Zohran Mamdani on Ireland:

I believe in self-determination. That should be extended to the Irish, and it is for them to decide, 26 plus 6, what it answers.

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez:

Some attempt to interfere in the domestic affairs of Venezuela.

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez:

For all too long, we were a divided country where the color of a party flag held more weight than the common surname we all share. That is the name "Venezuelan."

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez:

I am delighted to announce that Venezuela has begun a process of democratic transition to ensure its rebirth.

This is an orderly, institutional, and verifiable process to build a country that is freer for all, more prosperous, and more at peace with itself.

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez:

In Venezuela, there will be elections.

We’ve begun a political dialogue with sectors of the opposition, which will lead to a process where everyone will compete on an equal footing.

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez:

The Venezuelan people, with its age-old wisdom, will determine when the correct time for the elections is.

Trump told Venezuela’s Delcy Rodriguez that the country ultimately needs to hold elections, but did not press for a specific date during their first meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Some officials believe 2028 may be more realistic, though a 2027 vote remains possible.

Trump told Rodriguez: “You have to have elections at the end of the day.”

Source: Axios

Trump:

The story that the White House, or me, want to affix my name to Ford’s Theatre, in Washington, D.C., where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, is a ridiculous lie. It is FAKE NEWS!

Canadian PM Mark Carney said he examined the possibility of U.S.-led military action against Canada, calling it an “extreme tail risk.”

“I think you have a responsibility in these roles to look at extreme tail risk,” Carney told The New York Times. “That’s not a base case, but it would be irresponsible not to [prepare].”

Carney also said Canada is looking to reduce reliance on Elon Musk’s Starlink and is considering alternatives to buying a full fleet of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets.

Despite worsening trade tensions, Carney said he and Trump speak “frequently.”

Source: NYT

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 23 to discuss easing tensions between the two countries.

They agreed to keep communication channels open and discussed peace efforts in Europe and the Middle East.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Iranian customs data show about 1,300 shipments of Chinese dual-use components to Iran’s Defense Ministry this year through June, including electronics, motors, GPS equipment and aircraft parts that can be used in drones and missiles.

Shipments accelerated after the U.S. blockaded Iranian sea trade, with sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air sharply increasing cargo flights from China.

Chinese companies have also supplied chemicals used in ballistic-missile production, while U.S. officials have sanctioned Chinese and Hong Kong entities accused of helping Iran obtain weapons and military technology.

Despite this, the Trump administration has largely avoided directly confronting Beijing. Trump has said he trusts Xi and questioned how much China is enabling Iran, while officials have played down Chinese assistance ahead of Trump’s summit with Xi.

China denies improperly supporting Iran’s war effort, saying it follows international rules, regulates dual-use exports and opposes unilateral U.S. sanctions.

Source: WSJ

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez:

Over the last eight years, my country has opposed all wars of aggression wherever they have started, whether it's in Ukraine, in Lebanon or in Iran.

We have refused to increase our military spending to 5% of GDP, and we've done everything possible to avoid aggressions that run counter to the UN Charter — placing sanctions on the Russian aggressors, imposing an arms embargo on the Netanyahu government in Israel, and prohibiting the use of our territory to deploy an aggression that was against international law, and unequivocally condemning the genocide that Netanyahu is still perpetrating in Gaza.

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez:

We must impose strict regulations on the tech oligarchs who control the functioning of social networks and the development of artificial intelligence, because at the end of the day, the future of our children is more important than the pockets of these tech oligarchs.

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez:

We must strengthen bodies like the International Criminal Court so that they can investigate, prosecute and punish those that break the rules.

It took humanity centuries to replace "might is right" with the rule of law. And we must not be the generation that backtracks on this.

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez:

How can an organization that claims to speak on behalf of the whole of humanity never have had a woman leading the organization?

The time has come for a woman from Latin America to become United Nations Secretary-General.

This is a historic debt that we must settle.

NEW: A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore White House press access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, ruling the ban was likely unconstitutional.

Judge Tim Kelly ordered the press passes restored immediately and blocked the ban for 14 days, rejecting the national security argument.

Source: Reuters

A fire broke out at a ground-based Starlink satellite station in Poland’s Masovian region on Wednesday evening.

The station provided connectivity for Poland and Ukraine, including Ukrainian military users.

Source: Reuters

El Mundo reports that U.S. intelligence has warned several European governments that Russia may be preparing a drone operation against Spain, France or Italy.

According to the report, Russia could launch Gerbera drones from merchant ships in the Mediterranean, potentially hidden in containers.

The drones have a range of up to 600 km and carry relatively small explosive payloads, making them more suited to disrupting airports, ports or military facilities than causing large-scale destruction.

Lithuania, Spain, France and Italy were reportedly briefed after CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow on August 25, where he was said to have warned Russia against attacks or provocations targeting NATO.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman:

I believe there are two ways that AI progress could go very badly that we have to avoid. First, we could lose control of the future to AI.

The risk is that it moves so fast that people can no longer follow what’s happening or intervene when needed. This would obviously be terrible.

The industry must not accept too much technological risk just because the benefits are too great and that they feel too important to slow down.

Iranian Varesh Airlines flight from Tehran to Dushanbe was cancelled and returned to Imam Khomeini Airport after its route through Azerbaijani airspace was denied/disrupted.