Afghanistan
(UN News) Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, the plight of Afghans has only deteriorated, with millions impoverished while authorities violate basic human rights daily. “Today, the plight of many in Afghanistan is going from bad to worse,” stressed the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk. “Yet, it seems the world has forgotten and abandoned the people of Afghanistan to a plight deepening by the day,” he told journalists in Geneva. “The silence is deafening.” – Plight of Afghans going ‘from bad to worse’, but the world is looking away: Türk | UN News
Europe
(The Soufan Center) Twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks, the terrorist threat in Europe has evolved, with tactics, structures, and narratives that continue to change. Today’s threat is defined by digital exploitation, decentralized initiative, and violent extremists’ ability to learn and adapt quickly, complicating both detection and prevention. Large-scale terrorist operations are unlikely as Europe faces a fragmented terrorist ecosystem in which jihadist propaganda, encrypted communication, converging ideologies, youth subcultures, and low-threshold, single-actor attack methods converge. In 2026, jihadism remains the most consequential terrorist threat in the European Union and the United Kingdom, yet far-right, far-left, anarchist, separatist, nihilistic, and conspiracy-driven extremism has gained ground. – 25 Years After 9/11: Europe’s Convergent Terrorist Threat Matrix – The Soufan Center
Global Education
(UN News) While September traditionally marks the start of the school year across the northern hemisphere, a staggering 93 million children are not in class at all amid an unprecedented number of attacks on learning, education experts warned on Wednesday. According to global fund Education Cannot Wait, insecurity and other factors mean that a total of 258 million children across 87 countries face severe learning disruption. Marking the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, the fund cited a backdrop of “increasing conflict, decreasing restraint and eroding global norms” in several regions. – Record number of attacks on education, global fund warns | UN News
Libya
(UN News) The UN Security Council has welcomed a breakthrough agreement between Libya’s rival political blocs, calling it “an important step” towards the country’s first national elections in over a decade – while pressing all sides to move quickly from paper to practice. Key points: Libya’s rival political camps have agreed on new rules for running the elections commission and holding a vote within two years; the UN Security Council welcomed the deal and is urging all sides to follow through quickly; the UN’s top official in Libya says trust – among politicians and ordinary Libyans alike – is still fragile; online hate speech and harassment are pushing Libyan women out of political life, she warns, and stronger legal protections are needed. In a statement issued Tuesday, council members praised the 30 August agreement reached by Libyan parties in what has become known as the “Smaller Convening”, a negotiating track brokered by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). The deal reconstitutes the board of Libya’s High National Elections Commission and amends the legal framework for parliamentary and presidential elections, to be held within two years under a single, unified government. – UN hails Libya election deal as Security Council urges Libyans to seize the moment | UN News
Russia
(Pavel K. Baev – The Jamestown Foundation) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tour of Russia’s Siberian and Far Eastern regions between late July and early September exposed the disconnect between Kremlin messaging and Russia’s economic realities. His rhetoric emphasized development and prosperity while food and fuel prices rose, fish production declined, and the gasoline crisis continued. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and Eastern Economic Forum did not bring significant gains in Russian economic cooperation with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Power of Siberia-2 pipeline deal remained unsigned and a large fire at the Amur Gas Chemical Complex underscored the risk of investment in Russian projects for PRC companies. Economic deterioration and Ukrainian strikes are weakening Moscow’s negotiating position, and Putin is increasingly isolated from domestic economic realities and international pressure to end his war against Ukraine. – Putin’s Eastern Voyage Highlights Russia’s Setbacks – Jamestown
