The Week

President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal and then told Axios he expects new talks with Tehran to take place this week. The back-to-back moves signal that negotiations between Washington and Iran are continuing despite the setback, with officials watching whether diplomacy can ease tensions in the region.

United States and Iranian officials are holding separate discussions with mediators in the latest diplomatic effort to bring an end to the war. Reuters reports the indirect contacts signal renewed urgency around a negotiated settlement. Details of the mediators' proposals and the two sides' positions have not been disclosed, but the parallel talks mark the most active diplomatic push in recent weeks.

World leaders are gathering in New York for the annual UN General Assembly, widely described as the biggest event in world diplomacy. The session, opening around September 22, 2026, brings heads of state together for speeches and sideline meetings. Commentators are focusing on what the week's addresses and diplomatic encounters will signal on conflicts and global cooperation.

Ukraine's defence ministry says its forces hit six strategic oil refineries deep inside Russia over a single week, some up to 1,600 km from the front line. Kyiv describes the facilities as key fuel suppliers for Russia's defence industry and occupation forces, framing the campaign as retaliation for Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

The United States and China have reached a trade deal to lower tariffs on roughly $30 billion worth of "non-sensitive goods", following a meeting between President Trump and President Xi this week. The agreement is expected to reduce prices on a range of consumer products, including small appliances, toys and holiday items, and is drawing wide attention as a step toward easing trade tensions between the two economies.

The sixth and final day of the UN General Debate has concluded, with a closing appeal for member states to translate their speeches into concrete action. The takeaway highlights the gap between rhetoric and delivery as world leaders wrap up a week of addresses at the United Nations, with calls for follow-through on commitments made during the debate.

Meta has blocked Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's Facebook page and his campaign's paid ads, with the restriction landing just two weeks before Brazil's election. The timing is drawing scrutiny, with commenters questioning whether the suspension results from an automated enforcement error or a politically significant decision affecting a sitting head of state's campaign messaging.

Fuel prices are climbing worldwide as threats issued by Donald Trump and ongoing armed conflicts weigh on energy markets. Traders and analysts are tracking how sanctions rhetoric, military escalation and supply disruption risks could push crude oil and refined fuel costs further up, leaving governments and consumers bracing for more expensive energy in the weeks ahead.

Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, is scheduled to brief the United Nations Security Council next week on artificial intelligence, according to Reuters. The session would place the head of one of the world's leading AI companies directly before the body charged with international peace and security, as governments weigh how to regulate advanced AI. Details of the briefing's agenda and who requested it were not immediately available.

Iran has put forward a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping route for global oil supplies, alongside a proposal to resume nuclear talks within the same week. The offer, reported by Al Jazeera, is drawing attention from governments and observers watching tensions in the Gulf. Details of conditions or responses from other parties remain unclear.

The sixth and final day of the UN General Debate has ended, with the closing takeaway urging member states to convert the week's speeches into concrete action. As leaders wrapped up their addresses at the United Nations, attention turned from rhetoric to implementation of commitments on global challenges.

President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran are expected to pick back up this week, after the United States rejected a proposal put forward by Tehran. He gave no details of the rejected offer or the terms for renewed discussions. The comments come as Washington and Tehran remain at odds over Iran's nuclear programme, and officials on both sides have signalled that diplomacy has not collapsed despite the setback.

The United Nations General Assembly's annual 'High-level Week' is under way, drawing heads of state and government to UN headquarters in New York for a series of speeches and diplomatic meetings. The gathering is one of the busiest weeks in the international diplomatic calendar, with world leaders addressing the assembly and holding bilateral talks on the sidelines.

The UN General Assembly's general debate continued into its fifth day in New York, with world leaders and foreign ministers taking the rostrum to lay out their governments' positions on conflicts, climate and development. UN News is summarising the day's key speeches and moments for audiences following the annual high-level week.

The UN General Assembly's 2026 session in New York has drawn attention for what a full week of speeches and side meetings revealed about the state of global diplomacy. Commentators say the annual gathering offered a read on current geopolitical tensions and the direction of international cooperation among member states.

Donald Trump said negotiations between the United States and Iran will resume next week, adding that Tehran had 'overplayed their hand'. The remark suggests he believes Iran is negotiating from a weakened position as the two sides return to the table.

A intense week of international diplomacy has raised the question of whether negotiations made real progress toward ending the war between the United States and Iran. Commentators and analysts are weighing what the round of high-level talks actually achieved, with observers divided on whether the diplomacy brought the two sides closer to a ceasefire or a lasting settlement.

Conflict with Iran is being linked to rising gasoline prices across the United States, as markets react to the risk of disruption in Middle Eastern oil supplies. Commentators are watching crude markets and warning that any escalation could push costs at the pump higher for American drivers in the coming weeks.

Australia's four major banks are now unanimous in forecasting that the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise interest rates at its meeting next week. The shift in forecasts, reported by ABC News' finance desk, suggests markets and economists see an rate hike as near-certain, with borrowers bracing for higher mortgage repayments should the central bank act.

President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukrainian forces neutralized more than 10,600 Russian military personnel at the front over the past week. He made the claim in one of his regular addresses on the course of the war. If accurate, the figure would point to continued heavy fighting and high Russian casualty rates along the front line, though independent verification of wartime casualty claims from either side is difficult.

Eight U.S. Marines were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz roughly two weeks before the report emerged, according to Military.com. Details of the incident, including who carried out the attack and whether there were injuries, have not been disclosed. The report has drawn attention because the Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world's most sensitive waterways amid ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran.

This week in U.S. politics, President Trump is confronting growing defections from within his own Republican Party, while preparing for a summit with China. A separate feud with the press is also drawing attention. Analysts are watching whether intra-party dissent will weaken Trump's position heading into high-stakes diplomacy with Beijing.

Nearly every world leader is gathering in New York for the annual UN General Assembly, where heads of state deliver addresses and hold diplomatic meetings on the sidelines. The BBC explains what draws so many leaders to the city at once and why the week matters for global diplomacy.

Al Jazeera has published a detailed visual guide to Israel's roughly 300 checkpoints across the occupied West Bank, explaining where they are located and how they operate. The piece notes that Israel has shut West Bank crossings for a week, further restricting Palestinian movement. Readers are sharing it as a reference for understanding daily movement restrictions on Palestinians.

President Trump has moved to cancel $100 million in federally appropriated education funding, acting against the will of Congress. The decision, reported by Education Week, is another instance of the administration withholding money that lawmakers had already approved. The move is likely to fuel criticism that the White House is overstepping its authority on federal spending and could prompt legal and political challenges from congressional Democrats.

Donald Trump says he expects further talks between the United States and Iran this week as diplomacy between the two countries continues. The announcement keeps attention on the direction of US-Iran relations, with markets also tracking the talks given their potential impact on oil prices. Further negotiation rounds would signal that both sides are keeping open a diplomatic channel despite longstanding tensions.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature used the UN General Assembly and New York Climate Week to advance its agenda on nature protection, ocean conservation and climate action. The organisation highlighted the links between biodiversity loss and climate change, urging governments to keep nature and ocean issues central to international climate commitments.