Allied governments break publicly with Washington over the Russian diesel waiver
London says it takes a different view, Ottawa’s former finance minister accuses the president of siding with Moscow, and Paris warns about trust.
Empire-Behavior
A press secretary lasts five days, and Trump denies hunting for a new chief of staff
Katie Zacharia was pushed out on Friday, and reports that Susie Wiles could be replaced drew a flat denial from the president.
Rubio puts a 60-day clock on the Russia sanctions Trump set aside
The secretary of state says the waiver is a pause to analyse the economic impact, while House Republicans threaten defence money over it.
Republicans and Democrats both call the Russia sanctions waiver irresponsible as Zelensky says Putin feels joy
Senior lawmakers from both parties condemned the executive order on Saturday, and Ukraine’s president said the decision rewards Moscow.
Trump waives the Russia sanctions Congress passed, lifting the tariff threat from buyers of Russian oil
An executive order signed on Friday suspends the sanctions and tariffs that the Graham Act was about to impose on Russia and on the countries buying its energy.
Ukraine resumes strikes on Russian refineries as the rift with Trump deepens
Kyiv has restarted attacks on Russian energy infrastructure after telling Washington it was finished with the diesel truce, and the White House denies disrupting its satellite service.
Europe refuses a US plan to put unfrozen Russian assets under Washington’s control
American negotiators proposed releasing some immobilised Russian sovereign assets into a vehicle controlled by Washington, and European delegates rejected it.
Trump says Taiwan will take 30 percent of Alaska LNG output, and Taipei stops short of confirming it
At an Alaska rally the president announced long-term gas purchase commitments from Taiwan and South Korea, claims the governments involved described in more cautious terms.
The Kremlin says the diesel deal opens the way to wider cooperation, and Meloni calls it risky
A Russian envoy framed the fuel agreement as a first step toward broader economic ties as Italy’s prime minister criticised it in public.
Greenland’s lawmakers signal backing for the security agreement with Washington
A majority in the Arctic island’s parliament leaned towards the deal while its foreign minister said trust with the United States needs rebuilding.
Trump defends the Russian diesel purchase as Republicans break ranks before the vote
The president said he made the deal for the American people; lawmakers in both parties say it hands Moscow a lifeline.
Kyiv says Russia broke the energy truce within hours as Europe closes ranks behind Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had already violated the halt to energy strikes announced by Donald Trump, Russia hit a Ukrainian power plant hours after the announcement, and the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland restated their support for the Ukrainian president.
Cubans turn to donated medicine as the island’s shortages deepen
An Associated Press report describes free community pharmacies filling the gap as medicines grow scarce, while blackouts continue across the island.
Trump declares an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine; Kyiv awaits details
The president says attacks on energy infrastructure stop at once, Ukraine’s president says the announcement was news to him, and a Republican senator says the underlying diesel deal may be unlawful.
Panama declares a state of emergency after 147 aftershocks
The government has moved to emergency powers while the canal authority says locks and transits came through intact.
Russia lifts its diesel export ban as a House Republican moves to force a vote against the deal
Moscow says the export ban is gone, Washington has tapped its reserve, and Republicans in midterm races are breaking with the president over it.
Trump calls for Zelenskyy to be replaced as the diesel sanctions waiver runs to 2027
The US has suspended its Russian diesel sanctions until 7 April 2027, and Trump is now demanding that Ukraine change president and stop striking Russian refineries.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake shakes Panama and the canal keeps working
The canal authority said the waterway was operating as usual after one of the country’s worst recorded quakes, though a shipping publication reported the impact as not yet clear.
Trump says Putin will release millions of tonnes of Russian diesel
The president lifted sanctions on Russian diesel after a call with Vladimir Putin, and Kyiv called the decision a birthday present for Moscow.
US seizes more than 600,000 gallons of fuel bound for Cuba
Cargoes worth about three million dollars were taken at Florida and Texas ports as Washington tightens its energy blockade of the island.
Bolsonaro leads Brazil’s first round as local stocks rally
A runoff against Lula follows a right-wing congressional sweep that investors are reading as a path to fiscal reform.
Brazilian assets rally as Bolsonaro leads Lula into an October runoff
Brazilian stocks surged after Flavio Bolsonaro finished ahead of President Lula da Silva in the first round, sending the race to a runoff.
Brazil’s presidential race goes to a runoff with Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of Lula
The senator took 47.03% of the first-round vote against 45.16% for the incumbent, forcing a second round on 25 October.
Brazil votes in a toss-up between Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro
The presidential race pits the incumbent against a Trump-aligned senator, with spending rules and the US relationship at stake.
Brazil votes with Washington leaning on the result
Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro are effectively tied going into Sunday’s first round, after Trump put tariffs on Brazilian goods and called the vote very important.
G7 agrees a 100 million barrel release after US threat of a diesel export ban
Washington told European capitals to open their emergency diesel stocks or face a ban on US exports; Trump has since said there will be no ban.
Brazil votes Sunday with Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro effectively tied
Neither candidate appears likely to win outright in the first round, and President Donald Trump says he is watching closely.
Washington presses Europe to open its diesel reserves or face an export ban
US officials told France and Germany to release stocks, and European governments agreed on what they called an assertive response.
Panama Canal lifts daily transits and maximum draft as water levels recover
The canal authority will raise Neopanamax slots from nine to ten a day and restore a deeper draft from the middle of October.
Panama Canal adds a Neopanamax slot and raises the maximum draft
From 15 October the canal will offer 33 daily transit slots and allow deeper-laden ships, after rainfall restored water levels.
US, Denmark and Greenland sign a defence deal expanding American bases in the Arctic
The trilateral pact lets Washington build two new military bases on Greenland while leaving the island under Danish sovereignty.
Trump predicts a Cuba deal while Havana calls the fuel blockade collective punishment
The president said he does not think the military will be needed, days after telling the United Nations that Cuba’s government will fail.
Greenland pact points US troops at two Arctic airstrips, with the bill unsettled
The security agreement signed in New York opens two military sites and expands Arctic access, while Denmark says Washington will have to pay for them.
Trump and Xi buy two more months on trade and little else
The Washington summit extended the truce that ended last year’s trade war to January 10 but produced none of the broader detail markets had been primed for.
Trump hosts Xi at the White House with the AI rivalry in plain view
The two leaders opened a state visit heavy on ceremony, extending their economic truce by two months while leaving artificial intelligence, fentanyl and the South China Sea unresolved.
US, Denmark and Greenland Sign Arctic Security Agreement
The pact expands American military access in Greenland while leaving the territory under Danish sovereignty.
US, Denmark and Greenland Sign an Arctic Security Pact Allowing New American Bases
The agreement grants Washington permanent basing rights on the semi-autonomous Danish territory while stopping well short of the ownership President Trump had demanded.
US, Denmark and Greenland Sign Arctic Security Deal
The accord ends a months-long standoff and paves the way for two new US military bases on the island.
US, Denmark and Greenland sign an Arctic deal reopening Cold War bases
A months-long fight over US control of Greenland ends in an agreement granting Washington permanent military rights on the island.
US, Denmark and Greenland to Sign an Arctic Security Deal
Two American military sites are to open on the island under an agreement Washington describes as giving it permanent control over Greenland’s security.
US, Denmark and Greenland reach Arctic security pact as Greenland-linked stocks surge
The agreement expands the US military presence on the island and places Arctic security under NATO oversight, and thinly traded Greenland names moved violently on the news.
Panama Canal cuts daily transits again as drought narrows a second chokepoint
The canal authority is capping vessel crossings and rationing slots while Hormuz stays shut, pushing freight costs through two routes at once.
US, Denmark and Greenland strike a security deal Trump calls permanent control
Washington gains an expanded military footprint on the island while Copenhagen and Nuuk say sovereignty is untouched, and the two descriptions do not match.
Cuba’s power grid collapses again under the US oil cut-off
The island lost power nationwide on Friday, in an outage that reports count as either the sixth or the seventh of the year.
US and Denmark announce a Greenland security deal
Trump claims permanent control over the island’s security; Copenhagen and Nuuk say sovereignty is untouched.
Trump threatens tariffs on the EU over its associate-membership offer to Canada
Brussels floated associate status for Ottawa, and Washington answered with a threat to tariff Europe and halt trade.
Trump threatens to cut EU trade over Brussels plan to make Canada an associate member
The European Commission’s proposal drew a tariff threat the same day Washington moved to strip Canadian goods from federal procurement.
EU offers Canada ‘associate member’ status as ties with Washington fray
The European Commission president proposed a first-of-its-kind arrangement that would pull Ottawa deeper into Europe’s economic and security architecture.
Panama Canal Cuts Daily Transits Again as El Nino Drought Worsens
The waterway is tightening capacity for a second time this year, adding a third chokepoint to a shipping map already squeezed at Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.
Trump tells Kyiv to stop hitting Russian refineries as diesel sets a record
The president says Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy are raising fuel prices and hurting the world economy.
Trump asks Ukraine to stop striking Russian diesel, saying the attacks are causing a shortage
The president’s public request ties a Ukrainian war aim directly to the price of refined fuel.
Panama Canal caps daily transits again as El Nino drought returns
The canal authority is rationing slots into next year, putting up to US$10 billion of Caribbean imports at risk.
A Strengthening El Nino Tightens the Panama Canal Again
Forecasters say the pattern is nearing record strength, and the drought is already curbing traffic through a chokepoint that carries about 5 percent of ocean shipping.
Panama Canal Weighs Deeper Transit Cuts as Drought Bites
The canal’s new administrator says ship numbers could fall further as El Nino drains the freshwater that fills the locks.
EU answers Trump’s annexation maps with a Greenland investment package
Ursula von der Leyen announced a partnership package for Greenland in Nuuk on the same weekend the US president posted maps showing the American flag over Canada, Mexico and the island.
Panama Canal’s new administrator inherits a drought and a bidding war for slots
Ilya Espino de Marotta took charge of the waterway on Monday as low water restricts transits and the fix for it remains five years out.
Panama Canal warns of deeper transit cuts even as a draft reduction is postponed
The canal’s administrator says daily transits could fall to 27 from the current reduced 32, while better-than-expected water levels have pushed a planned draft cut back again.