While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 21, 2026
A woman casts her ballot on the last day of voting on Sept 20 at a polling station in Podolsk, Moscow, Russia.
Russia vowed Sept 20 to “intensify” its strikes on Kyiv in response to Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow, as an exit poll showed the ruling United Russia party on course to win tightly controlled parliamentary elections.
Ukraine fired waves of drones at Moscow and the surrounding region on the final day of voting, killing two people and setting an oil refinery ablaze, officials said.
Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukraine of attempting to “disrupt the democratic will of Russian citizens” and vowed a response.
An exit poll published by a state-run pollster showed United Russia on course to win 49.4 per cent of the vote, around the same it achieved in the previous election.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney announced closer ties on Sept 20, speaking from France’s tiny territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, just off Canada’s Atlantic coast.
Their meeting came at a time when both countries are experiencing strained relations with the United States.
“We both believe that our countries are two great, independent nations who want to remain so,” said Macron at their joint news conference.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) took first place in state elections in north-eastern Germany on Sept 20, voting projections showed, delivering the worst result for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s mainstream conservative party since 1949.
“It’s a disaster,” Merz said after exit polls were published, although he signalled he would fight on as chancellor and continue his reform agenda after speculation that a bad result could prompt him to resign.
The AfD was set to win 38.3 per cent in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, ahead of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) at 35.4 per cent, according to projections on ARD public television.
Iran’s economy contracted by more than 10 per cent during the Middle East war, which began with US-Israeli attacks in late February.
The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 10.1 per cent year-on-year from late March to late June, a period known in Iran as the first quarter of the Persian calendar, according to the Statistical Center of Iran on Sept 20.
Iran has been at war with the United States since late February, when US-Israeli strikes killed the Islamic republic’s supreme leader and senior military officials at the start of a vast offensive.
Manchester United rescued a 1-1 draw against Fulham thanks to Matheus Cunha’s late equaliser on Sept 20, but the pressure is mounting on boss Michael Carrick after their latest lacklustre display.
Carrick’s side were in dire need of a victory at Craven Cottage but instead left grateful for a point.
United fell behind in the second half to a farcical own goal from Lisandro Martinez, who diverted the ball into his own net after Senne Lammens had saved Calvin Bassey’s shot.