Ethiopia: Fighting Resumes in Tigray

Jon Shelton with AFP, Reuters

Rebels in northern Ethiopia have seized regional airports and engaged government troops in Afar and Amhara. Observers fear deadly clashes could expand after rebels announced a new anti-government alliance.

Rebels from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) have reportedly taken control of regional airports in Tigray, in northern Ethiopia, and further clashed with government forces in the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions.

Wednesday's clashes are the latest of several in recent months and have sparked fears of renewed intense fighting in the war-ravaged region.

The African Union (AU) estimates that some 600,000 people were killed in fighting between the TPLF and Ethiopian forces during a 2020-2022 civil war and that more than 1 million people remain displaced.

On Wednesday, state-owned Ethiopian Airlines announced that it had canceled service at Mekelle, Tigray's capital, as well as Axum and Shire regional airports "due to the current situation."

Local witnesses reported that TPLF rebels armed with light weapons had taken Mekelle Airport — which is normally controlled by government forces — without a fight.

Renewed fighting comes just days after the TPLF announced that it had entered an "Alliance for Survival" with other groups aimed at removing Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his government from power.

Abiy and his Prosperity Party won reelection in June, though the vote was boycotted by Ethiopia's main opposition groups.

The TPLF ruled Ethiopia from 1991 until 2018, when it was replaced by Abiy, whose election sparked the country's civil war.

The Pretoria Peace Agreement brought an end to the conflict, but peace has remained elusive, with government troops resuming drone strikes in 2025 as TPLF rebels began amassing troops at regional borders.

Ethiopia has accused the TPLF of allying with neighboring Eritrea and other armed groups.

An advisor to Prime Minister Abiy called Wednesday's development "heartbreaking," saying rebels had launched offensives against government forces in Afar and Amhara as well as taking control of airports in Tigray.

However, the Tigray army "has been instructed to counter the attack and genocidal invasion launched against us, and has entered into a defensive battle," the Tigray government said in a statement on Facebook. 

Can Ethiopia’s Seven-group Rebel Alliance Challenge Abiy Ahmed?

The alliance brings together movements with different enemies, claims and histories as tensions with Abiy rise.

Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) fighters attend an orientation session in western Oromia, Ethiopia, on June 2, 2025 [File: AP]

By Charles Rosser

23 Sep 2026

Two days after seven Ethiopian armed groups announced the formation of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival and pledged to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a senior official of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was asked whether the statement amounted to a declaration of war.

He hesitated, then answered with a question of his own.

“We are at war now, aren’t we?”

He was speaking to Kjetil Tronvoll, professor of peace and conflict studies at Oslo New University College, who told Al Jazeera that the answer captured what the new rebel alliance had changed.

It has not created a single, coherent military force capable of marching on Addis Ababa. It has brought several of Ethiopia’s separate conflicts into the same political framework and, potentially, into the same military calculation.

The question now is how much further that can spread and whether seven movements with different enemies, territorial claims and histories can actually fight as one.

On Tuesday, drones struck two schools in Alamata, in southern Tigray, and the town’s mayor said 14 civilians were killed and 22 wounded. The account could not be independently verified, and the federal government did not immediately comment.

By Wednesday, Tigrayan forces had seized Alula Aba Nega International Airport in Mekelle, AFP reported, citing an airport employee and a Western embassy security source. The airport employee said staff had been told there were no flights.

The alliance, whose founding statement Fano commander Zemene Kassie read on Tigrai TV on Sunday, brings together the Amhara Fano National Movement, the TPLF and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), along with the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement and the Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement.

It promises a transitional administration once Abiy is gone.

Abiy’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, told Reuters that the members had been collaborating for some time with Eritrean financial backing, an accusation Asmara has repeatedly denied.

The war that never really ended

The TPLF dominated Ethiopia for 27 years, until Abiy took power in 2018 and pushed it to the margins.

In November 2020, the federal army, backed by Eritrean troops and Amhara forces, went to war with it. The conflict became one of the deadliest in Ethiopia’s modern history. African Union mediator Olusegun Obasanjo believes that about 600,000 people died, though estimates of the toll have varied.

That war ended in November 2022 with an agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa.

It was a permanent cessation of hostilities. It silenced the guns and set terms for Tigray’s disarmament, but left critical questions for later, above all Western Tigray, the fertile territory claimed by both sides and administered by Amhara forces since the war.

Only Addis Ababa and the TPLF signed. Neither Eritrea nor the Amhara forces had a seat.

Jawar Mohammed, the Oromo politician who was once an ally of Abiy and later spent time in prison, told Al Jazeera that shutting them out gave them every reason to wreck the deal.

The new alliance brings together forces that were excluded from the Pretoria negotiations with one of the agreement’s signatories.

The quiet it created ended in May, when the TPLF restored the legislative council that existed before the war and installed its chairman, Debretsion Gebremichael, as regional president, effectively setting up a rival political authority to the interim administration established under the Pretoria agreement. The TPLF accused the federal government of failing to honour its side of the deal.

Federal and Tigrayan forces then clashed at Shererina, near the Sudanese border, on August 1. Heavy artillery and drones were used in the fighting, and hundreds of Tigrayans, including wounded fighters, fled into Sudan.

Then came the drones.

On August 20, two drones struck homes in Mekelle, wounding 13 people, according to the TPLF. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the account.

On September 20, a drone destroyed a truck carrying 41 tonnes of food aid near Adi Daero, according to the TPLF. Addis Ababa has acknowledged none of the reported strikes.

“We signed the Pretoria Agreement, but the regime used the agreement to kill the people of Tigray systematically,” the TPLF’s spokesperson, Michael Asgedom, told Al Jazeera.

Two scripts

Asgedom tells it two ways.

The alliance “was created to bring peace and democracy to Ethiopia”, he said.

He also said it would build a new order “over the ruins of Abiy Ahmed’s system” and that this was “the right time to eradicate the regime”.

If war comes, he said, “it will be for survival.”

One script is for diplomats, the other for fighters.

Tronvoll calls it constructive ambiguity, a phrase that fits the alliance. 

That the alliance claims to speak for seven peoples can delegitimise Abiy abroad and raise the price of any settlement, whether or not it fires a shot.

The first test is Eritrea, the neighbour whose name appears nowhere in the founding statement.

Over the past two years, Eritrea has reconciled with the TPLF, the enemy its troops helped to crush in 2020, as Abiy began demanding access to the Red Sea, which Asmara interpreted as a claim on its coast.

Jawar argues that Eritrea’s minimum aim is to keep any conflict on the Ethiopian side of the border.

The International Crisis Group has similarly assessed that Eritrea wants to establish a buffer zone on its southern border.

Asgedom has denied any Eritrean military presence in Tigray, but left the door ajar.

“If Eritrea can take action because of a potential danger to its survival, it is the Eritreans who should answer that question.”

Tronvoll says Eritrean troops are in Tigray now, a claim Al Jazeera could not independently verify. Magnus Taylor, deputy director of the International Crisis Group’s Horn of Africa project, told Al Jazeera that he was more cautious.

“This is substantially a domestic Ethiopian phenomenon,” he said.

Seven commands, one war?

The second test is whether seven commands can fight as one.

Zemene chairs the alliance, but the founding statement names no commander for a joint campaign.

If the line ever advances on Addis Ababa, Tronvoll asks, whose soldiers go first?

“If it is a Tigrayan general commanding Amharas to be sacrificed first to save the Tigrayan soldiers, that will split it immediately.”

Western Tigray is not mentioned in the statement either.

Taylor says the Fano are themselves divided over it: Commanders in Gojjam and Wollo can contemplate an alliance with Tigray, while those nearer the disputed land cannot.

“All these groups have their own different beef with the federal government,” Taylor said, and much of it dates from Abiy’s first year.

In 2018, Abiy invited exiled rebels home, and the OLA and the ONLF returned from Asmara.

But the OLA broke away to keep fighting, and talks with it in Tanzania collapsed in 2023.

The ONLF then split in 2025 after its then-chairman called for a return to armed struggle amid a dispute over a Chinese natural-gas concession in the Somali region.

The Amharan Fano rebelled against the government in 2023 after Abiy ordered the regional special forces to be folded into the federal army, a move many Amhara believed was tantamount to disarmament.

In June, Abiy’s Prosperity Party won 438 of 486 contested parliamentary seats. Voting did not take place in Tigray and was disrupted by insecurity in parts of Amhara and Oromia.

But their grievances are not only with Abiy’s government.

Referring to the news of the alliance, Jawar said he had “not seen anything as unpopular among the Oromos”, after years of accusations that Fano fighters have killed Oromo civilians in Wollega.

The OLA calls its participation a “procedural consensus” and has demanded that Fano disown a faction in Wollega that it says the government armed.

“There is no shared political objective,” Jawar said. “They don’t even have a shared tactical objective.”

And Tronvoll goes further: “If the members ever reached the palace, immediately a new war will start between them.”

The people being asked to fight

Then, there are the people being asked to fight.

Tigrayans are being mobilised alongside forces they remember from four years ago, when, in Tronvoll’s characterisation, “both the Eritreans and the Fano Amharas were perpetrating genocide on them.”

Friends in Tigray have told Tronvoll of coercive recruitment. He estimates that tens of thousands have left the region in advance of a possible war and the draft.

“People are voting with their feet,” he said. “They are on their knees already. So what are the alternatives for them than to fight?”

Beyond the border

Abiy, for now, appears unmoved.

“As long as they don’t threaten the palace at Arat Kilo, he can live with that,” Tronvoll said. “I don’t think he skips lunch because of this.”

Taylor struggles for a word.

“Is it a headache? Is it an irritant? Is it a blow? It’s a combination of those things.”

In his assessment, the TPLF, which lost most of its heavy weapons in 2022, has come off worse in recent clashes against federal air power. The likelier course, he says, is a slow deterioration, with southern Tigray the flashpoint.

Jawar views Abiy’s approach as containment: Keep flights into Tigray running so that those who want to leave can do so, and let a war that few want sour public opinion.

With Tigrayan forces having seized Mekelle’s airport, that exit has closed.

Tom Gardner, author of The Abiy Project, said, “For months Abiy’s strategy has been to maintain a low-level conflict largely conducted via drones, proxies, and siege tactics. This could be the moment that strategy breaks down and a full-scale war erupts.”

The regional dimension is becoming harder to separate from the conflict inside Ethiopia.

The International Crisis Group says several thousand Tigrayans, mostly from Western Tigray/Welkait, have fought alongside the Sudanese army against the Rapid Support Forces.

Khartoum has also accused Addis Ababa of allowing drones to strike Sudan from Ethiopian soil, which Ethiopia denies.

Eritrea has aligned itself with Sudan’s army and established ties with Egypt, an opponent of Addis Ababa in the dispute surrounding Nile water resources.

The International Crisis Group has described Egypt as a close wartime ally of the Sudanese army.

Those alignments do not necessarily make the new Ethiopian alliance a regional military bloc. But they make it harder to treat Ethiopia’s conflicts as entirely domestic.

In Mekelle, the calculation is narrower.

“It is better to live than to die,” Asgedom said, “and the regime doesn’t allow us to live.”

A journalist in Mekelle, who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, said people had lived for months in a state of no-war-no-peace, and many now wanted it decided either way.

The alliance offers a path to war without making clear what that war would cost.

“We need peace,” residents told the journalist in Mekelle, after months without salaries or medicine.

In the city, there is an old belief that an unexpectedly windy and sunny day foretells fighting. Tuesday was both.

Tigray Forces Launch Offensive Against Ethiopian Government

Tigray People’s Liberation Front seizes control of airports and targets government positions in Afar and Amhara regions.

By Al Jazeera Staff and AFP

23 Sep 2026

Tigrayan rebels have seized control of airports in the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia and launched an offensive against federal forces in the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has “launched an all-out offensive against government positions in Afar and Amhara”, Getachew Reda, an adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said in a post on his X account on Wednesday.

“It has taken over federally controlled airports in Tigray leading to the suspension of flights to and from Tigray. The TPLF politico-military leadership has obviously taken irresponsibility to new heights,” said Reda, a former TPLF leader who fell out with the party and joined the federal government.

The Tigray regional government, however, said it was countering an “invasion” by federal forces.

In a statement posted on Facebook, it accused federal troops of “intensive bombardments” on Tuesday involving “aircraft, drones, and artillery”.

“The Tigray army has been instructed to counter the attack and genocidal invasion launched against us, and has entered into a defensive battle,” the statement added.

Clashes were under way in various parts of Afar, including Abala and Berahle, amid reports of shelling along the border with Amhara, and an Al Jazeera correspondent reported significant military build-ups by various parties in the border areas.

The development comes after the TPLF announced on Sunday that it had allied with six other armed groups across Ethiopia to overthrow Abiy’s government.

The TPLF ruled Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 before being sidelined after Abiy took office, triggering a devastating civil war from 2020 to 2022. The conflict killed about 600,000 people, according to estimates by the African Union, before the Pretoria Peace Agreement ended hostilities.

“Very close to war”

The region has still not recovered. About one million people remain displaced, and parts of the peace agreement are unfulfilled. An uneasy calm held until late 2025 when clashes resumed, and a further escalation in recent months has raised fears of a return to all-out war.

Alan Boswell, Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group, said with the peace agreement broken down, the situation has turned very dangerous.

“The TPLF has joined with other rebel groups to say that they are going to overthrow and topple the current regime, which is something very close to a declaration of war,” Boswell told Al Jazeera.

“We’ve seen an ongoing and escalating drone campaign by the federal government against the TPLF, and then you’ve seen quite an escalation over the past day. So if we’re not all the way back into something like a full war, we are very, very close,” he said.

He also noted that with Eritrea allying itself with the TPLF, the issue threatens to become a regional one. Ethiopia’s federal government and its allies in Eritrea fought the TPLF together in the civil war, but now Ethiopia’s federal government accuses those same former allies of supporting the TPLF.

“Eritrea is also quite close, for instance, with the Sudanese army, and relations between Ethiopia and the Sudanese army have also been deteriorating,” Boswell said, adding that Ethiopia is also getting more involved in the Sudan war essentially against the Sudanese, at least along its border.

“So this is all becoming one big regional mess, and it could get very, very ugly if we don’t see de-escalation.”

YAF Vow Response After Saudi Attacks Target Civilians, Including Children

By Al Mayadeen English

22 Sep 2026 22:13

Brigadier General Yahya Saree says Saudi warplanes carried out 19 airstrikes on Yemen, targeting Taiz, al-Jawf, and Marib and killing and wounding civilians.

Saudi warplanes carried out 19 airstrikes across Yemen over the past 24 hours, targeting the provinces of Taiz, al-Jawf, and Marib, Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said, raising the total number of raids carried out since the beginning of the escalation to 936.

Saree said the strikes were carried out by F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets that took off from the Saudi bases of Khamis Mushait and Taif. Several civilians were martyred, including women and children.

The spokesperson slammed the massacres committed by the Saudi forces against the Yemeni people, warning that they would have serious consequences. 

“The massacres committed by the criminal Saudi enemy against our people will have grave consequences for it, God willing and by His power,” Saree said.

Six martyred in Saudi aggression on Yemen's al-Mokha

Overnight, SABA News Agency in Sanaa reported that six citizens, including two children and a woman, were martyred in Saudi airstrikes targeting the al-Mokha District on the Red Sea, west of Taiz Governorate.

The agency said the aggression hit the district, killing six civilians. 

Later, Saudi missile strikes targeted al-Dhahir District and neighboring border areas west of Saada Governorate, according to the Interior Ministry.

Iran May Strike First as Tehran Warns of Possible US Assault | Excl.

By Al Mayadeen English

22 Sep 2026 18:09

Iran may strike first if Tehran determines the US is preparing an assault, Professor Mohammad Marandi says, as tensions escalate across the region.

Iran may strike first in the current war, and Tehran has intelligence that the United States is preparing an assault, Professor Mohammad Marandi said on Tuesday. 

Speaking on Al Mayadeen's The Grand Standoff: Iran and The World, Marandi said the decision for any act of aggression "would have to be taken in Washington or in Tel Aviv," but that "the Iranians have intelligence that the United States is preparing for an assault and that regional regimes aligned to the United States are cooperating in that regard."

He said that in Qatar "there are at least 25 American refueling planes based there prepared to refuel fighter jets, whether American or Israeli, to bomb Iran and to carry out further slaughter as we saw in the past, whether it's schools or weddings or hospitals or sports complexes."

US capabilities have been put in place in preparation for an assault: Marandi

US military capabilities have been put in place "in preparation for what would seem to be an assault," Marandi said, adding: "That doesn't mean that the assault will take place, but it does mean that they have prepared themselves for an assault."

Iran has been preparing for strikes against US targets across the region, he continued, "both economic targets and military targets, as well as targets that belong to those regimes that assist the United States."

He said Iran has been preparing for strikes against US targets across the region, "both economic targets and military targets, as well as targets that belong to those regimes that assist the United States."

Marandi said Iran "is prepared for an all-out war, but nothing is for certain." Asked whether Iran might strike first, he said: "Yes, that is an option that the Iranians have. They may strike first because we are already at war, there is no ceasefire, and the United States is waging economic warfare against Iranians."

He said "the Iranians have the right to strike at the Trump regime, his assets, the assets of those regimes in the region that collaborate with him, and of course that of the Israeli regime," adding: "I don't know if they're ready to do that. It is a possibility." He said that when there is no ceasefire and the enemy is "attempting to strangle 90 million people," the armed forces "will have the authority if it is necessary for them to attack the enemy first. They do have that authority."

Trump's zigging and zagging applies to friend and foe: Lawrence

Political science and international affairs professor William Lawrence said he agreed with much of what Marandi had said and described US planning as encompassing every contingency. "The US has scenarios of planning for every type of thing, including wars with Canada and Mexico and France," he said, adding that planning for Iran ranges from the least aggressive to the most aggressive and that Trump "likes to be deliberately unpredictable."

He said Trump does so "with friend and with foe," and that this should be "discounted or understood in its context that it's Trump zigging and zagging."

Lawrence said Trump's real motivation is frustration with the war's outcome. "His real motivation is that he's frustrated by the outcome of the war," he said, adding that Trump is frustrated by the lack of success in peace efforts and in hitting Iran hard, and is "looking for a way out."

Trump "doesn't really find a partner on the other side that wants to negotiate, nor is he making the types of concessions he needs to make to get to the negotiating table," according to Lawrence,  who noted the situation is "this stalemate right now that could escalate at any time."

Situation in Yemen aids Iran thanks to Saudi Arabia

Lawrence said the Ansar Allah in Yemen "just grabbed most of the West Coast" and are "threatening to battle Mandate and putting economic squeeze on Saudi Arabia, not as much on the United States." He said the Ansar Allah stated "they're not going to do it on the United States, but on Saudi Arabia, which is aggravating the situation," and that "Saudi Arabia is being attacked both from the north and from the south by Iranian-backed forces."

Lawrence said "the best way to de-escalate in Yemen is to start up the Muscat negotiations," adding that he does not know "why they were postponed." He said "those negotiations need to start up again" and that "both sides need to stop the escalatory rhetoric and start making concessions to get a deal." He said "the onus falls on the mediators to try to coax concessions out of each side because the rhetoric right now is very maximalist and escalatory."

Marandi said the current circumstances "do benefit Iran a lot," which he attributed partially to Saudi actions. "That is partially due to the actions of Saudi Arabia by bombing Sana'a International Airport," he said, adding that the Saudis "started a war with Yemen, which had already been demanding that the siege directed at the people of Yemen be lifted."

He said the conflict "definitely strengthens Iran's hand, because it adds a lot of pressure to the United States."

Marandi said the Saudis "have been bombing Yemen day and night, and they've imposed a siege," and that Yemen "was demanding an end to the siege" while the Saudis "bombed San Anon International Airport" instead.

He asked: "So who is there to condemn? Is it the Saudis who should be condemned, or the people of Yemen? Obviously the Saudis." He said the vast majority of people in Yemen "live in areas, the vast majority, that are controlled by the coalition led by Ansar Allah," and that "the capital is controlled, so how are they a militia, a ragtag militia?"

Lawrence: US domestic politics weigh on Trump

Lawrence said Trump "is underwater in the polls, the lowest ever for a US president since Watergate." He said Trump "is way behind the Democrats on economics, which is usually a forte for the Republicans," and that "Americans are turning against the war," "turning against the tariffs," and "turning against the bickering with Canada, the trade war." He said "most of the rest of Trump's policies are deeply unpopular."

Lawrence said this "will affect him in the midterms, except that he says he doesn't care," adding that Trump "thinks that even if he loses Congress, he's got that presidency that'll go to another more than two years."

He said Trump "is trying to make it, in terms of his public pronouncements, that the midterms don't matter by talking about how he's in no hurry to negotiate, both countries are preparing for the long haul and not really in negotiation mode."

On the topic of the upcoming US midterm elections, Marandi pointed out that while Iran does not believe the war will end after the midterms. "the midterm elections do provide an opportunity for the Iranians to hurt Trump."

He said "the coming weeks are quite sensitive for Trump if the economic situation deteriorates in the United States," and that this "could hurt the Republican candidates that are aligned to him."

"The next few weeks are definitely not the best time for Trump to wage an assault, at least from here in Tehran, that's how it looks," according to Marandi, who emphasized that "even if Trump loses badly in the midterm elections," the war "will probably continue for quite a long time."

Turning to Iran's economic policy, Marandi stated that it has shifted "towards wartime economies," which "clearly indicates that the Iranians are planning for the war to continue until the end of Trump's presidency."

A school, a UN finding, and two irreconcilable accounts

Lawrence said "the UN found that the US bombing of the school at the beginning of the war was a war crime." He said "that does have some weight," adding: "I don't believe it was an intentional war crime, even though there were multiple hits. I think it was a war crime nonetheless, because you're supposed to spare civilian populations."

Lawrence rejected the claim that the US deliberately targeted the school, arguing that if it had, it would have hit many other schools as well, and that the strike was a day-one mistake. He cited an AI error and a failure to fix the targeting, calling the strike an egregious war crime, while maintaining that the vast majority of targeting in Iran killed no civilians at all.

"This, of course, is obviously a crime against humanity," Marandi countered, "and I would argue that the strike was intentional, because that was the first day of the war."

He said that "on the first day of any operation, all of the targets are very carefully vetted," and that "that school was there for a decade." He said "all the maps and all the apps clearly indicated that this was a school, and the three missiles hit the school, but they didn't target any military installation. They targeted the school."

Marandi also pointed to the Gandhi Hospital, which he said was struck on day one, and to the sports complex where teenagers were massacred, arguing that the disproportionate number of massacres on the first day, more than on other days, was itself significant.

"First of all, we shouldn't be fooled by the term AI. AI doesn't mean that the targeting is going to be military," he said

"Contrary to what your guest in the United States says," Marandi said, referring to Lawrence, "98% of the targets were not military. They blew up many apartment blocks in Tehran in order to kill one person," noting that the US "killed tens of people on many occasions, wiped out complete families."

Hormuz: an international waterway or Iran's right to govern?

Lawrence rejected Iran's position on the Strait of Hormuz. "First of all, it's not true. Second of all, it's illegal," he said. "They don't govern the Strait of Hormuz. It's an international waterway. It's protected by international law, like the Taiwan Strait, like the Majorca Strait, like the Strait of Gibraltar."

He said "everyone can navigate through it," and that "these are international waterways that everyone should be allowed to go through," claiming that "Iran is violating that by saying it's governing by shooting at ships."

"That's not governance. Just like the US has a blockade on Iran, which is a violation of international law in response to the Iranian blockade," Lawrence claimed.

Marandi rebuked Lawrence by pointing out that "with regards to this trade of Hormuz, it's clear as day. The Iranians did not sign any international treaty. And the width of the trade of Hormuz is clear for everyone." He said "the Iranians have that right, and they will implement that right," adding that "the United States or any of its allies are in no position to talk about international law. They started this war."

Dispute over casualties and targets

Lawrence said Iran "has not only hit the five countries he's mentioned, but they've hit Oman, a mediator. They've hit Qatar, he mentioned, a mediator. They've hit Egypt, a mediator. They've hit Turkey, a mediator. They've hit Jordan, Iraq, Israel, and Cyprus."

He said "this is not Iran defending Palestinians, and it's not Iran only defending its regime," adding: "It's Iran meddling in about six or seven countries and attacking at least 12 countries in order to have regime survival and in order to try to shift the blame." He said "any civilian death is a tragedy," adding that he says so "with full heartfelt pain."

Lawrence said "the defense of the Gulf States was very, very good. It was over 95% effective," and that "that's one of the reasons there weren't a lot of casualties." He said "there were a lot of weddings in the hotels that the Iranians hit, but the missiles and drones were intercepted," and that "the civilian death toll would have been much higher if the defense hadn't been so good."

He said "those defense munitions are running low," calling that "another great reason for a negotiation," and said "this war should end to spare civilians."

Iranian strikes casualty rates prove Tehran took precuations to protect civilians: Marandi

Marandi said that "despite all the thousands of missiles and drones that Iran fired at targets in Qatar, Bahrain, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, we only had, by some estimates, at most 40-some... less than 50 people were killed."

He said "while the United States and the Israeli regime murdered thousands of civilians in Iran, we only see a handful... that were killed in all these Iranian strikes," adding: "So clearly the Iranians have taken precaution not to have civilians killed."

Marandi rejected Lawrence's account of the hotels. "Iran did not target hotels that were hosting weddings. It was targeting buildings where the American armed forces were using, because they fled their bases and hid in those buildings," he said, adding that "the American armed forces were cowardly using civilian buildings to hide their troops."

"The Iranians would warn people to stay away from these buildings and hotels, and people can go over the statements of the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters throughout the war," Marandi further pointed out.

Further proving his point, Marandi noted that US bases in these countries "were annihilated. They were destroyed. The Americans cannot use them, because all those missiles and drones wiped out all of the infrastructure in most of these bases," noting that "some American analysts have said that it will take more than a decade to rebuild them."

Oil at $100, and a Gulf being rebuilt away from the Gulf

"Iranian proxies are now attacking Aramco, and they're attacking the oil infrastructure of Saudi Arabia in a substantial way that is causing economic pressure... pain... all around the world in terms of oil prices and energy supplies," Lawrence said.

Energy prices, he noted, "are back up over $100 because of actions by Iran and actions by the Houthis and actions in the Strait of Hormuz driving up energy prices and creating an energy scarcity."

If a pipeline in Saudi Arabia is hit , he argued, "the pipeline needs to be strengthened," and "if oil and gas distribution routes need to be changed to avoid the Iranian front lines, then they need to be changed."

"There's going to be massive investment to move things out of the Gulf... permanently away from the Gulf in some cases, because Iran has proved that it doesn't really want to live with its neighbors in peace," he said.

The difference between Iranian and Western media

Marandi said Lawrence "does not know Persian, and so he can't really comment about Iranian press, which is far more diverse than American mainstream media," advising Lawrence to "use AI and look up Iranian websites that function inside the country and see the harsh debates that exist."

He said "the information comes from a pretty monolithic and Orientalist Western media that is largely controlled by oligarchs," and that "the Western media today is infinitely worse than it was, let's say, 40, 50 years ago, because it has been so badly consolidated in the hands of very few people."

Marandi cited the downing of an Iranian airliner over the Strait of Hormuz. "When the Americans downed the Iranian airliner over the Strait of Hormuz, ironically, and killed 290 people, the Iranians, from day one, stated the path of the airline," he said, adding that "the Americans lied about it for years, until years later, when it was no longer an issue."

Marandi pointed to an article by Newsweek, which confirms "everything that Iran said. It wasn't Newsweek that discovered anything."

The Iranian president goes to the General Assembly every year, "and usually it is used as a platform to speak to global media, but Western media in particular, because in the West, Iranian voices are not really allowed," Marandi further pointed out.

"Western media very rarely allows alternative voices in, maybe a few minutes, and then for hours, their own voices are repeated time after time," he said, describing the gathering as "a good opportunity, just like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, just like the BRICS Summit were useful."

Gaza, recession, and a war with no end in sight

Lawrence agreed with Marandi entirely on Gaza, asserting that "It's disgraceful what's going on. It's disgraceful that the US covers for Israel," he said.

Iran, in his view, is expanding and escalating, and it is very hard for the US to go into negotiating mode when the war is reaching new fronts with new targets and new pressures.

Iran is also in a deep recession, Lawrence noted, with economic effects 10 times as big as those on the United States or most other countries. He said the Iranian regime has shown it does not really care about the contracting wartime economy or a 10% reduction in growth, because it is about regime survival, not economic benefits.

Marandi said the Iranians have shifted their economic policy towards wartime economies and that the war will probably continue for quite a long time. A statement or declaration from an international body, he added, does not bring about much change, and no one in Iran is celebrating it.

Marandi also argued that the United States and its allies are in no position to talk about international law, saying they started the war. "This is the third war that they've imposed on the Iranian people in the last 47 years. They've committed crimes against humanity. They started this war, and Saudi Arabia started the war against Yemen," he said.

Araghchi Conveys Iran’s Conditions for Reopening Hormuz to Witkoff

By Al Mayadeen English

22 Sep 2026 23:52

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi conveyed Tehran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz during a meeting with Steve Witkoff in New York.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to a special source cited by Iranian television.

The meeting took place after Witkoff insisted on holding talks with the Iranian official, the source said, adding that Tehran agreed to the encounter in order to convey its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state media separately reported that Araghchi and Witkoff met in New York and that Iran’s conditions concerning the strategic waterway were communicated to the US side.

Iran sets conditions for reopening Strait of Hormuz

Iranian television reported that Tehran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz include the immediate lifting of the naval blockade and the immediate release of all frozen Iranian funds.

The Iranian source also stressed an end to the war across all resistance fronts as another condition for reopening the strategic waterway.

Iran sets penalties for ships violating Hormuz transit rules

Iran’s Parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee approved provisions setting penalties for vessels that violate regulations governing passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Under the proposed measures, violators could face fines equivalent to 20% of their cargo or its value, as well as temporary detention until the penalty is paid.

Committee spokesperson Hassan Qashqavi said Articles 13, 14, and 15 of the proposed Strategic Action Plan for Ensuring the Security and Sustainable Development of the Strait of Hormuz were approved during Tuesday’s meeting, while Article 16 will be discussed at a later session. Article 13 also calls for specialized judicial branches staffed by maritime and law-of-the-sea experts to handle related cases.

Article 14 establishes penalties for individuals or legal entities whose actions or omissions obstruct implementation of the proposed legislation. It also requires any bilateral or multilateral agreement concerning the Strait of Hormuz to comply with relevant provisions of Iran’s Constitution governing international agreements, state authority, and national security.

Under Article 15, the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff would be required to submit quarterly reports to Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee on implementation, either directly or through the Defense Ministry.

The provisions form part of a broader proposed regulatory framework for navigation through the waterway, including measures concerning fees for services provided by Iran and restrictions on entities Tehran considers responsible for unilateral sanctions or hostile actions. The approved articles remain subject to completion of Iran’s legislative process before taking effect.

AGOA Reauthorized Through 2028 - A Critical Victory and a Call to Action for Continental Engagement

AGOA CSO Network

The AGOA CSO Network is urging civil society, private-sector leaders, and government stakeholders to prioritize AGOA modernization in national and regional consultations to strengthen its long-term prospects.

23 September 2026Content from a Premium Partner

AGOA Civil Society Network (Washington, DC)

Washington, DC — The AGOA Civil Society Organization (CSO) Network welcomes the U.S. Congress’s decision to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through December 31, 2028.

This extension ensures continued duty-free access for thousands of African products and strengthens one of the continent’s most important trade frameworks. Africa’s exports under AGOA exceeded US$30 billion in 2024, with key growth in apparel, agriculture, minerals, and automotive components. While this renewal is a significant achievement, it requires immediate and coordinated efforts to modernize AGOA and secure its long-term future.

With two years remaining before the next reauthorization cycle, Africa must act promptly. The AGOA CSO Network urges civil society, private-sector leaders, and government stakeholders to collaborate and present a unified position at AfrICANDO 2026. Prioritize AGOA modernization in national and regional consultations to strengthen its long-term prospects.

"Extending AGOA to 2028 is a major achievement. But it is only the beginning. We must seize this moment to define the future of U.S.–Africa trade. I invite all civil society organizations, private‑sector leaders, and government stakeholders to join us at AfrICANDO 2026 in Umuahia. Your voice is essential to shaping a modernized AGOA that delivers inclusive growth, deeper regional integration, and long‑term prosperity for Africa.”-Fred Oladeinde, Chairman, AGOA Civil Society Organization Network

AGOA’s renewal provides:

Duty‑free access for more than 1,800 tariff lines.

Continued eligibility for 33 African countries.

A stable environment for investment, job creation, and supply‑chain expansion.

A platform for aligning AGOA with the AfCFTA, Africa’s flagship continental trade initiative.

Yet the two-year extension is short. Long-term certainty, ideally a 10–15-year renewal, is essential for sustained industrialization, export diversification, and regional value-chain development.

Trade Snapshot: AGOA’s Impact

US$30+ billion in African exports to the U.S. in 2024.

Apparel exports exceeded US$1.4 billion, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Agricultural exports grew by more than 20%, driven by specialty crops, nuts, fruits, and floriculture.

Minerals and metals accounted for nearly half of AGOA trade, with strong performance from South Africa, Ghana, and the DRC.

Automotive components from South Africa and Morocco continued to expand under AGOA preferences.

These gains demonstrate AGOA’s importance, but also the need to modernize it to unlock greater value addition and competitiveness.

Country-Level Considerations

South Africa remains the largest AGOA exporter, with eligibility discussions ongoing and key country-case implications.

Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, and Ethiopia rely heavily on apparel exports and need long-term certainty as key country cases. Nigeria, Ghana, and the DRC benefit significantly from AGOA in minerals, agriculture, and energy products as key country cases.

Smaller LDCs depend on third-country fabric provisions that must be preserved and strengthened as key country cases.

National inputs from these key country cases are essential for AfrICANDO 2026.

The Road Ahead: Advocacy Priorities for 2026–2028

The AGOA CSO Network will intensify efforts to:

Convene national and regional consultations leading into AfrICANDO 2026.

Document private‑sector impacts for USTR’s annual eligibility review.

Advocate for a long-term AGOA reauthorization through 2040. Promote inclusive stakeholder engagement, ensuring civil society, SMEs, women, and youth are represented.

Strengthen partnerships with U.S. civil society, think tanks, and congressional offices.

AfrICANDO 2026 will be a defining moment for Africa’s trade future. We urge all stakeholders to participate and help shape a modernized AGOA that supports inclusive growth and deeper U.S.–Africa commercial cooperation.

Join us at AfrICANDO 2026, the premier U.S.–Africa Trade and Investment Conference & Expo

AfrICANDO brings together business leaders, policymakers, civil society, investors, and innovators to shape the future of U.S.–Africa commercial engagement. As Africa’s regional integration accelerates and global markets expand, this program offers an opportunity to connect, collaborate, and position African markets as a dynamic hub for global trade.

In 2026, AfrICANDO returns to Africa and will be hosted by the Abia State Government. Co-organized by The Foundation for Democracy in Africa (FDA) and the Abia Global Chamber of Commerce, this multi-day conference offers high-level plenary sessions, policy forums, business matchmaking, an expansive expo, and the distinguished Medal of Glory Awards (MOGA) Gala.

Theme: Deepening U.S.–Africa Commercial Ties in the Era of AfCFTA -This theme reflects the growing importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in unlocking new commercial pathways. AfrICANDO 2026 gives businesses, policymakers, and civil society the insights, tools, and partnerships needed to capture emerging opportunities across the continent. Whether you are pursuing market entry, investment prospects, policy updates, or strategic alliances, AfrICANDO is your gateway to action.

Be part of the movement. Be part of the momentum.

We invite you to register and take your place among the leaders driving the next chapter of U.S.–Africa trade and investment.

Chinese Embassy in Lesotho Marks 77th Founding Anniversary of PRC

Source: Xinhua| 2026-09-23 01:11:15|Editor: huaxia 

MASERU, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Lesotho held a reception in Maseru on Monday to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Chinese Ambassador to Lesotho Yang Xiaokun said that over the past 77 years, China has made remarkable achievements under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, transforming itself into the world's second-largest economy.

Yang highlighted progress in bilateral cooperation, citing the launch of Phase II of the Mafeteng Solar Power Plant and the signing of a protocol on Lesotho's wool exports to China.

Noting China's zero-tariff policy for African countries with diplomatic ties, Yang said the policy would create opportunities for Lesotho.

"We hope to work together to turn this policy opportunity into concrete gains for Basotho farmers, businesses and workers, and to bring more quality Lesotho products to the Chinese market," Yang said.

For his part, Lesotho's Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations Richard Ramoeletsi extended congratulations to the Chinese government and people on the occasion, saying that bilateral relations have continued to grow since the resumption of diplomatic ties in January 1994.

Ramoeletsi praised China's contribution to Lesotho's economic development and improvement of people's livelihoods, highlighting cooperation in infrastructure, health, energy and agriculture.

He also welcomed the bilateral cooperation mechanism launched earlier this year, saying it would help translate high-level commitments into tangible results.

The reception was attended by nearly 300 guests, including Lesotho government officials, diplomats, and representatives of Chinese businesses and the Chinese community.

Arab Radio and TV Festival Opens in Tunisia

Source: Xinhua| 2026-09-23 05:31:15|Editor: huaxia

TUNIS, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The 26th edition of the Arab Radio and Television Festival opened Tuesday in Tunisia's coastal city of Hammamet, drawing over 500 regional and international media professionals to advance audiovisual production and industry innovation.

Organized by the Tunis-based Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU), this year's four-day event carries the theme "The Pulse of the Image, the Echo of the Future."

In a statement on ASBU's official Facebook page, ASBU Director General Abderrahim Suleiman said the 26th edition continues the festival's longstanding mission to honor Arab audiovisual works and expand their global reach.

A central feature of the event is an ASBU-organized exhibition showcasing media equipment, markets, and production technologies, featuring 85 exhibitors from five continents across 110 pavilions.

The festival's official competition features 118 radio and 108 television entries, while the parallel section includes 43 radio and 41 television productions. Additionally, 10 entries developed using artificial intelligence technologies are competing in the "New Media" category.

Chinese Navy Hospital Ship Concludes Medical Mission in Mauritania

Source: Xinhua| 2026-09-22 22:17:00|Editor: huaxia

NOUAKCHOTT, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy hospital ship Auspicious Ark left Mauritania on Tuesday after a seven-day friendly visit and medical mission.

The ship departed Nouakchott's Friendship Port at around 10:00 a.m. local time. Mauritanian military and government officials, personnel from the Chinese embassy, local residents, and representatives of the Chinese community and enterprises gathered at the port to see it off.

Since arriving on Sept. 15 as the first stop of Mission Harmony-2026, medical staff aboard the ship recorded 6,864 patient visits, performed 38 surgeries, including ophthalmic, general, and orthopedic procedures, and conducted 143 health checkups. They also delivered the first baby born during the mission.

Medical teams working ashore provided a further 682 consultations and held health education activities and professional exchanges at local hospitals and in communities.

Rwanda, Belgium Restore Diplomatic Relations

Source: Xinhua| 2026-09-23 06:58:30|Editor: huaxia

KIGALI, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda and Belgium on Tuesday jointly decided to restore diplomatic relations, according to a statement released by Rwanda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The statement was jointly made by Olivier Nduhungirehe, minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation of Rwanda, and Maxime Prevot, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, European affairs and development cooperation of Belgium.

The decision followed a series of meetings and informal contacts held between the Rwandan and Belgian foreign ministers over recent months, said the statement, in which both countries expressed gratitude to Qatar for facilitating the first meeting between the ministers in Doha in June 2025.

According to the statement, the two countries will reopen their respective embassies in the near future.

"Belgium and Rwanda reaffirm their commitment to maintaining an open, candid and transparent dialogue," the statement added. "They have further agreed on renewed principles such as non-interference, mutual respect, and constructive engagement, which will guide their future bilateral relations."

On March 17, 2025, Rwanda severed its diplomatic relations with Belgium, accusing it of consistently undermining Rwanda "both well before and during the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in which Belgium has a deep and violent historical role, especially in acting against Rwanda."

China Tests World's First Practical Underwater Solar Power Plant in South China Sea

By Ma Tong

Sep 22, 2026 03:47 PM

Schematic illustration showing how underwater solar cells could supply clean energy to marine monitoring, communication and exploration equipment. Graphic: Courtesy of Yunnan University

Schematic illustration showing how underwater solar cells could supply clean energy to marine monitoring, communication and exploration equipment. Graphic: Courtesy of Yunnan University

Chinese scientists have achieved the world's first practical demonstration of underwater solar power generation at a depth of 10 meters, successfully testing perovskite photovoltaic (PV) modules in the South China Sea in a breakthrough that could help keep underwater equipment powered for extended periods, the Global Times learned from the research team at Yunnan University on Tuesday.  

The breakthrough offers a new source of clean energy for underwater equipment, with potential applications in intelligent marine systems and the development of China's marine economy, according to the research team.

Using wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells designed to harvest sunlight that penetrates seawater, the team successfully tested large-area PV modules in the South China Sea. The modules generated 324 milliwatt-hours of electricity over two hours, demonstrating their ability to charge lithium-ion batteries and power light-emitting diodes, according to research materials provided by the university's College of Materials and Energy.

The achievement, published recently in the international journal Joule, comes as China expands marine exploration, underwater monitoring and marine ranching, driving growing demand for power across underwater monitoring, communication, aquaculture and operational equipment.

Ensuring a reliable, continuous power supply for such equipment remains a major challenge worldwide, particularly in remote waters where replacing batteries or connecting to external power sources is difficult and costly. The successful sea trial offers a potential solution to this longstanding constraint.

The breakthrough addresses a fundamental limitation of conventional solar technology, which is that seawater absorbs sunlight rapidly, particularly red and ultraviolet wavelengths, leaving only a fraction of the original light available at greater depths. Conventional silicon solar cells are poorly suited to the narrower spectrum that remains.

To overcome this challenge, the team, led by Zhang Wenhua, dean of Yunnan University's College of Materials and Energy and a corresponding author of the study, developed wide-bandgap perovskite cells tailored to the underwater light spectrum. Their tunable bandgap allows the cells to capture wavelengths that penetrate seawater, the research team told the Global Times.

In laboratory tests simulating sunlight at a depth of 10 meters, a small-area cell achieved a power conversion efficiency of 34.71 percent. The researchers then tested larger PV modules in actual seawater near Weizhou Island in the South China Sea, demonstrating their ability to generate electricity and charge batteries under real marine conditions.

The results exceeded the team's initial expectations. Zhang said that researchers had anticipated an output of just 50 to 100 milliwatt-hours at 10 meters, rather than the more than 300 milliwatt-hours ultimately recorded.

The successful trial opens up the possibility of extending PV technology beyond satellites in space and power plants on land to the ocean, where it could provide a sustainable source of clean energy for underwater equipment.

Durability is another critical consideration for equipment operating underwater for extended periods. Laboratory tests showed no significant performance degradation after 1,160 hours of continuous operation under simulated underwater illumination at a depth of 10 meters. Accelerated aging tests further predicted approximately 5.49 years, at 25 C under simulated submerged conditions.

The underwater environment itself could help extend the cells' lifespan, as cooler temperatures and reduced ultraviolet exposure may limit some of the degradation experienced by perovskite cells on land, Zhang said.

However, the projected lifespan has yet to be verified through long-term operation in the ocean. Further improvements in encapsulation are needed to ensure reliability in seawater, while the lead contained in the cells raises environmental safety concerns, the research team told the Global Times.

The team is now assessing the cells' power generation capabilities at depths of 20 to 30 meters, where they believe the technology could also perform well, according to Zhang.

The research also reflects China's push to advance next-generation PV technologies as its solar industry expands. As of the end of July, the country's installed solar power capacity had reached 1.286 billion kilowatts, surpassing coal power for the first time, according to the National Energy Administration. Research into emerging technologies, including perovskite solar cells, is also accelerating as China expands its solar manufacturing and deployment. 

GT Voice: Expansion of China's Chip Supply Offers Value to World

By Global Times

Sep 22, 2026 10:51 PM

An AI-generated image of a chip Photo: VCG

Fresh figures from China's tax authority add to mounting evidence that China's semiconductor sector has entered a new phase of sustained performance gains. In the first eight months of this year, the sales revenue of artificial intelligence (AI)-related integrated circuit manufacturing surged 67.7 percent, the State Taxation Administration said on Monday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Compared with the 7.3 percent increase in China's overall industrial sales revenue, the revenue growth of the AI chip sector is a clear sign of rapid expansion in the semiconductor sector and the continuous release of new quality productive forces.

For a long time, observers tended to attribute the growth of China's chip industry simply to policy support. Yet striking operating figures now prove that the industry is increasingly self-driven. The operating quality of domestic chip companies has improved substantially, and the industry's development logic has moved beyond pure scale expansion into a new stage of making profits and independent iteration. This is the core foundation underpinning the continuous upgrading of China's chip supply capacity.

The semiconductor sector is a capital-intensive industry with high barriers to entry. Revenue growth only reflects market momentum, while profitability is the true benchmark of competitiveness. 

In the first half of 2026, 186 A-share listed semiconductor companies achieved total net profit attributable to parent companies of 160.51 billion yuan ($23.9 billion), up 607.2 percent year-on-year, a clear confirmation that the industry has completed its leap from production expansion to profit growth.

Company-level results point in the same direction. Chinese semiconductor giant Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp posted revenue of 38.6 billion yuan in the first half, up 19.4 percent year-on-year, while its net profit reached 4.47 billion yuan, up 94.2 percent. The company attributed this performance to robust demand for AI-related chips, the return of overseas orders, the continued strengthening of localized manufacturing, and a sufficient backlog of orders on hand.

In memory chips, CXMT recorded net profit of 77.60 billion yuan in the first half, reversing a loss of 2.33 billion yuan in the year-earlier period, according to its interim report.

Particularly striking was the collective improvement across the AI chip sector, which is riding a wave of profitability. Cambricon Technologies achieved profit growth of 122.61 percent, while MetaX and Iluvatar CoreX both swung to profit in the first half, reversing year-earlier losses. 

This profitability carries significant implications. Stable profit streams allow chip companies to invest in next-generation technology research and production line upgrades. A virtuous industrial cycle takes shape: market expansion generates profits, which fund technological advances. Widespread profitability also helps stabilize expectations among upstream and downstream partners.

As its technological strength grows, China's semiconductor sector is shifting from import substitution to global supply. Customs data showed that in the first seven months of this year, China's integrated circuit exports reached $216 billion, up 99.5 percent year-on-year, already exceeding the full-year total for 2025. 

In July alone, exports amounted to $38.74 billion, with year-on-year growth reaching 116.57 percent. Notably, in the first half of the year, integrated circuits became China's largest export commodity, surpassing automatic data processing equipment and related parts, and automobiles. This development shows that China's semiconductor sector is gradually being integrated into global electronics supply chains with stable delivery. 

Overall, the AI boom is fueling massive chip demand - driven by data center construction, intelligent vehicle upgrades, and large-language model training - keeping the global chip market under persistent supply pressure. Against this backdrop, the steady expansion of China's chip production carries dual strategic value. 

Domestically, a complete local chip supply base reinforces supply chain resilience for AI, smart connected vehicles, and industrial digitalization, mitigating the risk of supply disruptions and sustaining robust growth in China's digital economy. Globally, a more capable Chinese supply base allows buyers to diversify their sources and make computing chips more affordable, especially for developing countries.

Backed by genuine market demand and independent technological iteration, the long-term certainty of China's chip supply is steadily strengthening. As technological breakthroughs accumulate, domestic chips will continue to inject reliable Chinese momentum into global tech supply chains and the digital economy.

China-converted Hospital Ship Sets Sail, Showcasing Capability for Highly Complex Ship Conversions

By Guo Yuandan and Sun Langchen

Sep 22, 2026 04:41 PM

The Beograd, a container ship converted into a hospital ship by a Chinese company for an overseas client, set sail on September 19, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of CSSC Chengxi Shipyard

The Beograd, a container ship converted into a hospital ship by a Chinese company for an overseas client, recently set sail, marking the completion and delivery of the two ship-conversion projects undertaken by the company following the delivery of the first vessel Sunshine 1 in June, the Global Times learned from China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC) on Tuesday. 

The completion of the projects demonstrates that Chinese shipyards have developed the system-wide capabilities needed to undertake some of the world's most technically demanding conversion projects.

The two vessels were converted from 700-TEU container ships and will serve as self-propelled hospital ships after delivery, providing medical support to remote and less-developed areas as well as disaster-hit regions.

The project is far more than simply installing medical equipment. While retaining the vessels' navigational capabilities, the projects required the deep integration of medical, residential and ship systems, testing the shipyard's capabilities in system integration, multidisciplinary coordination and rapid on-site design, a representative from CSSC Chengxi Shipyard told the Global Times.

The conversion required a fundamental reconfiguration of the vessel's entire interior spaces. "The layout of medical areas such as outpatient departments, operating rooms and isolation wards can affect the entire vessel. From the location of a partition to the load-bearing capacity of the hull, any adjustment can have a knock-on effect on the safety and functions of the vessel," the representative said.

The project strictly followed relevant classification society guidelines on epidemic prevention, clearly dividing the vessels into clean, buffer and contaminated zones and establishing multiple isolation corridors to prevent cross-infection, according to the company.

At the same time, multiple core systems, including ventilation, water supply and drainage, power and electrical systems, as well as the main hull structure, had to be systematically rebuilt and upgraded. The work transformed the original cargo vessels into a maritime medical support system capable of meeting requirements for medical treatment and infection control, according to the representative.

More than 50 technical personnel worked on the project, with all design drawings issued as scheduled. The project also resulted in five patents and two corporate standards, while close coordination among different teams helped improve the project's response efficiency.

"Hospital ship conversion involves the deep integration of multiple specialties, including hull structures, marine engineering, electrical systems, ventilation and air conditioning. Completing such a project and developing replicable experience demonstrates that Chinese shipyards now have the system-wide capabilities needed to take on some of the world's most technically demanding conversion orders," the representative said.

China's ship repair industry has become one of the most important suppliers in the global market, while specialized ship conversion is among the most technically demanding segments, with high barriers to entry, the representative added.

Unlike standardized repairs of conventional vessels, specialized conversion requires the fundamental reconstruction of multiple systems, including the hull structure, mechanical and electrical systems and ventilation, while simultaneously meeting stringent classification society requirements and specific functional requirements from clients. This places demands on a shipyard's ability to integrate capabilities across the entire project chain.

The company has undertaken a wide range of technically demanding specialized conversion projects, including bulk carriers, livestock carriers, orange juice carriers, ro-ro and passenger vessels, semi-submersible vessels, marine research vessels, the rebuilding of container ships following total loss, and the conversion of large ore carriers into transshipment platforms.

The world's first livestock carrier converted to meet the requirements of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) was also completed and delivered in 2012, with capacity to transport up to 20,000 cattle or 110,000 sheep on a single voyage. The vessel became the world's second-largest livestock carrier at the time.

"As China moves from a major shipbuilding nation toward becoming a shipbuilding powerhouse, such high-tech specialized conversion capabilities represent a more tangible indicator of industrial upgrading than shipbuilding tonnage alone. The experience gained from the hospital ship projects can be further developed into replicable modular technologies, shifting the business model from customized 'one-ship-at-a-time' conversion toward solutions based on modular components and standardized interfaces," the representative said.

While ensuring the structural safety of the hull, the approach will allow different functional modules to be rapidly installed and removed, helping shorten conversion times. 

Medicare for All Represents More Than a Century of Struggle for Guaranteed Healthcare

Since the conclusion of the United States Civil War the question of healthcare policy and its costs has been a major source of political debate 

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Monday September 21, 2026

Political Review

Note: This report was written and delivered in part for a public meeting on “Medicare for All, Not War” held on Saturday September 19, 2026 at the Historic St. Matthew’s-St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church in Detroit. The event was sponsored by the Moratorium NOW! Coalition.

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Healthcare policy in the United States has once again become a contentious political issue impacting broad sections of the population.

Historically and during the present period there are no guarantees in the funding of medical coverage in the United States. 

The concept of Medicare for All has prompted debate inside the country where an estimated 28 million people remained uninsured. This is the situation within the US which is said to have the largest economy in the world.

Corporate media interests have for decades attempted to denigrate the notions of national health insurance for all residents and citizens of the US. The notions of guaranteed healthcare coverage are often described as “socialized medicine”, making it appear as if such a policy is foreign to the country.

In actuality it has never been accepted as a valid orientation in the US for the ruling class and those influenced by its ideology. However, this negative viewpoint on comprehensive healthcare policy has severely damaged the people particularly those within the working class and nationally oppressed communities.

Healthy people who are not concerned about providing medical coverage for themselves, their families and communities would improve the overall quality of life. Proposals by proponents of Medicare for All say that if these policies were adopted it would in fact lower healthcare costs in the US.

Even among those individuals and families which are covered by private insurance firms along with Medicaid and Medicare, many are still trapped in a cycle of higher costs for co-pays involving procedures and medications. One of the major causes of household indebtedness is medical costs. 

In a recent report published by CBS News, it notes that:

“Even Americans with health insurance are piling up medical debt, according to a new analysis. One in three Americans with health coverage through their employer, the Affordable Care Act marketplace or the private market say they have medical debt that they are paying off over time, the Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan health policy research group, said in a report on Thursday.  Hospital visits are the primary source of medical debt, with nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults reporting carrying debt related to such care. Patients also carry debt stemming from obtaining routine medical care, such as doctor's office visits or getting lab or diagnostic tests, the study found.” (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/1-in-3-insured-americans-medical-debt/)

Irrespective of this crisis of indebtedness and lack of adequate care, many misconceptions are still being fostered through the leadership of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Neither party has endorsed the demand for a universal single-payer healthcare policy which would cover the costs of routine medical visits, hospital stays, procedures and medications.

Some Aspects of the History of Struggle for Guaranteed Healthcare

After the beginning of the Civil War in the US between 1861-1865, one of the first government funded projects was initiated in 1862 in Washington DC, known as the Freedmen’s Hospital. This institution became part and parcel of the Freedmen’s Bureau which was established by the Congress in 1865.

According to one source on the origins of the Freedmen’s Bureau, it says:

“The United States Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was created by Congress in 1865 to assist in the political and social reconstruction of post-war Southern states and to help formerly enslaved people make the transition from slavery to freedom and citizenship. In the process, the Bureau created millions of records that contain the names of hundreds of thousands of formerly enslaved individuals and Southern white refugees.” (https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/initiatives/freedmens-bureau-records)

However, after the presidential elections of 1876, a political compromise resulted in the dissolution of Federal Reconstruction. This was codified with a series of Supreme Court decisions in 1883 which essentially absolved the government of responsibility for the building of a just and equitable society including African Americans.

What many whites failed to realize is that the continued national oppression of African Americans negatively impacted their overall social status and well-being. This was reflected in the fact that the early efforts to develop guaranteed healthcare programs originated in Europe.

An extensive report on the history of healthcare policy in the US was published by the Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), emphasizing that:

“Other developed countries have had some form of social insurance (that later evolved into national insurance) for nearly as long as the US has been trying to get it. Some European countries started with compulsory sickness insurance, one of the first systems, for workers beginning in Germany in 1883; other countries including Austria, Hungary, Norway, Britain, Russia, and the Netherlands followed all the way through 1912. Other European countries, including Sweden in 1891, Denmark in 1892, France in 1910, and Switzerland in 1912, subsidized the mutual benefit societies that workers formed among themselves. So, for a very long time, other countries have had some form of universal health care or at least the beginnings of it.” (https://pnhp.org/a-brief-history-universal-health-care-efforts-in-the-us/)

During the period of the late 19th century, there were no serious efforts by the government to create a safety net for people living in the US. However, by the early 20th century, the social impact of monopoly capitalism, industrialization and imperialism created avenues for reform.

The formation of the Progressive Party (also known as the Bull Moose Party) and its campaigns of 1912 witnessed the first political plank related to comprehensive healthcare policies. The then former President Theodore Roosevelt ran on the Progressive Party ticket as a result of the split among the Republicans. Roosevelt did not prevail and due to the divisions among the Republicans, the Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson won the elections of 1912. 

Wilson had claimed he would keep the US out of the burgeoning threats of war in Europe. However, by 1917, the US entered World War I, ushering in a wave of state repression. Those opposing the war or lackluster in supporting it, were subjected to harassment, imprisonment and deportation. This repressive wave continued even in the post-war period with the activities of Attorney General W. Mitchell Palmer who waged a campaign of arrests and deportations against those labelled anarchists, socialists, labor organizers and Black nationalists.

It was during the popular upsurge in response to the Great Depression of 1929-1941 that the demand for comprehensive healthcare reemerged. Nonetheless, the Social Security Act of 1935 excluded provisions for a national healthcare policy. Other efforts in the late 1930s did not prevail as well.

The Second World War of 1939-1945 assisted in bringing the US out of the depression through the massive conversion to military production and the draft of millions into the armed forces. However, when the war ended, the “Cold War” began against the rise of socialism and national liberation around the world. 

US President Harry S. Truman, who succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt after his death in April 1945, also attempted to enact a national health insurance program. These proposals proved to be incompatible with the Cold War atmosphere of anti-communism and institutional racism.

During the early 1960s, President John F. Kennedy broached the idea of Medicare for elderly residents of the country. His assassination in November 1963 left the enactment of this proposal to his successor Lyndon B. Johnson whose administration pushed legislation through a Democratic-dominated Congress during the mid-1960s. Both the Medicaid and Medicare programs were signed into existence in July 1965, just days prior to the signing of the Voting Rights Act of the same year.

Obamacare and the Present Situation

Former Detroit Congressman John Conyers Jr. drafted HR 676, a comprehensive healthcare policy bill during the early years of the 21st century. The theme of this proposal was “everybody in and nobody out.” (https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/house-bill/676)

This proposal gained significant support leading up to the national elections of 2008 which brought President Barack Obama to power. With a majority Democratic-led House of Representatives and Senate and the first African American president, many believed that there could have been a major push to adopt a comprehensive and guaranteed healthcare policy. 

Nonetheless, the Affordable Care Act was rammed through Congress without a substantive debate on the Conyers’ bill. This healthcare reform bill (ACA) relied on the private insurance industry to provide care and abandoned any notion of a “public option.”

Today, in the third decade of the 21st century, the demand for Medicare for All has resurfaced on a mass level as well as through incipient bills in Congress. The same propaganda which has been utilized in the past from the late 19th century to the present is very much in evidence in 2026.

The Wall Street Journal, a mouthpiece for international finance capital, launched a predictable attack on Medicare for All during August. In a recent article it says:

“The notion of a ‘Medicare for All’ system is enjoying a revival. Democratic primary victories by candidates who champion single-payer healthcare, most notably U.S. Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota, have pushed the proposal back into the healthcare debate. What these candidates fail to understand—or refuse to acknowledge—is that applying Medicare payment rates to all services provided to all patients would destroy the American healthcare system.” (https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-medicare-for-all-math-doesnt-add-up-1a3a4758)

With rising costs, medical debts and inadequate care for tens of millions, this capitalist-oriented healthcare system needs to be eliminated in favor of a comprehensive system which benefits the majority of people in the US. The reality is it will take a mass movement to enact a system in which the interests of people supersede those of the wealthy.

Ethiopian Opposition Groups Unite to Mount Challenge to Prime Minister Abiy

9:32 AM EDT, September 21, 2026

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Seven opposition groups in Ethiopia have formed an alliance aimed at removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his government, according to an announcement on Sunday.

The coalition said it would be known as the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival.

Its members are the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Oromo Liberation Army, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement and the Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement.

The leaders of the TPLF fought federal authorities in the deadly armed conflict in northern Ethiopia that ended with the signing of a peace accord in November 2022.

TPLF spokesman Michael Asgedom said his group’s cooperation with other opposition factions was political and military. Joint “military operations may become necessary to achieve the objective of removing the dictatorial regime,” he told The Associated Press.

Asked whether the TPLF’s participation in the alliance violated the 2022 peace agreement, Asgedom said that accord was “no longer valid.”

Zemene Kassie, chairman of the Amhara Fano National Movement, appeared on Tigray TV on Sunday to announce new alliance. He accused the federal government of presiding over widespread insecurity and armed conflict, displacement, poverty and gross human rights abuses.

The Ethiopian Media Authority responded on Monday by saying Tigray TV was an illegal entity and accusing it of promoting insurgency.

In addition to the Tigray conflict, the federal authorities have faced conflicts elsewhere, including in the Amhara and Oromia provinces.

Abiy’s Prosperity Party was retained power in June’s general election that was boycotted by the main opposition groups.

It was not immediately clear how closely the seven groups will work together in their stated objective of ousting Abiy, who rose to the premiership of Ethiopia in 2018 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to make peace with neighboring Eritrea.

After relations between the neighbors improved, Eritrean forces teamed up with Ethiopian troops against fighters loyal to the TPLF in 2020.

Relations between the two countries have since deteriorated, partly over Abiy’s desire for sovereign access to the Eritrean seaport of Assab. Ethiopia has also accused Eritrea of supporting rebel groups operating inside Ethiopian territory.

What to Know About USAID and the Deadly Impacts of US Foreign Aid Cuts

By KRISTEN GELINEAU

9:21 PM EDT, September 21, 2026

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The foreign aid landscape has changed dramatically since U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration dissolved the United States Agency for International Development, once the world’s largest humanitarian donor.

Here’s a quick look at USAID, the impacts of its dissolution and what foreign aid looks like today:

USAID’s roots and purpose

U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Congress started USAID in the early 1960s. Beyond the belief that the U.S. has a moral obligation to help the world’s most desperate, supporters of USAID say the agency was a crucial tool of soft power diplomacy. Supporters say USAID directly benefited the country by engendering immense global goodwill toward the U.S., helping prevent the spread of diseases that could threaten American lives and providing stability in foreign countries that could otherwise pose a threat to U.S. security. The U.S. typically spent around 1% of its federal budget on U.S. foreign assistance.

A study published in The Lancet credited USAID programs with preventing 91 million deaths — including 30 million deaths of children under age 5 — in the first two decades of this century alone.

Critics of the agency, including Trump, say it was wasteful and poorly run.

US foreign aid cuts affect communities worldwide

The U.S. foreign aid cuts have been devastating for millions of the world’s most vulnerable people. The Associated Press has documented widespread severe hunger, shortages of lifesaving medicine and spikes in child marriage, kidnapping and trafficking of children — consequences that are all linked to the funding cuts. Experts say the true impact won’t be measurable for years, because the repercussions of issues like malnutrition and untreated diseases take time to manifest. And the full extent of the damage may never be known, in part because the funding cuts eliminated the jobs of scores of front line workers who collected mortality data.

Deaths linked to US foreign aid cuts

Despite the U.S. government’s repeated insistence that no one has died as a result of its dissolution of USAID, the AP has documented deaths across the world linked to the funding cuts. In Nepal, the AP found that cuts to programs that ensured uneducated, impoverished pregnant women got proper nutrition and prenatal care have led to more babies and pregnant women dying. The AP also found that children in Myanmar, Nigeria and Somalia have died after cuts to food rations and nutrition programs.

Because of global cuts to foreign aid, the Gates Foundation has predicted that 2025 will be the first year this century where child deaths will increase.

US defends its decision

In a statement to the AP, the U.S. State Department said the Trump administration had reinvigorated its assistance programs to focus on efficiency, effectiveness and partnership. The department also said the U.S. spends more on health and humanitarian assistance than any other country.

“The rest of the world needs to contribute more and share the burden,” the department said.

US foreign aid today

The Trump administration’s new foreign aid strategy is more limited and is targeted toward initiatives that government officials say will further the United States’ interests. With health aid, for example, the U.S. is increasingly bypassing NGOs in favor of bilateral agreements with foreign countries. This means the money goes directly to foreign governments in exchange for concessions to the U.S., such as access to a country’s health data, which could be used to help detect outbreaks of infectious diseases. The U.S. says this model is more efficient. But some countries have pushed back, particularly over privacy concerns for their citizens’ medical records.