China
The 18th BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi on 12–13 September. At the first session, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for stronger BRICS cooperation on artificial intelligence, including open-source development, openness, collaboration and sharing, and proposed a BRICS initiative on AI-enabled new industrialisation. Chinese Foreign Ministry material on the meeting also said China will assume the BRICS chairship in 2027 and host the 19th BRICS Summit.
The summit adopted the New Delhi Declaration. Chinese official material said participating countries discussed global governance, industrial and supply-chain cooperation and artificial intelligence. Reuters reported on 13 September that China also advanced proposals for BRICS cooperation on open-source AI, special economic zones and services trade. These are proposals put forward within the BRICS framework; any detailed institutional or implementation arrangements would require further agreement among participating countries.
Australia
Newly released figures from South Australia continue to show pressure on public-hospital capacity caused by shortages of aged-care places. ABC reported on 12 September that the South Australian Government spent about A$123.7 million in 2025–26 caring for older patients who had been medically cleared for discharge but remained in hospital because no aged-care place was available. The reported average cost was A$1,318 per patient per day.
South Australian Health Minister Blair Boyer said the latest figures showed 487 older patients in public hospitals or transition-care beds waiting for a residential aged-care place. In the wider national context, the New South Wales Government said on 4 September that more than 3,600 patients across Australian states and territories were in state hospitals awaiting Commonwealth-funded aged-care placements, up from more than 2,700 in mid-2025. The Commonwealth has said it is spending A$47 billion on aged care this financial year and will continue working with the states and territories to expand home-support places and residential capacity.
United States
US District Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California ruled that the Trump administration acted unlawfully in pursuing a plan to cut the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s workforce by half. Reuters and the Associated Press reported on 12 September that the court found the Department of Homeland Security had overstepped FEMA’s authority over its own staffing and pushed for the removal of thousands of disaster-response positions.
The case was brought by unions and other plaintiffs. The court found that federal law enacted after Hurricane Katrina restricts the Department of Homeland Security from substantially or significantly reducing FEMA’s authorities, responsibilities or functions. The 50 per cent staffing target was never fully implemented, and some workers who had previously left or had appointments ended have since been rehired. The judge directed the parties to confer on remedies, which have not yet been finally determined.
Editorial framework: This briefing uses Sustenesis as an editorial framework for selecting facts, organising relationships and structuring information, with attention to differences and constraints in rules, responsibilities, resources, risks and social relations. Sustenesis functions here as a method of organisation rather than a position or commentary; the body remains limited to verifiable facts.
Sources
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, President Xi Jinping Attends Session I of the 18th BRICS Summit and Delivers an Important Statement
https://fi.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zxxx/202609/t20260913_12021253.htm
Reuters, Xi pushes 'Greater BRICS' economic ties to give bloc larger global role
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/xi-pushes-greater-brics-economic-ties-give-bloc-larger-global-role-2026-09-13/
ABC News, SA aged care bed crisis cost revealed to be over $123m as patients are stranded in hospitals
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-12/sa-aged-care-cost-crisis/107135498
NSW Government, Over 3,600 patients stranded in hospital waiting for aged care
https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/over-3600-patients-stranded-hospital-waiting-for-aged-care
Reuters, US judge rules that Trump plan to halve FEMA workforce violated law
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-judge-rules-that-trump-plan-halve-fema-workforce-violated-law-2026-09-12/
Associated Press, Federal judge rules Trump DHS plan for 50% FEMA staffing cuts was unlawful
https://apnews.com/article/e56494458ed43faacccebb3d62eeb30f
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