- The Guardian
- Issue #2172
COLOMBIA: Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ordered the country’s security forces to stop sharing intelligence with the United States until the Trump administration stops unprovoked strikes on alleged drug-traffickers in the Caribbean. Petro said that the military must immediately end “communication and other agreements with US security agencies” until it ceases its attacks on boats suspected of carrying drugs, which critics have described as extrajudicial executions. It has also been reported that Britain has paused sharing intelligence with the United States about suspected drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean as it does not want to be complicit in attacks the British believe are illegal. UN human rights chief Volker Turk, said last month that the strikes violate international law and amount to “extrajudicial killings.” So far, the US has killed 76 people.
HUNGARY: Hungary’s contribution of $1.5 million euros to the European Peace Facility will not be used for military aid to Ukraine. “Hungary’s security interest is peace in the Middle East, and Lebanon’s stability is key to that. We will not use our share of the European Peace Facility to arm Ukraine. Instead we are redirecting $1.5 million euros to support Lebanon’s armed forces,” said Hungarian Foreign Minister during his visit to Lebanon.
US: Name changing can be a very costly affair. President Trump signed an executive order to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War in early September. He said that the new name was more appropriate given the current global situation. It’s not the first time that the name of the department has been changed. The US Department of War existed from 1789 to 1947 when it was transformed to the National Military Establishment. In 1949, it was renamed the Department of Defense. The latest name change could cost as much as US$2 billion as it will require the replacement of thousands of plaques, emblems and forms, as well as any other items that feature the department’s name.
IRAN: The first Russian freight train has reached Iran through the eastern branch of the North South Transport Corridor. The train carried sulfate pulp and travelled from Moscow through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan arriving at Iran’s “dry port” Aprin in just 13 days – 40% faster than comparable maritime routes through the Suez Canal. Regular service is expected two to three times a week. Iran’s Aprin dry port was launched in May 2025 and is a major sorting terminal featuring efficient electronic customs processing and synchronisation of cross-border documentation. From Aprin, goods are either forwarded eastward to China or to the southward to Iran’s port Bandar-Abba, and from there to India.
CHINA: China has warned that potential military involvement by Japan in the Taiwan issue will be treated as aggression and met with a forceful response. The new Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi had said Chinese attempts to forcibly reunify with Taiwan could amount to a “survival-threatening situation” under Japan’s security legislation and potentially trigger a military response from Tokyo. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian condemned Takaichi’s remarks, describing them as “blatantly provocative” and stressing that they violate the one-China principle that recognises Beijing’s sovereignty over Taiwan. “They constitute gross intervention in China’s internal affairs, challenge China’s core interests, and infringe upon Chinese sovereignty,” Lin said, demanding that Japan “immediately correct its actions and retract its egregious remarks,” warning that otherwise, Tokyo would “bear all the consequences.”
