September 2026
All columns and Brief analyses.
10 results
Kuwait opens a system to track private-sector wage payments
Kuwait’s central bank launched a national platform for private-sector wage transfers through local banks. The bank operates the payment infrastructure, while the Public Authority for Manpower monitors employer compliance. The system is intended to make salary disbursement visible to regulators as it happens and to flag breaches sooner. The launch establishes the mechanism; the bank has not published a worker count or wage volume processed on its first day.
Malaysia starts Myanmar returns despite UN safety warning
Malaysia began the first phase of a programme to return about 1,500 Myanmar nationals from immigration detention. The government describes the returns as voluntary, while the UN refugee agency and rights groups warn that conditions in Myanmar are unsafe. Buses carrying people reached a processing site near the Lumut naval base. The start of departures turns a previously announced plan into an immediate protection question for those being sent back.
Manus 2.0 adds a task harness and a separate Cue agent
Manus launched version 2.0 with Cascade, an agent harness that brings in specialist tools as projects need them, and introduced Cue as a separate personal-agent app. The same release adds automations activated by events and a desktop workspace. Cue remains in invitation-only early access, so the announcement joins a generally available platform update to a more limited personal-agent rollout.
Maui study links elevated metals with poorer lung function
A study announced September 28 reports an association between elevated metal levels and abnormal lung function among Maui residents examined after the 2023 wildfires. The researchers cannot separate the fire’s contribution from earlier pollution, local geology, diet and other exposures. The result makes longer-term exposure a question for follow-up, but it does not establish that the fire caused the metal burden or the lung findings.
Mesabi plans a $15bn steel plant in Iowa
Mesabi Metallics plans a roughly $15 billion steel plant in southeast Iowa, with iron ore expected from its mine in Minnesota. President Donald Trump announced the project with company executives on 28 September. The company projects at least 1,700 permanent jobs once the plant operates; financing, construction and production remain ahead, so the investment and employment figures describe a plan.
Meta connects Muse to small-business tools
Meta added business connections to its Muse agent, including Instagram and Facebook accounts alongside services such as Shopify, Stripe and QuickBooks. Small-business owners can use the assistant to examine sales or campaigns and prepare drafts across those tools. Meta says publishing, sending messages and spending still require the user's approval. The change adds working connections to the existing Muse product, distinct from the enterprise business unit the company announced a day earlier.
Morocco’s king tasks El Mansouri with forming a government
King Mohammed VI named Fatima Zahra El Mansouri head of government after her Authenticity and Modernity Party won the most seats in Morocco’s parliamentary election. She is the first woman appointed to the post. The party’s 97 seats fall short of a majority in the 395-seat chamber, so her next task is to negotiate a coalition; the appointment alone does not settle its membership.
NASA schedules an uncrewed Starliner test before astronauts return
NASA’s September 28 plan puts an uncrewed Starliner-1 engineering flight ahead of another mission carrying astronauts. The flight would test changes to the propulsion system in orbit after control problems on the 2024 crewed test. December 2026 or January 2027 is a conditional window for the uncrewed mission; the current target for Starliner-2 with a crew is 2028.
Netherlands pledges €10 million for Ukraine training centres
The Netherlands has pledged €10 million to help modernise military training centres in Ukraine. Defence Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius announced the contribution at an EU defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels. The Dutch ministry says the money concerns two centres; independent reporting confirms the amount and purpose without specifying the number. The announcement adds to European efforts to train Ukrainian personnel in their own country.
New York City Council subpoenas SpaceXAI for AI hearing
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin has subpoenaed SpaceXAI to send a representative to an October 5 hearing on proposed AI safety rules. Council officials say the company alone had not committed to attend after invitations went out to major AI firms. The subpoena changes the request for voluntary testimony into a legal demand; it is neither a penalty nor a finding that SpaceXAI broke a rule.