#Biden backs two-state solution, says it is 'best way' to ensure 'Israel's future as a Jewish democratic state,' and 'a viable, sovereign and democratic Palestinian state'

Three people died at the Polish-Belarusian border on Saturday, while a fourth died on Sunday, Polish border guards confirmed. The migrants had all frozen to death. https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/more-deaths-at-polish-belarusian-border/

Pro-Palestine staff in Congress are celebrating an "unprecedented victory" after preventing a request from Israel for an additional one billion dollars in US funding.

Israel has already responded to the funding request removal by threatening to pull its ambassador from the US.

Israel requested the $1 billion in spring of this year for its Iron Dome missile defence system, which would have been in addition to this annual aid.

The bill, which was mainly voted on along party lines, is a stopgap measure that will extend government funding, set to expire on 30 September, until 3 December. It also includes a debt limit suspension through 16 December.

The Taliban nominated an ambassador to the United Nations, though Afghanistan’s seat is currently held by a representative of the government they ousted.

❗A volley of automatic gunfire hit a car carrying a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an incident a senior official called an assassination attempt and Zelenskiy said may have been a message intended for him.

The aide, Serhiy Shefir, survived unscathed but police said his driver had been wounded in the attack near the village of Lesnyky, just outside the capital Kyiv.

Continuing his tour of Europe, Mark Milley, America’s most senior military officer, met his Russian counterpart in Helsinki.

The two discussed anti-terrorism measures following the US departure from Afghanistan, though details were closely guarded.

Till now Russia has been resistant to American ambitions to establish a base in central Asia, probably in Tajikistan, from which to monitor Afghanistan and conduct counter-terrorism missions.

🔴 #Algeria shuts airspace to Moroccan civil, military aircraft: Official statement

#Ukraine’s parliament passed a law limiting the power of oligarchs, a day after the attempted assassination of one of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s aides.

Officials fear the attack may have been in response to their legislative plans. The law will force oligarchs to register with the government and prevent them from financing political parties.

🔴 Police in #Tennessee say they are responding to a shooting after multiple people are reportedly injured.

⚡️At least one person dead, 13 other victims wounded in Memphis, Tennessee grocery store shooting: US police

🔴 Exiled Catalan separatist leader Carles #Puigdemont arrested in Sardinia

Today Biden will host the first-ever in-person leaders’ summit of the Quad—America, Australia, India and Japan—at the White House.

In March its leaders met for the first time, virtually, and agreed an initiative to expand vaccine manufacturing for South-East Asia. Now they will discuss cooperation on the pandemic, the climate crisis, emerging technologies and “a free and open Indo-Pacific”.

🔴 Multiple deaths reported in Somali capital after suicide car bomb blast near presidential palace checkpoint, says police official.

China broadened its war on #cryptocurrencies, outlawing all transactions with the digital coins and banning “mining”.

- Overseas exchanges, such as Coinbase and Binance, are barred from serving mainland investors.
- Following the announcement of the ban, the value of bitcoin fell by 8%.

Serbian military bring armored vehicles and jets near border as tensions rise between #Kosovo and #Serbia. Kosovo’s PM Albin Kurti accused Serbia of "encouraging and supporting" attacks on the state of Kosovo.

The Serbian Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff inspected units in southern #Serbia placed in advanced combat readiness against #Kosovo.

❗4 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army killed the Palestinians during confrontations in Jenin and Jerusalem.

Mali has asked Russian private companies to boost security in the conflict-torn country, Moscow confirmed as the Malian leader accused France of abandoning Bamako by preparing a large troop drawdown. [Al Jazeera]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said private Russian military contractors have a “legitimate” right to be in Mali because they were invited by the country’s transitional government.

The reasons behind the #French discontent. https://drmjournal.org/2021/09/26/drm-update-why-the-us-excluded-france-from-aukus/

#Germany’s federal election delivered a close result, with the left-leaning Social Democrats winning 25.7% of the vote and the centre-right Christian Democratic Union—the party of Angela Merkel, the current chancellor—and its Bavarian partner, the Christian Social Union, with 24.1%. Protracted coalition-building negotiations loom: both sides will woo smaller parties to try to muster a majority. The hand of Olaf Scholz, the SPD’s leader, looks stronger than that of Armin Laschet, his CDU rival.