News

Editorial coverage from the Finland Wire newsroom.

• Saddam Hussein used Oliver Reed and a James Bond director to tell Iraq’s story – but who tells it now?

  From the beginning of his brutal reign in Iraq, Saddam Hussein could claim an unusual credit: film producer. After Saddam became president in 1979, his cousin played him in The Long Days.

  SyndicatedMatthew Alford, Lecturer in the Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies, University of Bath23 Sept 20264 min read

• Which spiritual and political issues will be the focus of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France?

  KEY TAKEAWAYS

  SyndicatedXavier Boniface, Professeur d'histoire contemporaine, Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV)23 Sept 20266 min read

• Russia-Ukraine war is accelerating the dangerous race toward fully autonomous drones

  A battlefield dominated by fully autonomous drones capable of selecting and engaging targets without human intervention sounds like a dystopian sci-fi plot.

  SyndicatedAmy McAuliffe, Visiting Distinguished Professor of the Practice, University of Notre Dame22 Sept 20265 min read

• Lula’s UN address points to two starkly different visions of Brazilian nationalism ahead of crucial election

  When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 22, 2026, the Brazilian president posed a question to both an international and domestic audience: Who is to decide Brazil’s future?

  SyndicatedAndre Pagliarini, Assistant Professor of History and International Studies, Louisiana State University22 Sept 20267 min read

• Climate change is fuelling African conflict – governments are developing a shared response

  Climate change is making life tougher. Across Africa, failed harvests, shrinking water supplies and more extreme weather are leaving millions of people hungry and forcing many from their homes.

  SyndicatedKatongo Seyuba, Researcher, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute22 Sept 20265 min read

• As Ukraine rebuilds amid constant Russian attack, small towns and villages are being sidelined

  In the early days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian armoured columns pushed east along the Zhytomyr highway towards Kyiv. Makariv, a small settlement of about 10,000 people 36 miles west of Kyiv, sat on their route.

  SyndicatedDoug Specht, Reader in Cultural Geography and Communication, University of Westminster22 Sept 20264 min read

• Bangladesh has lost 900 children to measles – a warning to other countries where vaccine rates have slipped

  Almost 900 people in Bangladesh are suspected to have died in a measles outbreak that began in March. Most of those affected are children.

  SyndicatedVikram Niranjan, Associate Professor in Public Health at University of Limerick, University of Limerick22 Sept 20264 min read

• Three Ts will dominate Trump-Xi summit – but expect little movement on trade, less on Taiwan and who knows on tech

  When Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping last sat down in May 2026, talk was centered on three Ts: trade, technology and Taiwan.

  SyndicatedRana Mitter, Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations, Harvard Kennedy School21 Sept 20266 min read

• Could AI really kill all humans? Most scenarios require physical access, making AI armageddon unlikely

  In August 2026, an experiment using “frontier”, or cutting edge, artificial intelligence models went further than planned.

  SyndicatedAlessandro Di Nuovo, Director Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, and Professor of Machine Intelligence, Sheffield Hallam University21 Sept 20264 min read

• Forgotten Mozart notebook reveals how a young woman learned to compose

  A small notebook found in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (the national library of France) has turned out to be one of the most important Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart discoveries in decades.

  SyndicatedStacy Olive Jarvis, PhD Candidate in in Musicology, University of Birmingham21 Sept 20264 min read

• 

  Nepal could show the world how to recover sustainably from a major disaster

  With chances of further sensational hydropower tunnel rescues dimming, the devastating ice-rock avalanche in August at the Nepal-Tibet border and catastrophic floods downstream are no longer making global headlines.

  SyndicatedSara Shneiderman, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology and School of Public Policy & Global Affairs; Ivan Head South-North IDRC Chair, University of British Columbia20 Sept 20265 min read