While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 23, 2026
US President Donald Trump addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept 22.
US President Donald Trump used his UN General Assembly speech on Sept 22 to make the case for his war on Iran, arguing he has prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and warning that he could “annihilate the Islamic Republic” if no deal is reached to end the conflict.
While predicting his administration would strike a peace deal with Iran following the Nov 3 US midterm elections, Trump called on other nations to join America in isolating Iran economically to force it to the negotiating table.
“I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?” Trump said.
“Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”
France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Sept 22 dismissed US President Donald Trump’s claims of having secured peace in Gaza, saying not a single humanitarian corridor had been reopened in the enclave despite the proclaimed peace.
In his final address to the United Nations before leaving office in 2027, Macron said the world was witnessing a spectacle that should shame everyone, rebuking Trump’s portrayal of his Gaza peace plan as a diplomatic triumph.
He spoke at the United Nations General Assembly hours after Trump had from the same rostrum hailed his Gaza peace plan as a diplomatic triumph.
EU countries on Sept 22 agreed a compromise deal to prolong sanctions on Russia that will see oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov removed from the blacklist, diplomats said.
As time ticked down to a deadline, diplomats said that Latvia agreed to drop its veto after days of bitter opposition to efforts to secure the exemptions led by France.
Ukraine has lashed out against the push to remove the asset freezes and visa bans on the two billionaires, arguing the European Union should instead be ratcheting up pressure on Moscow.
Paris prosecutors said on Sept 22 they had opened several probes after receiving complaints concerning women filmed on the street without their consent using smart glasses.
Anyone wearing smart glasses can take photos, film videos, listen to music, make phone calls, translate text or interact with an AI assistant.
Meta’s smart spectacles, developed in partnership with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica, have become a commercial success.
A prominent online “looksmaxxing” influencer known as Clavicular is facing rape charges in the northeastern US state of Massachusetts, according to court records.
Braden Eric Peters, 20, is charged with rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse and procuring liquor while under 21 years old and is to be arraigned on Oct 14 in Orleans District Court, according to a criminal complaint seen by AFP on Sept 22.
The offences involving a 17-year-old girl, whose identity is being withheld, are alleged to have occurred in May 2025 at his family home on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
