• Trump threatens further action as US and Iran exchange fire in new flare-up | 2026-08-31
  Washington says it acted after observing Iran was planning to deploy fresh mines in strait of HormuzThe US and Iran have exchanged fire for the first time in a month, with missiles and drones fired at Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the strait of Hormuz, and Iran targeting US military bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in response.The US president, Donald Trump, on Monday threatened further action. The US is to trying to prise open Tehran’s grip on shipping going through the strait, which before the war accounted for a fifth of the world’s seaborne energy supply. Washington claimed that Iranian control over the waterway had been loosened by repeated US attacks on Iranian missile launchers and radars. Continue reading...
• John Healey calls on counterparts to ‘step up’ as he arrives at first G20 summit | 2026-08-31
  The Chancellor urged a need to ‘step up international co-operation’ to tackle a ‘number of challenges’ including the Middle East and energy prices.
• BoE’s Bailey warns AI models could disrupt financial markets | 2026-08-31
  - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned Monday that advanced artificial intelligence models could trigger a disorderly correction in global financial markets.
• Xi arrives for SCO summit, Putin meeting as regional bloc pushes back on US dominance | 2026-08-31
  The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit gets underway in Kyrgyzstan, with the leaders of China and Russia attending. But first: the US hosts G20 finance ministers, while America's massive debt may be painting its new central banker into a corner.
• Bessent Takes US Growth Agenda Message to G20 Summit in Asheville | 2026-08-31
  US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s interventionist summer has already led to pushback and questions about his credibility in financial markets. Now he faces a test with global peers.
• Iran hostilities flare after US strike in strait of Hormuz; supertanker hits mines and catches fire – Middle East crisis live | 2026-08-31
  US targets Iran’s Larak Island in first exchange of fire in more than a month, sparking reprisals against US forces in the regionUS strikes Iranian launchers in strait of Hormuz, prompting Iranian retaliatory attacksIn making the sanctions threat last Monday, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced an initial set of sanctions on 60 individuals, entities and vessels for alleged involvement in trade with Iran, but there were no Chinese financial institutions on the list, despite their involvement in financing the Iranian oil trade. The omission reflected US caution.Asked why the Trump administration had not declared immediate sanctions and had stopped short of naming potential sanctions targets, Bessent replied: “Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?” Continue reading...
• Bessent Urges G20 Nations to Rethink China Trade Ties as $1.2 Trillion Surplus Fuels Imbalances: 'The World Cannot Have a...' | 2026-08-31
  Scott Bessent urges G20 nations to rethink China trade ties, warning its $1.2 trillion surplus is fueling global economic imbalances.
• U.S. Treasury blocks certain reporters from G20 meeting | 2026-08-31
  U.S. Treasury blocks WSJ, Bloomberg, NYT reporters from G20 finance summit coverage in North Carolina
• Russia, China leaders to meet at Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit | 2026-08-31
  The organisation is not officially anti-West, but Russian and Chinese leaders have used it to amplify their worldview.
• Army Secretary Resigns After Months of Friction With Hegseth | 2026-08-31
  Dan Driscoll had a close relationship with ousted Army chief of staff.
• With US bill's fate in balance, Ukraine to lobby US on Russia sanctions | 2026-08-31
  Ukraine's top sanctions ​official will visit Washington this week to urge members of the U.S. House of Representatives to back ‌sweeping Russia sanctions legislation that sailed through the Senate but faces stiff opposition from some powerful Democrats.
• Taiwan’s Drone Realism | 2026-08-31
  The island spends more to defend itself, but U.S. arms are in limbo.
• India's Modi Calls on Putin to End War in Ukraine | 2026-08-31
  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on President Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s war in Ukraine during a meeting in Kyrgyzstan. Putin responded that "we're moving in this direction." The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. (Source: Bloomberg)
• Putin and Xi affirm strategic alliance amid ‘unpredictable’ world | 2026-08-31
  The Russian and Chinese leaders met on the sidelines of the SCO summit.
• Europeans bristle at Russia's return to G20 | 2026-08-31
  European financial ministers and officials bristled on Monday over Russia's participation at the G20 finance meeting, with Germany's finance minister ​saying there could be no normalisation of relations with Moscow while its ‌war against Ukraine continued.
• India’s PM Modi urges end to Ukraine war in talks with Russia’s Putin | 2026-08-31
  India’s PM Narendra Modi told Russian President Putin that India supports every effort to end the war in Ukraine.
• India's Modi tells Russia's Putin that the war in Ukraine must end for humanity's sake  | 2026-08-31
  Indian Prime ‌Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that the war in Ukraine needed to end for humanity's sake and that New Delhi would support every peace effort to stop the ​fighting.
• Russia fires 800 jet-powered drones into Ukraine in four days | 2026-08-31
  Kyiv endures daytime strikes and air raid alerts as forces attempt to hold back new, high-speed Shahed dronesKyiv is enduring hours of daytime air raids and air raid warnings as Russia has fired 800 jet-powered drones into Ukraine in four days, using the faster weapons to sustain prolonged waves of attacksThe new-model Shahed drones have a cruising speed of 200mph to 250mph, which is – about double the 115mph achieved by the piston-engine version and beyond the speed of Ukraine’s cheap interceptors, making them harder to stop. Continue reading...
• Putin unleashes new fury on Ukraine as report exposes fear hanging over war’s end | 2026-08-31
  Russia launched nearly 1,500 drones in four days as Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Moscow aims to exhaust Ukraine, with daytime attacks now disrupting Kyiv.
• France to supply Sweden with 4 frigates to bolster the NATO country’s defense | 2026-08-31
  France and Sweden have signed agreements for France to supply the Nordic country with four modern frigates.

News source: finlight