The United States imposed Iran-related sanctions on Russia’s VTB Bank on Monday, accusing it of helping evade sanctions on Iran. The Treasury Department said the move comes as Washington seeks to increase economic pressure on Tehran.

U.S. sanctionsIranRussiaVTB Bank

The US Treasury Department has added Russia’s VTB Bank, already subject to Washington’s sanctions, to its Iran-related restrictions list. The United States first imposed sectoral sanctions on VTB in 2014.

US sanctionsVTB BankIran-related restrictions

Kennedy Center officials warn that the institution is on the verge of bankruptcy and could shut down as early as Tuesday unless the president’s name is added to the building.

Kennedy CenterDonald Trumpbankruptcy risk

The Kennedy Center’s board plans to propose adding President Donald Trump’s name to the facility’s exterior, crediting him with saving the building from its “precarious fiscal position.”

Donald TrumpKennedy Centernaming proposal

Officials at the Kennedy Center have warned that the institution could face fiscal collapse within weeks unless President Donald Trump’s name is added back to the building, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Kennedy CenterDonald Trumpfiscal crisis

Nigeria’s Dangote refinery is opening up to public ownership and plans to raise $1.6 billion from retail investors across the continent. President Felix Tshisekedi has called on the National Service to clean Kinshasa’s streets, while the Youth Olympic flame begins touring Senegal ahead of the Games.

Dangote refineryNigeriapublic ownership

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has launched Africa’s largest share sale, offering the public about 3% of his refinery in an IPO that could raise up to $2.1bn. He says the sale will let ordinary Nigerians share in the plant’s success, while experts warn that prices could fall and urge buyers to avoid investing money they need soon.

Dangote refineryshare saleNigeriaoil

Aliko Dangote plans to raise about $1.6 billion through an IPO of Dangote Industries to help fund a $14.3 billion expansion that would double the refinery’s capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day. The offer is pitched as a way for millions of Nigerians to own a stake, but affordability remains in question despite a 525-naira price per share and a 10-share minimum.

Dangote refineryIPONigeriaenergy

Aliko Dangote’s Nigerian refinery business has launched what is described as Africa’s biggest-ever IPO. If fully subscribed, Dangote could add $23bn to his $35bn fortune, while the refinery’s valuation is expected to reach about 65.22tn naira. The offering is aimed at institutional and retail investors, particularly young Nigerians.

IPODangote refineryNigeriaoil

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote launched an initial public offering for his oil refinery on Monday, calling it Africa’s largest share sale to date. The IPO opens ownership of the plant to retail investors and raises funds for expansion.

NigeriaAliko Dangoteoil refineryIPO

Nigeria’s Dangote Group plans to sell 4.1 billion shares in its oil refinery, seeking to raise 2.15 trillion naira ($1.6 billion). The offering is expected to become Africa’s largest initial public offering to date.

Dangote Groupoil refineryIPO

Iran protested after the United States opposed a sanctions exemption that would have allowed nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami to attend the IAEA General Conference in Vienna. Austria said the exemption request was rejected and it had to deny him entry, while Washington said his participation could turn the proceedings into a propaganda platform.

IranUnited StatesIAEAvisa dispute

Macklemore says U.S. stadium owners pressured Ed Sheeran to remove him from the rest of the tour. Rolling Stone reported that several American venues said they would not host the concerts if the rapper, an outspoken Palestinian advocate, remained on the lineup.

MacklemoreEd SheerantourPalestine

Macklemore says he was removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour after New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft organized a boycott among stadium owners over the rapper’s comments supporting Palestinians.

MacklemoreEd SheeranRobert KraftPalestinians

EU ambassadors agreed to extend sanctions on Russia for only one week in an effort to settle disagreements among member states, EUobserver reported. Slovakia and France proposed removing Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov from the sanctions list, while Slovakia opposes a longer extension and France’s position could complicate unanimity.

EURussia sanctionsSlovakiaFrance

A veto by France and Slovakia has forced EU ambassadors to extend sanctions on Russia for only one week while they try to reach an agreement.

EURussia sanctionsFranceSlovakia

A report says a Russian oligarch paid for parts of Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding celebration. Bettina Anderson described it as an “extremely generous wedding gift from a friend.”

Donald Trump Jr.Russian oligarchwedding

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called on Saturday for a slower pace of advanced AI development. He received rare support from SpaceXAI’s Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, fueling debate over AI “doomerism.”

AI risksadvanced AIAI regulation

After years of treating frontier AI as a winner-take-all race, leading labs are calling for coordinated efforts to slow development they fear could become too dangerous and difficult to control. Anthropic’s Dario Amodei led the shift, with OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella voicing support or similar proposals.

AIfrontier AItechnology regulation

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urged AI companies to slow the pace of technology development, adding to a series of warnings that point to growing safety concerns across the tech industry. The discussion helped weigh on technology stocks.

AItechnology stocksAnthropicAI safety

Elon Musk appears to have stopped attacking Apple over its decision to integrate ChatGPT into iPhone features. He previously alleged the partnership gave OpenAI a monopoly over Apple users’ AI prompts and harmed competition, while also claiming Apple may have blocked his chatbot Grok from reaching the top of the App Store rankings.

Elon MuskOpenAIAppleantitrust lawsuit

Elon Musk’s X Corp and SpaceXAI said on Monday they had resolved their lawsuit against Apple in federal court in Texas. The case alleged that Apple conspired to monopolize smartphone and generative AI chatbot markets.

antitrust lawsuitAppleElon Musk

Türkiye and Syria discussed preparations for President Erdogan’s upcoming visit to Damascus. During his September 14, 2026 visit to the Syrian capital, Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan met Syrian Interior Minister Khattab and Foreign Minister al-Shaibani.

TürkiyeSyriaErdoganDamascus

President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to urge a halt to Russian and Ukrainian strikes on energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea during a possible meeting with Donald Trump in New York next week. He said Ukraine is open to maritime and energy ceasefires and would seek partial agreements on grain exports and energy if Vladimir Putin rejects a broader truce.

ZelenskyTrumpenergy ceasefireBlack Sea

After years of retreat from PC-connected VR following the rise of Meta’s Quest headsets, Valve is unexpectedly entering the standalone VR market with the $1,049 Steam Frame, which begins taking reservations today. After about a week of use, the headset comes across as both overengineered and underbaked, depending on the perspective.

ValveSteam Framevirtual reality

After nearly three weeks with Valve’s Steam Frame, the reviewer says it is more than an expensive VR headset: it is an ambitious wearable spatial computer for gaming and virtual multi-screen work. Its light, comfortable design is a major strength, but the early-access hardware suffers from crashes, bugs, limited standalone performance, fan noise, and only one to two hours of battery life.

ValveSteam Framewearable PCvirtual reality

Valve is releasing the Steam Frame headset, which can run flat and VR games locally or stream them from a PC. The 256GB model starts at $1,059 and the 1TB version at $1,299; both include Half-Life: Alyx. Early buyers will be selected by lottery, with others placed on a waitlist.

ValveSteam FrameVR headsetgaming hardware

After three weeks of beta testing Valve’s Steam Frame, Sean Hollister is taking questions about the headset, its controllers, ergonomic accessories kit, and Arcturus Vision Camera. He describes the device as more than a conventional VR headset and a possible glimpse of games running everywhere.

ValveSteam Framewearable devices

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergey Koretsky says public finances are nearing a critical point and urges lawmakers to quickly pass bills tied to international financial assistance. He warns Ukraine could lose a significant share of the allocated $29.5 billion if voting deadlines are missed. The deadline has been moved from November 1 to October 15.

Ukrainepublic financesinternational aidparliament votes

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced charges against NABU chief Semen Kryvonos and an unnamed associate of SAPO head Oleksandr Klymenko after being forced to resign amid a corruption investigation. Analysts say the move could spark a major political crisis if it becomes a broader crackdown on anti-corruption institutions, but its backing by President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration remains unclear.

Ukraine politicsanti-corruptionprosecutor generalpolitical crisis

Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko was suspended after leaving Ukraine days after resigning. The move comes as a corruption investigation involving officials in his office fuels a major confrontation between the country’s prosecutors and independent anti-corruption agencies.

Ukraineprosecutor generalcorruption investigation

President Vladimir Zelensky has proposed dismissing Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, and a Ukrainian parliamentary committee unanimously backed the move. Kravchenko accused NABU and SAP of trying to usurp power and made allegations against their leaders, while NABU rejected his claims and called them part of a systemic attack on its work.

Ukraineprosecutor generalanti-corruptionpolitical scandal

Outgoing Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko sought authorization to travel to a Sept. 16 European conference on Ukrainian children in Paris. Organizers said he will not attend as a speaker or participant. Kravchenko resigned on Sept. 7 after NABU detectives uncovered an alleged scam call center protection racket operating from the Prosecutor General’s Office.

UkraineRuslan KravchenkoParis conferencepolitical scandal

Resigned Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko issued a notice of suspicion to NABU Director Semen Kryvonos, alleging that anti-corruption officials illegally copied or took case materials during the “Carthage” operation. President Volodymyr Zelensky urged parliament to accept Kravchenko’s resignation, while NABU and SAPO denied seizing files.

Ukraine politicsanti-corruptionresignationcriminal investigation

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has left the country, according to former Ukrainian defense adviser Sergey Sternenko. Kravchenko confirmed he was abroad on a business trip and said he would brief international partners on anti-corruption agencies. Parliament is due to vote on his resignation request on September 15.

Ukraineprosecutor generalanti-corruption agencies

President Donald Trump's digital assets adviser spoke at a Washington event one day after new compromise language was released for the Clarity Act, saying Trump had surrendered what were described as historic ethics powers in the deal.

Donald TrumpcryptocurrencyClarity Act

Donald Trump is pressing a crypto bill as the industry’s conflict with banks intensifies. At a White House gathering last month, he praised Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong as “one of the greats” and called Gemini Space Station co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss “tremendous investors, brilliant people.”

Donald Trumpcryptocurrencybankslegislation

Opposition to the CLARITY Act continued to grow ahead of Tuesday’s Senate cloture vote, despite Republicans releasing a version they called final that incorporated 126 Democratic requests. Banking groups, Democrats, state attorneys general and developer advocates still objected to provisions on ethics, stablecoin rewards, state enforcement and deposit flight, putting the 60-vote threshold at risk.

CLARITY ActstablecoinsUS Senatecrypto regulation

Eight banking groups said Monday that they want stricter limits on stablecoin rewards, keeping the dispute between banks and the crypto industry alive in Congress as the Senate prepares to vote on the Clarity Act.

BankingStablecoinsUS Congress