Situation Reports

The U.S. State Department proceeded with a $500 million maintenance contract for Saudi Arabia's military that will cover the country's helicopters, The Defense Post reported Sept. 17.

Apple and Google deleted the "Navalny" app from their online marketplaces in Russia, a move Navalny's team decried as "shameful," Meduza reported Sept. 17.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced the country will raise taxes on financial transactions over the next three months to fund an increase in the cash transfer program Bolsa Familia, Bloomberg reported Sept. 16.

The World Bank halted its annual "Ease of Doing Business" report and rankings, citing ethics concerns and "irregularities" in compiling its assessment, the bank announced Sept. 16.

Four candidates are in the running for the presidency of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and to be the country's next prime minister, Reuters reported Sept. 17.

Iran will be admitted as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Iran's foreign minister announced Sept. 17. 

The Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russian-led defense bloc, agreed to not host any Afghan refugees or foreign military bases amid the security crisis in Afghanistan, Eurasianet reported Sept. 16.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded that six Chinese mining firms working without permits leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo province of South Kivu after police used tear gas to break up a Sept. 13 protest by local residents outside a Chinese mine there, the South China Morning Post reported Sept. 15.

Five Argentine Cabinet members and other officials, including Interior Minister Eduardo de Pedro, offered their resignations to President Alberto Fernandez, La Nacion reported Sept. 15.

Yemen's Southern Transitional Council declared a state of emergency in Yemen's southern provinces in response to protests in the country's capital against poor living conditions, Aden al-Ghad reported Sept. 15.