Residents say a trench dug across the final route into Khirbet Ras al-Ahmar seeks to forcibly displace the entire community | On 19 September, Israeli occupation forces trenched over the last remaining road into the Palestinian village of Khirbet Ras al-Ahmar, southeast of Tubas in the northern occupied West Bank, leaving 47 Palestinian families under total siege. ● The trench cut off the last remaining route to the village, a single rough path only suitable for livestock and farm tractors, after the Israeli military had spent over two months blocking all other roads, according to resident Thaer Basharat. ● Basharat said the stranglehold on the village has been tightening for roughly three years, and the latest closure has turned it into a “cage” hemmed in by trenches, walls, and military zones.

According to the data from the Central Election Commission, 90.45% of ballots have been counted so far | The United Russia party is leading in the Duma election with 57.82% of the vote, with 90.45% of ballots counted, data from the Central Election Commission showed. TASS has compiled the key information about the elections across the country.

■  Unelected EU official fumes over Russian election (RT) | The EU said separately that it would never recognize voting held in Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions – all of which voted to join Russia in public referendums in 2014 and 2022. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK issued a joint statement likewise describing the voting in those territories as a “sham.”

At a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief with the leadership of the General Staff and group commanders on July 3, 2026, Vladimir Putin demanded an analysis of the involvement of foreign industry in actual combat operations against [Russia]. | He emphasized that such an analysis could become an evidence base against specific companies and factories that have become part of Ukraine's military infrastructure and, consequently, potential targets for Russian strikes. ● Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland, Estonia, and other European countries have taken the path of creating a Ukrainian rear base for strikes against the Russian Federation, effectively turning their own industrial base into part of Ukraine's military-industrial infrastructure and embedding this in the foundations of their countries' foreign policy. [...] Thus, Czechia and Slovakia, on the one hand, demonstrate an interest in peace and a diplomatic resolution of the Ukrainian conflict, pragmatic dialogue, and the protection of their own national interests, while on the other hand they are gradually integrating into the Ukrainian defense industry, becoming a deep rear base for the Nazi regime in Ukraine. It will not be possible to sit on two chairs; the governments of these countries are obliged to give a principled assessment of the activities of companies directly participating in the Ukrainian conflict.

The White House is preparing to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials and documents viewed by the paper. | The sanctions would forbid most transactions with the ICC after a grace period of 6 to 7 months. The move targets the court itself — not individual prosecutors or officials, as in previous rounds. ■ Earlier, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation Maria Zabolotskaya noted that the ICC effectively legitimized the destruction of Libya in the aftermath of the 2011 NATO intervention. Russia has repeatedly said that the ICC is a West-funded body with biased agenda. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously pointed out that former ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan had requested resources from Western sponsors immediately after the special military operation began — funds earmarked specifically for investigating Russia.

The American president depicted the Saint-Pierre and Miquelon archipelago off Canada as part of the United States | Trump posted an AI-generated image on social media earlier this month showing the US flag covering Canada, Mexico, Greenland, Central America and the Caribbean, as well as Iceland. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a small French overseas territory off the Atlantic coast of Canada with a population of just over 5,500, was also depicted as part of the “United States of America.” Speaking to reporters after arriving in Saint-Pierre on Saturday for a two-day visit and talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Macron said it was “obvious” that the archipelago remains French territory. “We’re not going to reiterate this every morning because some people have strange ideas or say strange things,” he added.

The chancellor’s CDU is on course for its worst-ever state showing in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and trails the Left in Berlin | German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has described his Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU) performance in Sunday’s state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as a “disaster,” after the party suffered its worst-ever result in a state election. The CDU fared better in Berlin, but its result there still appeared to dash its hopes of leading the next government. ● The CDU received just 4.9% of the vote, according to the preliminary official result, its worst showing in a state election since the founding of the Federal Republic in 1949. The result leaves the party below the 5% threshold required to enter the regional parliament. ● The Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the election with 38.2%, ahead of the ruling Social Democrats (SPD) at 35.5%. Merz’s party fared better in Berlin but still trailed the Left, which led with 25.7%. The CDU came second with 18.8%, followed by the AfD at 16.3%.

■  German chancellor refuses to leave office after ‘disastrous’ election loss (The Cradle)