What are the most important events and topics in the news today?

Here's a roundup of the major news stories and topics making headlines today, September 29, 2026:

🌍 Russia-Ukraine War

Russia escalated its aerial campaign against Kyiv overnight. Russia launched a fresh ballistic missile attack on Kyiv early Tuesday, hours after a day-long barrage killed two people and injured 26 across the Ukrainian capital, with loud explosions ringing out as air defenses activated during a new air raid alert. The strikes have drawn strong international condemnation — European officials accused Russia of targeting civilians and scientific institutions after strikes hit Kyiv's National Academy of Sciences and Dobrobut medical center, with officials accusing Moscow of targeting civilians, science and critical infrastructure.

Separately, a grim humanitarian situation is unfolding in occupied Ukraine: thousands of civilians are facing severe food and medicine shortages in Russian-occupied Oleshky in southern Ukraine's Kherson region, where the city is under a humanitarian blockade with regular food deliveries cut off since late May. Ukrainian officials say Russian forces are preventing civilians from leaving, and local officials have reported cases of people dying from hunger and lack of medical care.

🇰🇷 Korean Peninsula Tensions

A major story out of Korea involves landmine explosions in the DMZ. The military officially announced that landmines which exploded in the Demilitarized Zone along the western front are highly likely to be of North Korean origin. This has triggered political fallout: the ruling and opposition parties are holding an emergency questioning session targeting the Ministry of National Defense at the National Assembly today.

Meanwhile at the UN, North Korea reaffirmed its nuclear posture — Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong stated during her speech at the UN General Assembly that North Korea is a nuclear-armed state and its status is irreversible.

🇺🇸 U.S. Politics

Several major U.S. political storylines are trending, including Hurricane Polo taking aim at Mexico, taxpayer-funded Trump ads, DHS announcing an ICE surge, mass shootings in South Africa, a "major incident" near a U.S. air base, a Nor'easter battering the East Coast, and Trump rejecting an Iran ceasefire, alongside the White House blocking CNN.

On the legislative front, the Washington Post reports the Senate passed a sweeping bill on college sports to regulate transfer rules and payments to athletes.

💰 Government Funding/Shutdown Fallout

The lingering effects of the fall 2025 government shutdown remain a significant political topic. Government funding expired after midnight on October 1, 2025, triggering a shutdown that ended on November 12 with a continuing resolution extending funding through January 30, 2026. Concerns about repeat shutdowns have persisted into 2026, with reporting earlier this year noting senators in both parties saying the odds are rising of another government shutdown after President Trump demanded that GOP leaders abolish the filibuster or face a spending showdown.

🏅 Asian Games 2026

Sports headlines are dominated by ongoing Asian Games coverage, including Lovlina Borgohain moving to the semifinal and being assured of an Asian Games medal, along with a badminton pairing being eliminated and a cricket match between Nepal and Sri Lanka.

🏛️ India

On the domestic front in India, notable stories include the Supreme Court asking the government what UPI MDR charges constitute if neither a tax nor a fee, the J&K Assembly passing a resolution on statehood proposed by CM Omar Abdullah, and the Supreme Court taking suo motu cognisance of recent sexual assault cases in Delhi.

If you'd like, I can dig deeper into any one of these stories — for example, more detail on the Ukraine strikes, the Korea DMZ incident, or U.S. political developments.