Daily Recap: Politics — 13 September 2026

Politics today mixes close electoral competition with sharper state power and leader-driven messaging. Sweden’s knife-edge vote tests coalition arithmetic, while Turkey intensifies a crackdown on LGBTQ+ groups and several leaders use public appearances and summits to signal polic...

Turkish police launch coordinated dawn raids across several provinces, detaining at least 162 people in a sweeping operation targeting LGBTQ+ associations, activists, bars and HIV support groups. Authorities also pursue additional suspects and entities, while access is blocked to websites and social media accounts linked to LGBTQ+ organizations.

Sweden’s parliamentary election is too close to call, with exit polls giving the centre-left bloc led by the Social Democrats a narrow edge over the right. The result carries added weight because the far right is seeking its first role in government, and official returns are expected within hours.

At the BRICS summit in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warns that the weaponisation of technology and critical minerals threatens shared progress. Speaking alongside other BRICS leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping, Modi casts the issue as part of wider geopolitical pressure that is affecting economies and ordinary people.

President Donald Trump says Volodymyr Zelenskyy should stop Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s diesel infrastructure. Trump presents the appeal as an effort to limit damage tied to attacks on those targets, making the comments to journalists as debate continues over the conduct and consequences of the war.

House Speaker Mike Johnson says President Donald Trump’s proposed $5,000 payment to every American adult cannot move forward without congressional approval. Johnson says he wants to try to make the plan happen, but stresses that any such nationwide “Trump Dividend” must still pass through Congress.

President Donald Trump says he will remove US tariffs on Irish whiskey during a visit to Ireland. He makes the announcement in public remarks tied to high-profile appearances, including events around the Irish Open, signaling a trade gesture with political and economic resonance on both sides of the Atlantic.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham runs the Great North Run as part of a fundraising effort for the homelessness charity Changing Lives. Wearing a Number 10 bib, he uses the half marathon to spotlight homelessness while linking his public role to a charitable campaign.

U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany survives an emergency landing on Lake Wausau after the small plane he is in loses power. Tiffany says he and the pilot escape with minor injuries and swim to shallow water as the aircraft begins taking on water.