September 2026
All columns and Brief analyses.
10 results
Thailand pauses 166 data centre projects while it writes national rules
Thailand paused 49 data centre projects under construction and 117 awaiting approval while it drafts common national rules. Officials counted 35 projects already operating. Four subcommittees have one month to propose standards covering water and electricity use, location, safety, environmental effects and the economic benefits the country expects from new investment.
US blockade of Iran redirects about 90 commercial ships
The US military said about 90 commercial vessels had been redirected under its blockade of Iran, with others disabled or boarded. Central Command also said strikes left two Iranian crude tankers permanently disabled and sank a third. Iran warned of a faster and heavier response and claimed attacks on US naval assets; Central Command rejected those claims and said its ships evaded the strikes.
Vostok Oil terminal opens with first-stage capacity of 30 million tonnes a year
Vostok Oil's Bukhta Sever terminal entered service with first-stage handling capacity of 30 million tonnes of crude a year. The first oil reached the terminal from the Payakha and Vankor fields through the new main pipeline, and tanker loading began. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Northern Sea Route cargo totalled 37 million tonnes last year and set a goal of 70 million tonnes a year by the decade's end.
Witkoff and Kushner head to Kyiv after three hours of talks with Putin
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner left roughly three hours of talks with Putin without an announced agreement. The White House said substantive plans for next steps were discussed and an announcement is expected within weeks. The envoys now head to Kyiv for their first visit. Moscow and Kyiv pledged a three-day pause in strikes on each other’s capitals, but the American proposal remains unpublished and core disagreements persist.
Yakushima faces water outages and a continuing evacuation order after heavy rain
Japan lowered Yakushima’s landslide warning on September 5, but an evacuation order remained in force. Kagoshima Prefecture’s afternoon report listed 6,228 residents covered by the order. Damage to Nagamine’s water-intake system affected as many as 289 households, with water distributed at a temporary point while river levels prevented repairs. Saturated ground left a continuing risk of further landslides after the rain.
Zaporizhzhia power-line repairs get a local ceasefire
A local ceasefire took effect Saturday to allow repairs to the damaged line supplying external electricity to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Ukrainian technicians would work after demining. The plant has relied on diesel generators since August 20; the agency warned of a possible blackout within days unless external power returns or more fuel arrives.
A comet is not being born; the sky is making a transition visible
The gas and dust around 450P/LONEOS remind us that an icy body need not fit one fixed label. The value lies not in declaring a result, but in patiently watching the intermediate state.
A data-centre pause makes capacity a public planning question
Orange County's proposed pause does not settle whether an AI data centre belongs there. It creates time to put water, power and land needs into a public decision before applications become entitlements.
A referral can raise the stakes without settling the argument
A draft IAEA resolution would send Iran’s safeguards dispute to the UN Security Council. That changes the forum, but not the political obstacles: the text is still being negotiated and Russia and China retain vetoes over any later Council measure.
Cosmos DB memory keeps learning after the reply
Microsoft's ready-made memory connection moves extraction into the background. When a new session can use that information becomes a concrete design question for the developer building the application.