EU-backed coalition vies for role in global AI order

The US, China, UK and France have so far stayed out of a new call to keep frontier systems “under human control”

Published 21 Sep, 2026 22:50 |

A group ofmostly European states and middle powersis seeking to build a new global coalition on artificial intelligence, as countries outside the US-China technology race scramble to retain influence over how increasingly powerful systems are governed.

Leaders representing 20 countries, alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, signed the declaration on Monday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly High-level Week in New York, calling for frontier AI to remain “under human direction, oversight and control.” The initiative was spearheaded by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

The world’s two leading AI powers – the US and China – did not sign, nor did several major European players, including the UK, France and Italy. Germany, Spain and a number of smaller EU states, however, joined the initiative. The statement remains open for additional endorsements.

The declaration warns that advanced AI systems have already circumvented testing safeguards, exploited vulnerabilities and gained unauthorized access to real-world systems. It calls for mandatory pre-deployment testing, independent evaluations with sufficient access to frontier models, a common set of international standards and shared reporting of serious safety incidents.

It stops short, however, of demanding a pause or slowdown in AI development. Instead, its backers want UN members to explore the idea of creating an international institution capable of setting standards, verifying compliance and convening governments when AI systems cross certain capability thresholds.

Stubb acknowledged that bringing the dominant AI powers on board will be crucial, telling Politico thatthe goal was to create “momentum” and eventually attract both Washington and Beijing.

“I think it will be in the interest of both China and the United States to have some kind of guardrails,” he said, arguing that “humans need to be in charge.” Stubb said his preferred model would resemble the International Atomic Energy Agency, although organizers deliberately left the institutional format open to avoid alienating governments wary of creating another UN body.

The push comes as Washington and Beijing are increasingly setting the terms of the global AI debate themselves and promoting competing international frameworks. AI safety is also expected to feature when President Donald Trump meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday.

Washington’s Pax Silica initiative has expanded to 24 partners and centers on securing semiconductor, critical-mineral and AI supply chains among what the US describes as “trusted” partners.

Beijing, meanwhile, established the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) in July with 29 founding countries, including Russia, many of them from the Global South. China has paired that initiative with open-weight models, training programs and infrastructure projects, presenting itself as an alternative to Western-controlled AI ecosystems.

The UN has also launched its own Global Dialogue on AI Governance, meaning the new European-led initiative enters an increasingly crowded contest over who gets to write global AI rules.

Some countries are keeping a foot in multiple emerging AI governance camps rather than choosing a single bloc. Kazakhstan has gone furthest in hedging its bets, joining China-backed WAICO and the US-led Pax Silica initiative while also signing Monday’s “human control” declaration. Kenya and South Africa, meanwhile, are founding members of WAICO and have now backed the new European-led initiative as well.

https://www.rt.com/news/646062-ai-declaration-human-control/

West training own public to swallow lies – Lavrov

The US and its allies resort to sleazy methods because they can no longer compete fairly, the Russian foreign minister has said

Published 22 Sep, 2026 11:11

Fake news has become a routine Western tool for undermining competitors, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. He argued that Western media have conditioned their audiences to believe negative reporting about countries portrayed as adversaries.

Russia’s top diplomat made the remarks during the opening ceremony of an international forum in Moscow dedicated to combating fake news.

West abuses new technology to ‘derail multipolar world’

Modern information technology allows “any piece of news, even unverified or obviously fake, to be disseminated to millions, if not billions of people,” Lavrov warned. Western officials exploit this environment to “derail the creation of a just multipolar world order,” he added.

According to Lavrov, fake news is part of a broader set of tools the West uses against nations of the Global South.

Western efforts to obfuscate and distort the truth reflect a broader trend: its fear to compete honestly in virtually every sphere of human activity.

Unilateral economic sanctions, tariffs, and accusations of “industrial overcapacity” are being used against China, Lavrov said. Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure and blackmail in international organizations serve to obscure the fact that “on many key issues of modern development the West would have been left in absolute minority, should the voting be conducted fairly.”

Russia became a target after rejecting ‘neocolonialist cooperation’

Lavrov said Western pressure against Russia intensified in the early 2000s, when the country “began to liberate itself from neocolonial forms of cooperation with our Western colleagues.” That shift prompted the West to pursue a policy of containing Russia, he argued.

The minister cited several cases in which serious accusations were leveled against Moscow while, according to Lavrov, Russian requests for supporting evidence were rejected. He focused in particular on the so-called “Bucha massacre” – alleged mass killings of civilians near Kiev in 2022 that Moscow maintains were a Western-backed fabrication.

Lavrov criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for lending credence to the accusations and urged the public to examine a recent Russian investigation. He said researchers used publicly available Ukrainian sources, including obituaries and government databases, to trace people whose names Kiev placed on a memorial to alleged Russian victims in Bucha.

According to Lavrov, the list includes “dozens of names” of Ukrainian military personnel, members of the Security Service of Ukraine, territorial defense forces, police, and the national guard.

“Over 70 names have no digital footprint whatsoever, which is nearly impossible in today’s world,” Lavrov said, adding that “these facts disprove the claim that hundreds of civilians were killed in Bucha.”

West has ‘trained’ its citizens to swallow lies about Russia

Lavrov said Western media have for years deliberately “trained their public to trust any, even the most crazy anti-Russian tropes and fantasies.” Western governments take advantage of the rapid modern news cycle to make such messaging effective, he argued.

The essence of Western media policy: cook up some fake news, blow it up to the scale of a cosmic disaster for a day or three, and shut down access to any alternative views.

Lavrov cited a recent drone incident at an airport in Leipzig, Germany, which Berlin blamed on Russia while moving to close Russian diplomatic venues, as an example of that approach.

The West also simply ignores inconvenient facts, Lavrov said, pointing to Ukraine’s deadly drone attack on a vocational college dormitory in Starobelsk in May.

The incident killed dozens of students but “prompted no condemnation from Western governments and international organizations controlled by the West, and unfortunately barely made a ripple in the Western media,” he said.

https://www.rt.com/russia/646081-lavrov-fake-news-speech/

Nathan Hale Gave His Life for America. 250 Years Later, We Should Remember Why

By Michael Freund September 21, 2026

At noon on September 22, a small ceremony will take place at the foot of a bronze statue in Manhattan’s City Hall Park. A color guard will stand at attention, a wreath will be laid and most New Yorkers walking by probably will not notice..

They should.

The statue is of Nathan Hale, one of America’s first spies. Two hundred and fifty years ago, the British hanged him. He was 21 years old.

Hale hardly seemed destined for spy work. He was a Yale graduate, class of 1773, and a schoolteacher from Coventry, Connecticut – tall, fair and, by contemporary accounts, somewhat guileless.

After the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, Hale joined a Connecticut regiment. In the summer of 1776, he served with Knowlton’s Rangers, an elite reconnaissance unit organized under George Washington after the American defeat on Long Island.

Washington desperately needed intelligence about British troop strength and positions in New York. He asked for a volunteer to go behind enemy lines.

Hale was the only one to step forward. Friends tried to dissuade him, but he insisted on going. In mid-September 1776, disguised as a schoolmaster, he crossed Long Island Sound and entered British-held territory. He gathered information about troop deployments and fortifications, but within days his mission unraveled.

According to one account, British Maj. Robert Rogers, commander of the Queen’s Rangers, became suspicious of Hale, pretended to share his Patriot sympathies and induced him to reveal himself. Hale was arrested and brought before British Gen. William Howe.

There was no trial; A spy caught behind enemy lines and out of uniform faced execution.

The following morning, September 22, Hale was taken to the British artillery park, believed to have been near what is now Third Avenue and East 66th Street. He asked for a Bible and a clergyman. Both requests were denied.

British officer Frederick Mackenzie later recorded that Hale “behaved with great composure and resolution,” saying that he believed it was the duty of every good officer to obey the orders of his commander-in-chief and urging those around him to be prepared to meet death whenever it came.

The British orderly book was more clinical: “A spy from the enemy (by his own full confession) apprehended last night, was this day executed at 11 o’clock in front of the Artillery Park.” Far better known are the words generations of Americans have associated with Hale: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

Whether that was his final utterance is uncertain. The sentiment closely resembles a passage from Joseph Addison’s “Cato,” a play Hale and many of his generation knew well, and the famous formulation was recorded later rather than at the scene.

Whatever his precise words, Hale went to the gallows with remarkable calm and courage.

Accounts say his body was left hanging as a warning before being buried in an unmarked grave whose location remains unknown.

When he went to the gallows, American independence was barely two months old. Washington’s army had been driven from Long Island, New York had fallen to the British and there was no guarantee that the new nation would survive. Hale gave his life not for a victorious country, but for the possibility of one.

Hale did not command an army or draft a founding document. His intelligence mission failed. But the Revolution depended on more than the famous men whose portraits now hang in museums and government buildings.

It depended on thousands of Americans – soldiers, farmers, sailors, tradesmen and, in Hale’s case, a young schoolteacher – who were willing to risk everything to secure the independence their leaders had declared.

As America marks 250 years of independence, it is worth remembering that the words of the Declaration meant little unless Americans were willing to fight and die for them.

More than a century after Hale’s death, the Sons of the Revolution gave New York the statue that now stands in City Hall Park. Its location is fitting.The young Connecticut schoolteacher faces City Hall in a town that was once under British military occupation, a reminder that the freedom New Yorkers take for granted came at a heavy price.

Nathan Hale had only one life.At 21, with his country’s future hanging in the balance, he was willing to give it. Two hundred and fifty years later, America should honor and remember that.

https://www.realclearhistory.com/articles/2026/09/21/nathan_hale_gave_his_life_for_america_250_years_later_we_should_remember_why_1207113.html

Bid to oust Pezeshkian exposes rift among Iran conservatives

Maryam Sinaiee Iran International Sep 11, 2026, 14:43 GMT1/2

(They are turning on each other, that’s a good sign)

A reported attempt by a hardline lawmaker to raise President Masoud Pezeshkian’s removal from office has triggered a fierce confrontation not between Iran’s hardliners and moderates but within the conservative camp, exposing divisions that have deepened during the war.

The proposal, reportedly raised at an informal meeting of MPs on Monday, was opposed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Ghalibaf and several lawmakers, one of whom subsequently described it as a “coup plot” against the government.

According to accounts from lawmakers and Iranian media, an unnamed MP raised the question of Pezeshkian’s “political incompetence,” a constitutional mechanism that can ultimately lead to a president’s removal.

The lawmaker reportedly compared Pezeshkian with Abolhassan Bani Sadr, Iran’s first president, who was removed by parliament in 1981, less than a year after the start of the Iran-Iraq war.

Under Article 89 of Iran’s constitution, initiating such a process requires the support of at least one-third of MPs, while removing the president requires the support of two-thirds of parliament.

‘Coup plot’

The confrontation was made public by Mojtaba Zarei, a conservative lawmaker and Ghalibaf supporter, who described the initiative as a “coup plot” and stressed that Pezeshkian’s administration was “backed by the Supreme Leader.”

Zarei threatened to disclose further details about the unnamed lawmaker and the party behind the initiative if what he described as a campaign of agitation and threats continued.

The confrontation reportedly occurred during an informal gathering at the Shah Abdol-Azim shrine in southern Tehran. Parliament has not held in-person sessions since the war began, citing security concerns, and Monday’s discussions were therefore not officially recorded.

Hardliners have accused Ghalibaf of using security concerns as an excuse to prevent parliament from meeting physically, thereby frustrating efforts to pursue the impeachment of Pezeshkian’s ministers.

Zarei did not say whether he was describing a formal attempt to invoke constitutional procedures against Pezeshkian or a broader campaign to force him from office.

His use of the term “coup” is particularly striking because hardliners close to former presidential candidate Saeed Jalili have themselves repeatedly accused Pezeshkian, Ghalibaf and their allies of mounting a “coup” against Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei by defying his instructions on negotiations.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202609113453

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Clash over policy

The exchange reflects an increasingly bitter struggle that does not fall neatly along Iran’s traditional hardline-reformist divide: Ghalibaf is himself a prominent conservative but has increasingly clashed with the harder-line factions associated with Jalili and the Paydari and Shariyan groups.

The political confrontation comes as the war with the United States has intensified, including a widening maritime confrontation around the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflict has sharpened divisions in Tehran over whether Iran should seek a diplomatic accommodation with Washington or respond to US pressure with further military and nuclear escalation.

Etemad newspaper said the hardline faction was pursuing parallel efforts to weaken the executive, combining pressure for greater coercion over the hijab with threats of parliamentary confrontation.

Such tactics, it argued, were intended to force the cabinet to expend its energy on political disputes rather than the country’s economic and livelihood crises.

Ultrahardliners at work

According to Zarei and other lawmakers who spoke to Iranian media, the unnamed MP behind the initiative belongs to Shariyan, or the Strategic Network of Islamic Revolution Supporters.

The group emerged as an electoral alliance ahead of Iran’s February 2024 parliamentary election, with prominent Tehran lawmakers Hamid Rasaei and Amir-Hossein Sabeti among its leading figures.

Shariyan has considerable political overlap with the hardline Paydari Party and Jalili’s faction, which have opposed negotiations and accommodation with the United States.

Their confrontation has increasingly extended beyond Pezeshkian to Ghalibaf himself.

Figures associated with the factions have criticised the parliamentary speaker at pro-establishment gatherings, reflecting a longer-running struggle over leadership of the conservative camp and control of parliament.

Hardline activists have also accused Pezeshkian for months of disobeying the new Supreme Leader and lacking the political competence to remain president, with some openly demanding his resignation.

There is no indication that an effort to remove Pezeshkian currently commands the parliamentary support required to succeed. But amid acute wartime and economic pressure, the episode shows how far the struggle within Iran’s conservative establishment has escalated.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202609113453

Russia Strategic Diesel Supplies Full, Excess Production Now Flowing to “Stans” Central Asia – The Rule of 96

September 22, 2026 | sundance1/2

There is a general rule that applies to geopolitical contexts surrounding 96 hours or four days. The timing is the difference between an event happening Day one, the analysis of the event by nation states communicated to leadership, and the policy shift outcome in Day four. The rule of 96 is consistent and it is worth understanding.

Four days ago, the EU oil disruption from Saudi Arabia’s East/West pipeline event was noticed. In the four days between event day and policy day (#4) the EU have been beating the drumbeat for war against Russia. However, you will notice the shift in tone and policy now that we have reached day four. Analysis has reached policy makers. You might say reality sets in.

Europe now recognizes a vulnerability that was not in their policy briefs 96 hours earlier. Things change {SOURCE}, and the quiet stuff starts to become visible. Russia has been sending France oil/gas energy products, quietly. Macron needed the internal stabilization because he’s been up against a wall.

On top of all his other issues, Macron could not afford an energy crisis.

Simultaneously, despite what we have been told by Western media, the 5,000 strike drones into the Moscow region should again be taken in context. Russia is an analog system in a digital world. Russia is exceptionally resilient and can repair and recover much faster than western analysts ever fathom. Again, apply the ‘rule of 96.’

Russia is now overproducing diesel fuel. Wait, what(?) you might ask. It’s true. Russian strategic diesel fuel reserves are now full and overproducing 15% beyond storage capacity. {SOURCE} So, where is the excess capacity going? To the “stans” in Central Asia, from there it ships to forward destinations.

Turkey is a dependent beneficiary. Do you remember the strategic agreement between the USA and Kazakhstan? {Source}

Russia increased diesel supplies to Mongolia by 73.4% in August from July to 215,000 metric tons, while shipments to Kyrgyzstan surged 16.4 times to 72,000 tons and deliveries to Tajikistan rose 3.5 times to 56,000 tons. Russia also exported 28,000 tons of diesel to Kazakhstan after making no deliveries there in July. {source}

As the Saudi energy disruption, a problem that travels like boxcar impacts in a train collision, now reaches the EU, the NATO alliance begins to react. Their policy briefs are different than they were four days ago.

Saudi Arabia is now producing again on the previously closed East/West pipeline; however, it will take time to reach the EU. A policy window is opened by the disruption. This is the window where President Trump is operating, and it is timed with the UN General Assembly meeting.

On the potash announcement by President Trump and subsequent notes by Belarussian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, remind yourself that potash is not sold by government – it is sold by companies, from one to the other.

Lukashenko is an ally of Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko has one foot in the EU perspective and the other in the Russian perspective.

Potash from Belarus can be potash from Belarus. Potash from Belarus can also be potash from Russia. Again, companies are involved and should be considered when government officials make announcements. There is no shortage of potash from Russia, but there are political constraints from anything surrounding Russia.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/09/22/russia-strategic-diesel-supplies-full-excess-production-now-flowing-to-stans-central-asia-the-rule-of-96/

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A company who does business in Belarus and Russia is not uncommon. Belarus may not officially have potash to deliver (Lukashenko), but also potash can be abundant in supplies as inventories by companies who do business with Belarus (John Coale). Who is John Coale? Where was John Coale, U.S. special envoy for Belarus, four days ago?

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko met with a U.S. envoy on Tuesday to push for the lifting of the remaining U.S. sanctions against his country.

Speaking at a meeting with John Coale, the U.S. special envoy for Belarus, Lukashenko said that “we have reached quite a few agreements related to our economic ties.” He urged Washington to help unblock some Belarusian assets he said were “stuck in Citibank.”

[…] Speaking before the meeting with Coale, Lukashenko said that he’s open for discussing “a deal big or small.” Lukashenko also said that he would like to discuss the prospects for lifting more U.S. sanctions, exporting Belarusian fertilizers to the U.S. (more)

Who controls the sanctions of the Belarusian assets held in Citibank? Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Four days ago, John Coale was in discussions with Lukashenko. The Belarus President wanted something, President Trump wanted something. At the same moment Saudi Arabia was notifying the EU of a force majeure issue with oil/gas contract supplies. Four days ago, Russia had maxed out storage for diesel fuel and was shipping excess capacity to Central Asia, as President Trump was asking Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to target Russian diesel refining capacity.

Things change in four days.

Policies change in four days.

Perspectives change in four days.

One of the strengths of President Trump, primarily a strength that stems from business, is that Trump understands the timeline of action and visible consequence. Trump is working four days (or more) ahead of what we see in the media. It may not make sense at the moment we see it but give it four days and go look at it again.

Live your best life. Pray thankfulness every day to a loving God.

Find your internal peace;then relax and let him work.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/09/22/russia-strategic-diesel-supplies-full-excess-production-now-flowing-to-stans-central-asia-the-rule-of-96/