Latest news for 1 September 2026

UNITED STATES

Regime change?

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation after less than two years in the role, following months of reported internal clashes with Pentagon boss Pete Hegseth. His deputy (Dave Fitzgerald) is also rumoured to be stepping down later this week. (NYT $)

Comment: While unsurprising, it leaves the army with no confirmed civilian boss, no confirmed deputy, and no confirmed chief of staff, amid two wars (Iran, Russia-Ukraine) and a midterms climate that makes replacing any of them tricky. Driscoll also had relatively functional ties with Congress, so keep an eye on sharper congressional scrutiny ahead.

RUSSIA

Mind if I join?

Putin’s finance minister has — at DC’s invitation — made a surprise appearance at a G20 finance ministerial in North Carolina, angering European representatives who later ensured the traditional ‘family photo’ proceeded without him. Secretary Bessent met Siluanov on the sidelines and reportedly told him there’ll be no sanctions relief or new deals while Putin’s war continues. (CNBC)Comment: It’s hard to know what’s more significant: that the US itself just invited Russia’s finance minister back into the G20 fold for the first time since Putin attempted his full-scale invasion of a neighbour, or that US allies seemingly got zero heads-up.

UNITED STATES

The engineer takes Apple’s helm.

Longtime hardware engineering chief John Ternus has now officially taken over as Apple CEO, with Tim Cook sliding to Exec Chair (as both Trump and Beijing-whisperer) after 15 years in charge. (WSJ $)

Comment: Cook’s era was all about supply chain mastery and margin preservation, driving a historic 27x stock return under his term. Handing the keys to a product-nerd like Ternus suggests Cupertino wants to refocus on ground-up product breakthroughs rather than just incremental iteration and supply-chain optimisation. Keep an eye on market reactions to next week’s annual product launch, rumoured to include Apple’s first foldable phone.

VENEZUELA

Out with the old, in with the US.

The White House is now briefing Reuters reporters that six of the 14 Venezuelan oil fields covered by President Trump’s “biggest oil deal in world history” were previously run by firms out of China (5) and Russia (1). (Reuters)

Comment: Coming after a rough reception to Trump’s initial announcement, this Reuters “exclusive” feels a lot like White House damage control — provide a bit more strategic scaffolding (we’re boxing out China and Russia!) amid scepticism at the initial framing (we’re lowering US pump prices!). None of these exclusives can un-do the dilapidated state of Venezuelan oil infrastructure, so any impact still feels distant.

GERMANY

Pensions, ja?

Merz’s centre-right government is moving to turn June’s expert pension report into law from 2027: end the popular ‘45 years, out at 63’ track, add a Swedish-style capital fund that invests contributions, and let the official pension age drift up with life expectancy. (EBM)

Comment: With China’s historic surplus hitting Germany’s industrial base from afar, and Germany’s own ageing population blowing a hole in Germany’s budget and rearmament plans, Merz is hoping the biggest pension reforms in 20 years can keep the system fit for purpose. But his own nominal political ally running the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt is now one of several urging him to save ‘retirement at 63’, amid polling suggesting the reform could otherwise help the populist-right AfD win its first state government since WWII at this Sunday’s elections.

ARGENTINA

The impossible man clocks off.

President Milei has led a wave of global tributes, dubbing football legend Lionel Messi the “impossible man” after the 39-year-old announced his retirement from international football. (Messi’s Instagram)

Comment: In a country long rocked by inflation and polarisation, Messi was a genuine source of cultural glue holding 46 million Argentines together. His departure — after six World Cups and 207 caps — will hit.

SPAIN

Border blame game.

Spain’s shockingly handsome Pedro Sánchez argues EU diplomats have found that Russian and Israeli-linked networks amplified disinformation amid July’s migrant crisis in Spain’s north African exclave of Ceuta. Both Israel and Russia have rejected the allegations, and there’s no sign (yet?) of the EU report. (Guardian)

Comment: Sánchez argues the motives would be his own lines on Gaza and Ukraine, though his Ukraine aid numbers are thin — any Kremlin role would more likely reflect generic interest in smearing any EU government on migration. Either way, amplifying the Ceuta panic isn’t the same as triggering it, and Sánchez skips any mention that would-be migrants themselves told outlets that Moroccan authorities waved folks through to Ceuta. Amid domestic backlash, Sánchez needs a villain that isn’t his key African partner.