World in brief: September 25, 2026

Middle East / 24 September 2026 Iran’s president makes defiant speech to the UN 24 September 2026 Central Africa / 24 September 2026 Congo running short of health workers as Ebola crisis deepens 24 September 2026 Latin America / 24 September 2026 President Milei renews Argentina’s Malvinas claim at United Nations 24 September 2026 Workers’ Rights / 24 September 2026 Canadian unions oppose changes to country’s labour code 24 September 2026 Latin America / 24 September 2026 Venezuela’s acting leader promises new elections 24 September 2026 Round-up / 24 September 2026 World in brief: September 24, 2026 24 September 2026 RUSSIA: Full results released on Friday from Russia’s parliamentary election showed that President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party will get more than three-quarters of the seats in the State Duma, a record high, according to returns released by the Central Election Commission.

Election commission chief Ella Pamfilova said United Russia got 349 out of 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower chamber. It polled 58 per cent of the ballot for the 225 seats apportioned by parties and also won 209 single-seat races that fill the other half of the chamber.

GREECE: A powerful blast shook the Greek capital’s tourist district of Plaka, near the ancient Acropolis, on Friday morning, causing a building to collapse and injuring at least two people, authorities said.

The fire department said the explosion occurred in a two-storey building in the Plaka district, the historic part of Athens that lies at the foot of Acropolis hill.

ARGENTINA: Argentina’s poverty rate jumped to 32.3 per cent in the first half of 2026, official data showed Thursday, as incomes failed to keep pace with the rising cost of basic goods.

The national statistics agency reported that the number of Argentines in extreme poverty rose from 6.3 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

POLAND: A fire at a Starlink satellite station in central Poland was a deliberate “act of sabotage,” a government minister has said on Thursday.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said the fire in the Masovian Voivodeship province was “deliberately designed to disable the station, disrupting internet access for various institutions, including the Ukrainian army.”