critical technological advantage to Beijing.

To prevent strategic self-harm, Washington is weighing diplomatic engagement against coercive pressure to secure Chinese compliance. One proposal involves negotiating mutual limits through a dialogue led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. However, Beijing views these proposals as a Cold War containment strategy. Alternatively, the US could tighten export-control regimes to restrict semiconductor manufacturing equipment and close cloud-computing loopholes. This unilateral pressure aims to starve Chinese labs of necessary computing power. Such coercion carries severe economic risks. China would likely retaliate with rare-earth export controls, collapsing the fragile bilateral détente and escalating geopolitical tensions.

We can’t delay: China’s malign alignment needs U.S. prioritization

George W. Bush Presidential Center | Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau, Joseph Kim

China’s growing military, economic, and technological dominance in 2026 demands an immediate, sustained United States policy shift prioritising the Indo-Pacific to counter Beijing's regional ambitions. This strategic pivot is increasingly urgent as China anchors a loose, malign alignment with Russia, Iran, and North Korea, collectively known as CRINK.

These adversarial nations exploit fragmented American attention across global hotspots to advance their interests. The strategic environment is also profoundly different because China is not operating in isolation. Instead, CRINK exhibits growing collaboration that has real geopolitical, diplomatic and strategic outcomes. For instance, in the unprovoked war on Ukraine, North Korea has supplied Russia with troops and munitions, while Iran has shipped drone technology. Meanwhile, Beijing has provided economic lifelines and dual-use technology to both Moscow and Tehran. Prioritisation is essential. Washington must leverage its democratic values and regional alliances, such as AUKUS and the Quad, to execute this shift. Ultimately, the U.S. must sustain its long-promised Asian focus.

Memory Chip Shortage Requires Investment and Teamwork

Real Clear Defense | Jeff Ferry

Artificial intelligence data centres across the United States face a critical bottleneck due to a global memory chip shortage. This supply deficit has driven the price of basic 64-gigabyte memory packs up by 450 per cent in a single year, threatening both critical national security infrastructure and everyday consumer electronics.

To mitigate this crisis, the United States is leveraging the 2022 CHIPS Act to subsidise domestic manufacturing facilities. Micron Technology is directing a $200 billion investment into Idaho and New York, while South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix construct advanced facilities in Texas and Indiana. These domestic fabrication plants require years to build. Consequently, Washington seeks to collaborate with allies in Seoul and Tokyo to maintain access to overseas fabrication facilities in the interim. This allied cooperation is vital to counter heavily subsidised Chinese competitors like ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technology Company. Establishing this resilient supply chain remains essential for long-term technological leadership.

Ron Paul: The Crippling Effects Of Unnecessary War

Eurasia Review | Ron Paul

California gas stations are facing unprecedented diesel shortages and prices are capped at $9.99 per gallon, triggering severe inflationary pressures across the United States freight and transport sectors. President Donald Trump has blamed these energy disruptions on Ukrainian military strikes targeting Russian energy infrastructure, which are reportedly guided by United States intelligence targeting data.

This domestic fuel crisis is further exacerbated by geopolitical friction in the Middle East, where Iran maintains operational control over the critical Strait of Hormuz maritime chokepoint. Energy security remains highly vulnerable. Yemen-based Houthi forces recently degraded global supply lines by striking Saudi Arabia's East-West bypass pipeline, compounding the economic fallout of these overlapping conflicts. Despite warnings from former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard regarding Iranian retaliatory capabilities, executive-led military interventions continue to bypass congressional war-making authorities, severely damaging the domestic economy and exposing the limits of American military deterrence.

AI regulation faces deadlock as calls grow for Congress to act

BBC | Brandon Drenon, Kali Hays

President Donald Trump has ignored the increasing demands for federal artificial intelligence safeguards, describing concerns about existential risks as a hoax and thus having effectively halted the progress of legislation in a Congress controlled by the Republicans. Several bipartisan safety bills are now blocked by this presidential resistance as members of parliament get ready to go on recess for the November midterm elections. The deadlock in the legislature shows the extent of the ideological split concerning the balance between technological innovation and national security.

The Democratic Representative Lori Trahan is in favour of the Frontier Act, which would require independent audits of research laboratories, while Republican leaders support corporate self-regulation. This difference in policy is clear and obvious. As a result, companies such as Anthropic have full control over the deployment of their models, a situation which has caused concern among those who advocate for safety about the possibility of catastrophic risks going unaddressed. At the same time, the White House is still protecting its voluntary evaluation scheme from public examination, thereby making it more difficult to set up a standardised and legally based system of governance. Since Congress is due to go into recess, there is very little chance of any federal legislative action taking place before the end of the year.

Nuclear Statecraft: The Saudi Deal and U.S.-China Competition

Center for Strategic and International Studies | Heather Williams, Jane Nakano

On August 24, 2026, the Trump administration submitted a landmark civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress, initiating a 90-day review process under the Atomic Energy Act. The controversial "123 Agreement" could grant Riyadh uranium enrichment capabilities, positioning the United States to counter growing Chinese and Russian influence in the Middle Eastern energy sector.

This strategic move addresses Saudi Arabia's long-term economic diversification goals. Nuclear energy offers vital desalination solutions for the water-scarce kingdom. However, the deal introduces severe regional proliferation risks. It could trigger a regional nuclear race, particularly if Iran's program remains active. The agreement also lacks the International Atomic Energy Agency's "Additional Protocol" for enhanced inspections, potentially weakening global nonproliferation norms. Furthermore, it may prompt the United Arab Emirates and South Korea to renegotiate their own restrictive U.S. nuclear cooperation terms, complicating Washington's broader nonproliferation framework across both regions.

Photos show widespread damage at US sites from Iranian attacks

BBC | Kayla Epstein, Bernd Debusmann Jr

Photos made public by CBS News today display severe damage to a number of United States military bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait caused by attacks carried out by Iran. The photographs show trailers that have been flattened, buildings that have been destroyed, and a Boeing E-3 Sentry early-warning aircraft which has been cut off at Prince Sultan Air Force Base. The level of physical damage is in line with a report by a Pentagon watchdog indicating that hundreds of buildings in the Middle East have been affected.

The total value of the lost equipment has now reached $3.7 billion, prompting the military to consider replacing systems that are no longer being produced with more up-to-date ones like the E-7. By June, the overall cost of the war had amounted to $33.4 billion. Because of this, shifting key resources from the Indo-Pacific area to address Iran has lowered the military's state of readiness with respect to both China and Russia. This strategic problem has arisen at the same time as greater domestic political pressure on the Trump administration, reaching its peak with a third vote in the House to halt unauthorized military actions.

New Details On How Space Force Has Waged Electronic Warfare Against Iran

The War Zone | Joseph Trevithick

The United States Space Force deployed the 42nd Electromagnetic Warfare Combat Detachment to execute critical non-kinetic fires against Iranian targets during Operation Epic Fury earlier this year. Operating under direct missile attack, forward-deployed Guardians successfully reconfigured ground-based weapon systems to wage electromagnetic warfare, protecting friendly forces and denying adversary capabilities.

This operational debut of offensive space capabilities in an active combat zone highlights the vulnerability of traditional forward bases to concentrated missile and drone barrages. Space is now an active combat zone. Consequently, the joint force is re-evaluating its reliance on vulnerable surface infrastructure, exploring subterranean command facilities, and shifting certain command functions to remote locations. Furthermore, the conflict has intensified debates over physical base hardening and the rapid proliferation of space-based targeting capabilities to regional adversaries like Iran and global competitors like China. Finally, the Space Force is incorporating critical lessons regarding force reconstitution in combat environments and logistics coordination with U.S. Transportation Command.

A Periphery Without a Core: The Mecca Agreement and Europe’s Absence from the Middle East

Egmont Institute | Sven Biscop, Bernard Siman

The Mecca Agreement highlights a significant decline in European strategic influence across the Middle East and the Gulf, marking a departure from Europe's historical role as a dominant regional player. This diplomatic development underscores how European powers have increasingly become sidelined in a geographically vital zone that contains key resources.

Historically, European strategy focused on securing critical regional resources and safeguarding essential maritime and land lines of communication extending to Central, South, and East Asia. To prevent rival powers from dominating these trade routes, European nations historically relied on direct domination or strategic alliances with the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. Europe is not a player. Today, however, this traditional influence has completely eroded, leaving Europe largely absent from contemporary regional security architectures. This strategic withdrawal represents a dangerous aberration in the historical pattern of European foreign policy, leaving the entire continent highly vulnerable to shifts in the regional balance of power.

Trump hits out at US central bank's decision to hike interest rates - follow live

BBC News  |  Michael Race, Francisco Velasquez

The Federal Reserve unanimously raised US interest rates on September 16, 2026, to a range of 3.75%–4% from 3.5%–3.75%, marking the central bank's first rate increase in over three years. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh cited elevated inflation fueled by surging global oil prices amidst the US-Israel war with Iran as the core driver for the decision.

The monetary tightening occurred despite fierce public resistance from President Donald Trump, who demanded borrowing costs be slashed to 1% or lower to stimulate domestic economic growth. Consequently, the US dollar index surged to 100.27—its highest level since August—while major stock market indexes declined as investors anticipated prolonged high interest rates. Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, criticized the rate hike as proof of economic mismanagement, framing rising consumer costs as a pivotal issue for upcoming congressional midterm elections. Further analysis on the political fallout and macroeconomic trajectory remains available here.

Answer Saudi Arabia: Israel must take the opportunity presented by the Houthi attack - editorial

The Jerusalem Post | Staff Writer

Israel and Saudi Arabia have initiated US-mediated talks through US Central Command to coordinate intelligence sharing aimed at defending Saudi territory against Iran-backed Houthi forces. This security cooperation follows recent Houthi advances around the strategic Bab al-Mandab maritime chokepoint, where the group has blocked Saudi vessels and targeted critical oil infrastructure.

The escalating threat has severely disrupted international shipping and damaged activity at Israel's Port of Eilat, prompting Riyadh to seek external military assistance from both Britain and the United States. While direct American military intervention remains stalled, Jerusalem views intelligence cooperation as a prudent mechanism to contain Iranian regional encirclement without committing ground forces to Yemen. The strategic stakes are high. Although full diplomatic normalisation remains complicated by the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, strengthening the CENTCOM coordination architecture allows both nations to counter Tehran's proxy network through shared maritime and intelligence interests.

Central Asia Walls Off as Russian Fuel Dries Up

Jamestown Foundation | Sertaç Canalp Korkmaz

Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries, including the July 6 attack on the Omsk plant reported by Meduza, have knocked out over a quarter of Russia's refining capacity, triggering a severe fuel crisis across Central Asia. This disruption has forced Moscow to halt exports and seek imports, leaving import-dependent Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan facing acute shortages.

Historically reliant on cheap Russian refined energy to power their economies, these landlocked nations are struggling to secure alternative supplies as winter approaches. Regional fuel export bans are expanding. Kazakhstan is extending its strict fuel export ban through May 2027, while Uzbekistan draws down domestic reserves and Kyrgyzstan secures marginal fuel contracts with China and Belarus. Meanwhile, the ongoing U.S.–Iran conflict has throttled the Strait of Hormuz, doubling jet fuel prices and compounding the regional aviation fuel squeeze. This dual shock threatens to escalate into a systemic winter energy crisis as household heating and electricity demands surge.

Eleven nations, zero trust: The great BRICS delusion

Washington Examiner | David W. Wang

The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi convened leaders from the expanded eleven-nation bloc to challenge G7 dominance by advocating for a multipolar global order. This diplomatic gathering highlighted the group's growing physical mass but exposed severe structural vulnerabilities that prevent it from projecting unified geopolitical power. Trust remains entirely absent.

While the joint declaration issued in New Delhi emphasizes a shift away from Western-led financial and political systems, deep-seated institutional deficiencies undermine these aspirations. Specifically, the bloc lacks the modernized, load-bearing legal and administrative frameworks necessary to sustain a cohesive international coalition. Consequently, the alliance functions more as a fragile diplomatic bubble than a robust counterweight to established Western institutions. Without fundamental structural reforms, these persistent internal divisions and institutional deficits will continue to limit the bloc's collective ability to enact coordinated economic policies or challenge the existing global financial architecture.

Why Existential AI Fears Have Hit a Crescendo

Foreign Policy  |  Jacob Coxon

Artificial intelligence safety concerns have reached unprecedented urgency as frontier developers including OpenAI and Anthropic rapidly advance powerful models under intensifying geopolitical competition. Escalating fears over catastrophic risks, uncontrolled capability gains, and potential existential threats are driving high-stakes policy debates between industry leaders like Dario Amodei and Sam Altman and key government officials.

The second Trump administration faces mounting strategic pressure to establish enforceable regulatory frameworks while simultaneously preserving national technological superiority over foreign strategic rivals. Structural commercial dynamics within the technology sector have accelerated competitive pressures, pushing leading laboratories to prioritize rapid model deployment over exhaustive safety evaluations. Consequently, global governance initiatives remain highly fragmented, leaving international institutional oversight mechanisms ill-equipped for sovereign autonomous risks or dual-use capability proliferation. Moving forward, the evolving intersection of national security directives, domestic legislative action, and private sector incentives will determine whether existential risk mitigation can effectively coexist with aggressive technical expansion.

What is AI, how does it work and why are some people concerned about it?

BBC

The rapid proliferation of generative artificial intelligence systems, led by OpenAI's ChatGPT and Chinese rival DeepSeek, has triggered a global regulatory race as governments scramble to manage the technology's massive environmental footprint and societal risks. Data centres powering these advanced models consume vast quantities of energy and water, forcing tech giants to reconsider infrastructure projects in drought-prone regions like Chile.

To address these mounting challenges, the European Union has enacted the landmark Artificial Intelligence Act to ban high-risk applications and enforce strict compliance standards. In contrast, China has bound its generative AI developers to strict state censorship laws while mandating data transparency. Regulatory approaches remain deeply fragmented globally. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom and the United States have eschewed immediate legislation, opting instead to collaborate through the UK's independent AI Security Institute to develop robust, joint testing methodologies for frontier models.

A backlash over data centres is another threat to the AI juggernaut

BBC | Faisal Islam

Data centres powering artificial intelligence are triggering a severe political and environmental backlash across the United States and the United Kingdom due to soaring local electricity prices, high water consumption, and noise pollution. This growing public opposition now threatens to disrupt upcoming US midterm elections and derail national technology strategies.

At the core of this friction is the massive resource footprint of AI infrastructure, which requires continuous power and cooling systems that strain local municipal grids. Local communities bear the immediate costs. In response, US politicians like Senator Bernie Sanders and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are demanding construction moratoriums and stripping tax breaks, while the UK Labour government faces legal challenges from groups like Foxglove despite designating data centres as Critical National Infrastructure. Ultimately, balancing the UK's target of expanding capacity threefold to 6 gigawatts by 2030 against net-zero commitments and local sovereignty remains a critical unresolved tension.

AI Safety Needs Stop Rules, Not A General Slowdown – OpEd

Eurasia Review | Burak Oktenli

President Donald Trump and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have presented contrasting approaches to the artificial intelligence race, balancing the preservation of United States technological leadership against the necessity of pacing frontier model development. This debate highlights the tension between maintaining geopolitical competitiveness and managing the existential risks of rapid, unconstrained AI capability growth.

Rather than implementing a crude general slowdown, a transition-specific stop rule offers a workable middle ground by freezing specific permissions, deployments, or autonomous capabilities when safety evidence fails. Under this framework, independent external evaluators would possess the authority to delay or block transitions, such as expanding a model's external system access, if containment assumptions are breached. Restarting these experiments would require concrete evidence addressing the specific failure rather than relying on the passage of time or improved aggregate benchmarks. Containment remains the priority. This granular approach prevents industry-wide stagnation while securing critical safety boundaries.

2026 NASCIO-Deloitte Cybersecurity Study

Deloitte Insights | Meredith Ward, Mike Wyatt

Deloitte Insights has launched its digital platform interface featuring a suite of proprietary research portfolios, including the 2026 Global Human Capital Trends and Tech Trends 2026. This centralised hub provides public and private sector organisations with strategic analysis across diverse industries, such as government, telecommunications, and financial services.

The platform serves as a critical resource for state and local government entities seeking data-driven operational guidance. Through specialised research hubs like the Centre for Government Insights, the publication delivers targeted analyses on defence, security, justice, and infrastructure. Additionally, the platform integrates interactive learning tools, offering professional development through Dbriefs webcasts. The portal offers CPE credits. These resources collectively aim to assist decision-makers in translating organisational aspirations into practical, actionable strategies amidst evolving technological and economic landscapes. Ultimately, the portal facilitates continuous executive education and cross-industry strategic planning.

Black Sea USVs Driving Adoption in Caspian

Jamestown Foundation | Turan Darishov

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s recent inspection of locally produced SALVO and KAYRA unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) marks a significant escalation in the militarisation of the Caspian Sea. Developed through a joint venture between Azerbaijan's MIRAS Military-Industrial Company and Türkiye’s DEARSAN Shipyard, these platforms introduce advanced strike and kamikaze capabilities to a historically quiet maritime theater.

This rapid technological adoption stems directly from Ukraine's successful asymmetric campaign against Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which demonstrated how low-cost, expendable naval drones can neutralise conventional warships. Consequently, littoral states are shifting their focus toward coastal defence, maritime security, and infrastructure protection. Regional naval doctrines are changing rapidly. While Kazakhstan and Russia's Caspian Flotilla have integrated anti-USV drills into their training, Iran's domestic manufacturing of the Ya Mahdi platform ensures that unmanned systems will dominate future Caspian security dynamics, reinforcing a broader regional shift toward defensive and asymmetric maritime operations.

Capital Must Become Capability

Real Clear Defense | Ryan P. McDermott

United States Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg’s August 18 cost-transparency directive has sparked intense industry concern by demanding deeper access to contractor financial systems. Critics like Bill Greenwalt warn this regulatory overreach risks driving critical commercial technology firms and private capital away from the defence sector.

The policy aims to prevent overpricing where competition is weak, but applying rigid cost-accounting rules universally threatens to dismantle decades of acquisition reform. Capital has alternatives. Consequently, the Pentagon must distinguish between price discipline for sole-source contracts, market discipline for commercial innovation, and capital discipline to prevent financial fragility in lower-tier supply chains. Slow cash flow at the prime contractor level quickly cascades downward, turning working capital constraints into physical production bottlenecks. Ultimately, the military's ability to scale weapons manufacturing depends on aligning its payment practices with the diverse financial models of its suppliers.