Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sept. 25 addressed the United Nations General Assembly regarding the dispute with India over shared waters of the Indus River and the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). Sharif told the Assembly that any attempt by India to stop, impede or divert Pakistan's share of the Indus River waters "will be treated as an act of war."

Protests happily continue to mount against the rapid encroachment of Artificial Intelligence over all spheres of society—and have met with some victories. Other responses, however, appear to have succumbed to desperation and counter-productive adventurism. But even the United Nations human rights commissioner has taken note amid repeated incidents of AI programs "going rogue," and more industry insiders coming forward to warn of catastrophic risks to humanity. Bernie Sanders has called for legislating a pause on "superintelligent" AI. Meanwhile, in a virtually regulation-free environment, so-called "biological data centers" are pioneering the neural-digital interface—portending the actual abolition of humanity. In Episode 347 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg notes how the predicament now facing humanity was predicted by dystopian prophets—from Samuel Butler in the 1860s, to Frank Herbert a century later. 

The Trial Chamber VI of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Sept. 23 found Mahamat Said Abdel Kani guilty of crimes against humanity committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2013.

Abdel Kani, a former commander of the Séléka militia coalition, was accused of orchestrating widespread attacks against civilians during the conflict in the country—and particularly abuse of detainees at the Office Central de Répression du Banditisme (OCRB), a detention center in the capital, Bangui. He faced charges of crimes against humanity including imprisonment, torture, prosecution, and other inhumane treatment directed at individuals perceived as supporters of former President François Bozizé, as well as the war crimes of torture, cruel treatment, and outrages upon personal dignity.

The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Sept. 17 that the planet now faces a "new water reality," announcing its latest report assessing the state of global water resources. Growing numbers around the world increasingly experience "abnormal water supplies," especially due to disruption in freshwater resources, including river flows, groundwater and glaciers.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Sept. 22 expressed concern that mass displacement and the overall humanitarian crisis in Yemen will intensify as the ongoing conflict escalates. UNHCR's Yemen representative Armen Yedgaryan stressed the scale of the disaster at a press briefing in Geneva, stating:

As Trump prepares to meet with Xi Jinping at the White House, a small group of exiled Tibetans has departed from New York City for a cross-country march on Washington, to join a demonstration planned there against the Chinese dictator. The group departed Sept. 17 from the gates of the United Nations, where Lobga Rangzen, a longtime New York Tibetan activist, self-immolated on July 2. After a stop at Philadelphia's Independence Hall—clearly chosen for its symbolic value—the "Independence Walk" will arrive in DC Sept. 24, the date of both the rally against Xi and the dinner honoring him at the White House (also to be attended by giants of the tech industry).

Amnesty International on Sept. 18 named 87 Iranian security and Interior Ministry officials who it says should face criminal investigation for crimes against humanity committed during the 2022 crackdown on the Woman Life Freedom protests, and urged the UN Security Council to refer Iran's situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

As Trump prepares to meet with Xi Jinping at the White House, Students for a Free Tibet prepares a protest in Washington against the Chinese dictator. Protests and civil disobedience actions by New York City's Tibetan community have been mounting since the July self-immolation of longtime activist Lobga Rangzen outside the United Nations building—the first in the wave of Tibetan self-immolations to take place on US soil. This comes amid heightening repression in Tibet following the passage of China's "Ethnic Unity" law. Rather than taking this opportunity to build bonds of solidarity with a local ethnic community by embracing its struggle, growing sectors of the "progressive" milieu—including figures associated with the Democratic Socialists of America—have joined those elements of the "left" looking to the oppressive Chinese state as a model and even a source of sponsorship. Happily, there are glimmers of dissent within the DSA to this consolidating dogma. In Episode 346 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg again dissects and repudiates the global divide-and-rule racket that is the essence of the state system.