🔁 What's Moving Europe Today
- Washington announces the destruction of five Iranian tankers, Tehran retaliated with missiles on a US base in Jordan. The loudest topic of the window — covered by twenty-four newsrooms. According to CENTCOM, this was a response to attempts to attack a US warship; the Iranian side names the Al-Azraq base as the target, and the Jordanian army reports destroying eighteen of twenty missiles. Explosions were also reported near Kharg oil island and the port of Jask, and the Revolutionary Guards threatened to strike tankers near Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports. 🇺🇸 ↗ · 🇩🇪 ↗ · 🇫🇷 ↗ · 🇮🇹 ↗ · 🇪🇸 ↗ · 🇳🇱 ↗ · 🇧🇪 ↗ · 🇬🇧 ↗ · 🇬🇷 ↗ · 🇨🇭 ↗ · 🇦🇹 ↗ · 🇹🇷 ↗ · 🇵🇱 ↗ · 🇺🇦 ↗ · 🇸🇪 ↗ · 🇳🇴 ↗ · 🇩🇰 ↗ · 🇫🇮 ↗ · 🇮🇸 ↗ · 🇮🇪 ↗ · 🇧🇦 ↗ · 🇷🇸 ↗ · 🇸🇮 ↗ · 🇵🇹 ↗ On Wednesday it repeated and intensified. The US attacked Iranian tankers in response to attacks on US Navy vessels and released video of it, Iran struck Jordan and threatened to target tankers in Kuwait and Bahrain. After the night attacks, several ships are burning in both the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and among those hit is a Greek-owned vessel. 🇪🇸 ↗ · 🇵🇹 ↗ · 🇧🇪 ↗ · 🇫🇷 ↗ · 🇷🇸 ↗ · 🇬🇷 ↗
- 🇦🇹 The International Atomic Energy Agency referred the Iranian nuclear dispute to the UN Security Council. It is the last formal step before sanctions are restored. ORF ↗Der Standard ↗
- 🇳🇴 The Revolutionary Guards extended shipping restrictions to further maritime areas, including the Arabian Sea. A sailor from a tanker died near Dubai after a drone attack, and Netanyahu claims the Iranian regime is "on the verge of collapse." Aftenposten ↗Aftonbladet ↗24 Chasa ↗7sur7 ↗
- 🇷🇴 Iran claims to have captured "one of the most advanced" American underwater drones in Hormuz. Washington responded that the device was broken. Digi24 ↗
- 🇵🇱 Meanwhile, Kuwait continues exporting oil through Hormuz, and exports are recovering quickly. So the strait is not blocked, just more expensive and riskier. Rzeczpospolita ↗
- 🇧🇦 A terrorist attack in southeastern Iran killed a local Basij militia commander. Tehran also faces pressure from within. Klix.ba ↗
- Brent briefly rose to $99.46 a barrel on Tuesday, while Wall Street is declining. On Wednesday morning it broke through that level — for the first time since July. Tuesday's daily high thus lasted just one day, and the European gas price jumped to its highest level since the end of 2022. 🇩🇪 ↗ · 🇩🇪 ↗ · 🇺🇸 ↗ · 🇳🇱 ↗ · 🇪🇸 ↗ · 🇪🇪 ↗ · 🇭🇺 ↗ This is not yet a settled price, just a daily high — the market is reacting to the escalation in the Gulf and supply concerns, while investors are also pricing in a tougher Fed. For Norway this means budget revenue, for importers it means cost. 🇬🇷 ↗ · 🇳🇱 ↗ · 🇳🇴 ↗ · 🇪🇪 ↗ In the afternoon it added another three and a half percent to $101.4, and European gas broke through €80 per megawatt-hour, the most since January 2023. ANSA ↗BFM TV ↗Naftemporiki ↗ In evening trading gas in Amsterdam approached €81. ANSA ↗
- The Houthis struck four Saudi cities with missiles and drones, and Riyadh shut down energy facilities. More than seventy people are injured and oil facilities are on fire. Marco Rubio blamed Iran for the attacks, and the European Union called on the movement to halt all attacks. The second strait — Bab al-Mandab — is thus burning alongside Hormuz. 🇺🇦 ↗ · 🇳🇱 ↗ · 🇵🇹 ↗ · 🇨🇭 ↗ · 🇧🇬 ↗ · 🇮🇸 ↗
- 🇦🇹 The wartime chaos in the Gulf has brought about a return of piracy. Pirate groups are moving into the security vacuum. ORF ↗
- Trump banned imports of Canadian alcohol, dairy products, and motorcycles and is dropping Canadian goods from public procurement. Ottawa has imposed tariffs of up to fifty percent on hundreds of American products. The neighbors' trade war has entered a stage of targeted bans instead of blanket tariffs. 🇺🇸 ↗ · 🇩🇪 ↗ · 🇬🇧 ↗ · 🇮🇹 ↗ · 🇳🇱 ↗ · 🇫🇷 ↗ · 🇭🇺 ↗ · 🇷🇴 ↗ · 🇳🇴 ↗ · 🇫🇮 ↗ · 🇩🇰 ↗ · 🇹🇷 ↗ · 🇮🇸 ↗ · 🇧🇪 ↗
- 🇫🇷 Canada has also launched a hunt for American brains. Ottawa is targeting scientists and academics leaving American institutions. Ouest-France ↗
- Trump claimed credit for AfD's recipe for success, while Wagenknecht is open to a state premier from the party. The president spoke of a "really great evening" and claims he found a formula that worked in Saxony-Anhalt. AfD won 43.8 percent and 39 of 83 seats there, meaning a win without a majority — and the dispute is precisely over who will form the state government. The Greens backed BSW's proposal, the premier of Hesse questioned the point of monitoring the party, and the SPD is proposing a caretaker government of experts. 🇩🇪 ↗ · 🇦🇹 ↗ · 🇮🇹 ↗ · 🇫🇷 ↗ · 🇵🇱 ↗ · 🇸🇪 ↗ · 🇳🇴 ↗ · 🇫🇮 ↗ · 🇬🇷 ↗ · 🇩🇰 ↗ · 🇹🇷 ↗ · 🇧🇪 ↗ · 🇭🇷 ↗ · 🇧🇬 ↗ Merz responded to this on Wednesday in the Bundestag by accusing AfD of planning ethnic cleansing. In the general debate he told them they were a "destructive force" seeking to destabilize the country; Weidel claimed the government is driving Germany toward state bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the trend barometer gives AfD 45 percent in eastern Germany and the CDU twelve, and parties in Magdeburg have rejected exploratory talks with AfD. 🇩🇪 ↗ · 🇦🇹 ↗ · 🇮🇹 ↗ · 🇷🇴 ↗ · 🇸🇪 ↗ · 🇧🇪 ↗ · 🇩🇪 ↗ · 🇩🇪 ↗
- 🇩🇪 After Trump's congratulations, Merz postponed a call with the White House and, in the Bundestag, accused AfD of using "remigration" as a synonym for ethnic cleansing. Meanwhile in Saxony-Anhalt, AfD sent out five invitations for exploratory talks and four parties rejected them; in Mainz it lost a constitutional court dispute over funding for its parliamentary group, and Lower Saxony party chairman Ansgar Schledde lost his immunity. taz ↗n-tv ↗taz ↗taz ↗
- 🇩🇪 Thuringia's BSW parliamentary group dissolved on the same day. The movement is falling apart at the very moment it could be deciding a majority. Die Zeit ↗
- 🇨🇭 The state elections were in the crosshairs of Russian disinformation. SRF ↗
- 🇸🇪 Ludwig (90) votes for AfD after being mugged: "Something has to change." Aftonbladet ↗
- Israel responded to European pressure hard: it announced it will close the British consulate, ban eleven MPs and one lawyer from entering, and send home representatives of the British coordination center and training mission. A joint statement by twelve countries meanwhile speaks of an intent to introduce, support, or consider restrictions on trade in goods from West Bank settlements — not finished sanctions. Israel called it interference in its elections, Marco Rubio distanced himself, saying Washington "clearly will not do what they are doing," and Italy pulled out of the package. 🇬🇧 ↗ · 🇮🇹 ↗ · 🇩🇪 ↗ · 🇧🇪 ↗ · 🇬🇷 ↗ · 🇭🇷 ↗ · 🇷🇸 ↗ · 🇹🇷 ↗ · 🇲🇰 ↗ · 🇲🇪 ↗ · 🇵🇹 ↗
- 🇬🇧 Burnham wants to go further than Starmer. The new British government is making sanctions its brand, and Chris Mason explains why. BBC News ↗
- 🇮🇹 Italy pulled out, the opposition speaks of a government without dignity. La Repubblica ↗
- The British air traffic control outage spread to Spanish airports, where a further 229 flights were cancelled on top of more than two thousand in Britain. A misread military flight plan is said to be behind the radar blackout — and according to The Independent's reconstruction, warnings issued three years ago pointed to exactly this scenario. El Mundo ↗The Independent ↗Berlingske ↗
- 🇮🇪 On the same day a pilot reported a "big black drone" over the Irish Sea near Dublin Bay, and the Garda launched an investigation. The British press also reports a drone near its own coast. Irish Independent ↗The Mirror ↗
- Vučić called early parliamentary elections for October 25 and will dissolve parliament on Wednesday at noon. He dissolved it. The campaign will last 45 days, and according to Danas, Vučić is aiming for the post of prime minister. Students in the blockades reacted immediately, while the pro-government Kurir writes that barely two hundred people turned out for their mobilization. 🇷🇸 ↗ · 🇭🇷 ↗ · 🇲🇪 ↗ · 🇲🇰 ↗ · 🇮🇪 ↗ · 🇫🇮 ↗ · 🇳🇴 ↗ Reuters reads this as a concession to mass student protests. The president promised he would "gladly accept any result"; the opposition is regrouping, the civic movement Solidarnosť is running in the election with SSP and Srbija centar, while PSG will not run. 🇷🇸 ↗ · 🇲🇪 ↗ · 🇭🇺 ↗ · 🇧🇬 ↗ · 🇸🇮 ↗ · 🇸🇪 ↗ · 🇩🇰 ↗ · 🇪🇪 ↗ · 🇺🇦 ↗ · 🇭🇷 ↗
- 🇦🇹 Austria's public broadcaster ORF described Mladić's funeral as a "state funeral for a war criminal." Croatian police also charged a sixty-year-old woman with glorifying the convicted criminal, and in Bosnia proceedings began against a state ministry official who had celebrated him. Danas ↗N1 Bosna ↗Radio Sarajevo ↗
- 🇩🇰 Denmark expelled Serbian diplomats after the funeral of the convicted war criminal. The first direct diplomatic consequence of Mladić's funeral. Berlingske ↗
- 🇧🇦 Twenty-three MEPs are calling for accession talks with Serbia to be suspended. Croatian Prime Minister Plenković takes credit for the European reaction: "Right after the funeral I called our representative at the EU." Radio Sarajevo ↗Klix.ba ↗
- 🇲🇪 EU Commissioner Kos explained why she canceled her visit to Serbia. Vijesti ↗
- Norway buried Harald V — the coffin was placed in the crypt at Akershus Fortress and flags returned to full mast. 53,000 people lined the streets of Oslo, F-35 fighter jets flew over the cathedral in a "missing man" formation, and Zelensky, who attended with the first lady, received applause as he left the church. The Norwegian krone is also at its strongest against the euro since the start of 2023. NRK ↗Tages-Anzeiger ↗Aftenposten ↗NRK ↗Aftenposten ↗Berlingske ↗
- Russian drones and sabotage made themselves felt in a single night from Moldova to Germany. A drone in Moldovan airspace affected seven civilian flights and one had to land in Iași, Romania; Romania's SRI reports a foiled Russian sabotage operation, and the Lithuanian press links a series of suspicious fires from Germany to Poland into a single pattern. Moscow denies involvement. 🇲🇩 ↗ · 🇷🇴 ↗ · 🇱🇹 ↗ · 🇳🇱 ↗ · 🇭🇺 ↗ · 🇸🇪 ↗
- 🇸🇪 "Europe is losing the hybrid war with Russia." Expressen sums up the warning from security experts. Expressen ↗
- 🇲🇩 The FSB reportedly arrested a Moldovan man who allegedly attempted to kill a Russian general. Chișinău says it received no official notification. Ziarul de Gardă ↗
- On the same day, the Court of Justice of the European Union rejected both Roman Abramovich's case and Hungary's lawsuit over frozen Russian assets. The oligarch failed to have the sanctions annulled for the third time; Budapest unsuccessfully tried to block the use of proceeds from frozen Russian assets for military aid to Ukraine. Two rulings on Russian money in one day. 🇱🇹 ↗ · 🇵🇹 ↗ · 🇸🇪 ↗ · 🇧🇬 ↗ · 🇺🇦 ↗ · 🇭🇺 ↗ In the afternoon, two competing initiatives arrived at once: the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe proposed sending frozen Russian assets to compensate Ukraine, while the Council of Europe itself launched its own mechanism alongside the one being prepared by the EU. Interfax Ukraine ↗Kyiv Independent ↗
- A researcher who worked for both OpenAI and Anthropic left the field with a warning that superintelligence could kill humanity by the end of the decade. "They are gambling with our lives," he told both companies. The news spread across Europe on the very day OpenAI announced it had solved one of the Millennium math problems and Anthropic accused it of stealing ideas. 🇳🇱 ↗ · 🇵🇹 ↗ · 🇬🇧 ↗ · 🇷🇴 ↗ · 🇨🇭 ↗ · 🇮🇹 ↗ · 🇧🇬 ↗ His name is Jacob Coxon, and he speaks of a more than ten percent probability that artificial intelligence will kill everyone. By evening, newsrooms from Spain to Turkey were writing about him. De Standaard ↗Le Figaro ↗El Español ↗ In the early evening the company added its own report predicting a massive rise in unemployment in intellectual professions by 2030 — Poland's Rzeczpospolita summed it up as "worse than the pandemic". El Mundo ↗Rzeczpospolita ↗
- British police have opened a criminal investigation into donations to Reform UK following a Channel 4 undercover report. Six newsrooms from Oslo to Podgorica are covering the case; Nigel Farage faces questions about foreign funding. The Independent ↗NRK ↗Naftemporiki ↗El Mundo ↗
- The European Commission presented rules for short-term rentals and told cities when they may ban Airbnb. Ten countries are covering the story — in some tourist cities, one in every five apartments is already a short-term rental. Spiegel ↗Kurier ↗Het Laatste Nieuws ↗Politiken ↗
- The European Court of Auditors wrote on the same day that the EU is far from completing its energy transition, and member states are leaving billions earmarked for cutting ties with Russian fossil fuels unused. ORF ↗de Volkskrant ↗Spiegel ↗
- CIA director John Ratcliffe is to take over the US talks with Russia from Steve Witkoff. The Financial Times reported it and newsrooms in four countries picked it up; the Kremlin said the same day it hopes for early talks under US mediation. The Irish Times ↗Censor.NET ↗De Morgen ↗SRF ↗
- Porsche sold both Bugatti and Rimac, raising one billion euros. Croatia's Rimac thereby took full control of Bugatti. Handelsblatt ↗Kleine Zeitung ↗Tages-Anzeiger ↗N1 Croatia ↗
DE🇩🇪German media
- Prosecutors in Hannover searched the apartment of Berlin SPD leader Steffen Krach on suspicion of bribery. The searches took place in Berlin and Hannover eleven days before the Berlin state election. Spiegel ↗taz ↗Die Zeit ↗
- Arrest warrant issued for alleged saboteur Daniel V., who is to be committed to Cottbus prison. Continuation of the case involving attacks on Germany's power grid. Welt ↗
- The arms maker is called Covenant and plans to produce its long-range missiles in Leipzig from 2027, not somewhere in Saxony. Tages-Anzeiger ↗
- Commentator Michel Friedman: Merz does not meet the job description of chancellor. Criticism came from within the media mainstream a day after the CDU's election defeat. Tagesspiegel ↗
- CDU MP Sepp Müller: the party has lost voters' trust, and the election of Sven Schulze as parliamentary group leader is a „fatal signal". Welt ↗ZDF heute ↗
- „Any country that did what the AfD proposes would be bankrupt in no time." Economic criticism of the party's program. Welt ↗
- Wadephul pressures Zelensky for Ukraine to buy more German weapons. Purchases as a condition for further support. Spiegel ↗
- Court bars immigration agency ICE from accessing tax data of migrants without a residence permit. The first judicial check on this practice. Spiegel ↗
- Rail strike in the Netherlands also hit Germany. Cross-border connections disrupted. Tagesschau ↗
- Anke Rehlinger wants to cap co-payments for nursing home costs. Care reform opens the autumn season. Die Zeit ↗
PL🇵🇱Polish media
- A train carrying one hundred and twenty passengers collided with a cement truck near Sokolniki — one dead, twenty injured. Train drivers have announced a protest and accuse the government of complacency, while Tusk promises radical tightening of level-crossing regulations. De Telegraaf ↗Wirtualna Polska ↗Do Rzeczy ↗
- The United States has taken an unclear step against Poland and Hungary in immigration visa procedures. Warsaw has not yet received an explanation. Onet ↗Wirtualna Polska ↗
- Intelligence services coordinator Siemoniak held talks at CIA headquarters with John Ratcliffe, and passed details to the prime minister. The visit was not announced in advance. TVN24 ↗Onet ↗
- Ziobro files a criminal complaint against the prime minister and Justice Minister Żurek. He claims they „want to destroy the competition". Gazeta Wyborcza ↗Onet ↗
- The presidential palace responded sharply to Tusk: „You are pitifully confabulating." The dispute between the head of state and the prime minister has escalated. Wirtualna Polska ↗
- A Pole was detained by Latvian services in operation „Werewolf". Details have not yet been disclosed. Wirtualna Polska ↗
HU🇭🇺Hungarian media
- A twist in Austria's Paks action: the European Commission cannot confirm that Austria ever filed a complaint against Hungary over the riverbed sill. Index ↗444 ↗
- János Lázár has finished his report on Fidesz; personnel and organisational changes may come next week. 444 ↗
- The investigative committee into the National Bank scandal has requested Transparency International as an expert. The proposal came from its Tisza party members. Portfolio ↗Telex ↗
- The government summoned the head of MOL directly to a cabinet meeting on fuel prices and is preparing a decision on diesel subsidies. 24.hu ↗
- In the National Cultural Fund case, the wife of Ádám Fásy was arrested. Magyar Nemzet ↗
- German car company shuts down plant in Győr, laying off 470 people. Another blow to Hungary's automotive sector. Telex ↗
- Hungary blocked clusters of Ukraine's EU accession talks for the fourth time. It has not disclosed its demands. Kyiv Post ↗
- Orbán: „Debt slavery is looming again on the horizon." Rhetoric ahead of the budget season. Népszava ↗
- Pentagon: it pays to prepare for a long war. An official speaks of years, not months. Portfolio ↗
- Béla Skripeg, an ALS patient who fought for euthanasia alongside Dániel Karsai, has died. A symbolic end to the campaign. Telex ↗
AT🇦🇹Austrian media
- Miss Austria Lucia Šišić has died at the age of twenty-two. She suffered from a congenital heart defect. FAZ ↗HVG ↗
- Government opened its autumn work with a council of ministers. First session after the summer. ORF ↗
- Criticism of the social assistance reform: „softening of the system" and „padding". Amesbauer attacks the federal proposal. Kurier ↗
- Kickl in a summer interview: „It turned out badly." An assessment of his own performance. Kurier ↗
- CEO Thurnher wants to „digitally unleash" ORF. A plan to restructure public broadcasting. Kurier ↗
UA🇺🇦Ukrainian media
- The Russian frigate Admiral Essen was hit in Novorossiysk by a Neptune missile, the navy reports. Censor.NET ↗
- The EU was surprised by Kyiv's request for a further $27 billion for defence and is checking how the gap arose. Censor.NET ↗
- Ukrainian special forces report the war's record-range strike — critical Russian plants 3,000 kilometres from the border, in Arctic Yamal. Russian media confirmed the attack and a fire broke out in the gas metropolis. Ukrajinska Pravda ↗15min ↗Kleine Zeitung ↗
- An investigation in Finland concluded that the four explosive-laden drones that flew in there in spring were Ukrainian and were diverted by Russian GPS jamming. Censor.NET ↗Ukrainska Pravda ↗
- In Kyiv the number of injured from the overnight drone attack keeps rising — Klitschko now reports sixteen — and another drone hit a shopping centre in Sumy, killing one person. Interfax Ukraine ↗Censor.NET ↗
- Rutte: civilian casualties in Ukraine are the highest since May 2022, and delayed aid is costing lives. Allies have allocated over ten billion dollars over the past year to purchase American equipment, and nine countries announced new packages after the Ramstein meeting. Kyiv Post ↗Censor.NET ↗
- Drones attacked a fuel oil terminal in Novorossiysk, sparking a fire. The Russian port is burning. On Wednesday, Kyiv announced it had struck the entire Novorossiysk naval base, including carriers of Kalibr missiles. Zelensky commented on the strike personally. 🇺🇦 ↗ · 🇭🇷 ↗ · 🇳🇱 ↗ Ukrainska Pravda ↗Expressen ↗
- In the Kyiv region, the curfew is being shortened from September 10 to 01:00–05:00. The easing is meant to make life easier for residents. Interfax Ukraine ↗
- Bloomberg: Putin plans to intensify attacks in winter to test Ukraine's resilience. A winter campaign as a tool of pressure. Ukrainska Pravda ↗
- In the Kharkiv region, warning system servers were hacked and sirens blared for several hours. The attack targeted civilian warning infrastructure. Censor.NET ↗
FR🇫🇷French Media
- Racist remarks by municipal police officers in Carcassonne shook politics, and the National Rally expelled a member of its order-keeping service. BFM TV ↗Mediapart ↗
- The appeal trial of François Bayrou in the MoDem assistants case opened in Paris. He described himself as "convinced that all the accusations are unfounded." Le Monde ↗BFM TV ↗
- Retailleau wants to abolish birthright citizenship by referendum and rejects Édouard Philippe's proposal. The 2027 presidential campaign is intensifying. Le Monde ↗BFM TV ↗
- A hundred socialists are calling to open primaries to Ruffin, Tondelier and Pigasse. "The left must not surrender to its divisions." BFM TV ↗
- According to 56 percent of citizens, the European Union is "under threat." An ECFR survey ahead of the autumn season. Le Figaro ↗
- Bruno Le Maire wants to move the start of kindergarten from age three to age one. A response to the declining level of French pupils. Le Figaro ↗
- Dispute at the Eiffel Tower: Hindu movement claims it did not request different treatment of women. Female employees were pulled from their posts during the visit. Ouest-France ↗De Standaard ↗
- Smithsonian Institution head Lonnie Bunch is stepping down under political pressure. The institution had been in Trump's crosshairs. France 24 ↗
IT🇮🇹Italian Media
- Germany's Isar put the first European commercial satellite rocket into orbit. Il Sole 24 Ore ↗Večernji list ↗
- According to EU sources, Slovakia is blocking the extension of sanctions against Moscow. ANSA ↗
- Former general Vannacci appeared before police officers without the knowledge of the government office or the interior ministry. Nervousness is growing within the Brothers of Italy; he himself called on Meloni, wanting "peace" with Russia and "remigration." La Stampa ↗De Standaard ↗
- "Netanyahu also bears political responsibility, I myself saw documents about the warning." New testimony adds to the claim that the prime minister was warned before October 7 by the president of the Emirates; his office again denied it. La Repubblica ↗Siol ↗
- AfD is targeting the state, judges are already in its sights, and concerns are growing about the intelligence services. The Italian left united on stage under the slogan "Stop the neo-Nazi advance." La Repubblica ↗
- Among those elected for AfD are a forger, an agro-Nazi and a porn producer. A portrait of the new faction. La Repubblica ↗
- Stefania Craxi on AfD's success: "We share nothing with this direction of the right." A distancing from within the Italian right. La Repubblica ↗
- Salvini offers rebels joint candidate lists: "No jokes in Pontida." An effort to keep the League together ahead of the congress. La Repubblica ↗
- A law against antisemitism has sparked protests across Italy. Critics say the target is not antisemitism, but dissent. Il Manifesto ↗
- The government is stuck over convening talks on the former Ilva. The steel crisis remains unresolved. Il Manifesto ↗
ES🇪🇸Spanish Media
- Argentina accused oil companies from Israel, Britain and Canada of operating illegally around the Falklands. El Mundo ↗
- The declassified reports show Morocco never intended to hold the border: on the day of the surge it faked a reinforcement of a thousand gendarmes, two days earlier the police reported that Moroccan agents would not be policing it, and the army warned of a "massive" entry on 30 August, when it was already under way. The CNI intelligence service had alerted both the cabinet and Rabat as early as 29 July; the Commission has since approved €114.7 million and Sánchez speaks of a "hybrid attack". ABC ↗El Español ↗El País ↗El Español ↗
- Rabat appropriated a Spanish border zone, built a gate there, and is blocking the return of Moroccans. A concrete incursion into the disputed zone near Ceuta. ABC ↗
- The government slipped an 80,000-euro bonus for its delegation in Ceuta into the decree on unified command. The detail emerged only after the text was published. ABC ↗
- Housing minors who entered Ceuta illegally costs 6.1 million euros. People's Party barons warn: "If they reach the mainland, Morocco has won." ABC ↗ABC ↗
- Spanish politicians are heading to Brussels to "Europeanize" Ceuta. An effort to shift the problem to the EU level; Madrid meanwhile says evidence linking Morocco to the crisis is lacking. de Volkskrant ↗LSM ↗
- The People's Party demands the declassification of Pegasus to find out why the government is "compliant toward intruders." The case is back. El Confidencial ↗
- Plus Ultra's former management confirmed Venezuelan influence in the airline and undermined the legality of the government bailout. The court is demanding minutes from meetings with the state holding company SEPI. El Mundo ↗
- The CEOE employers' association postponed its registration as a lobby and froze relations with the government for two weeks. Ministries are demanding "responsible statements" and limiting meetings out of fear of their own law. ABC ↗El Mundo ↗
BE🇧🇪Belgian Media
- Belgium's long-term interest rate exceeded four percent for the first time since 2012. De Standaard ↗
- MR wants to crack down harder on drug violence in all Brussels municipalities and the periphery. 7sur7 ↗
- Belgium was reprimanded again over prison conditions: overcrowding, violence, and cells full of urine. International criticism recurs. De Morgen ↗
- Voters in Western Europe are switching from stagnation to nostalgia. An analysis of the mood shift across the continent. De Morgen ↗
- Entrepreneurs are giving it up en masse: "I'm glad to be an 'ordinary' employee again." A report on the exodus of self-employed workers. De Morgen ↗
- Neo-Nazis, a Stasi officer and a towel thief will sit in parliament for AfD. A portrait of the faction from a Belgian perspective. De Standaard ↗
- N-VA proposes Wouter Pas for the Constitutional Court. Who is the man who could become one of the country's top judges. De Standaard ↗
- In Brussels, tenants are fighting the country's largest landlord: "They're silencing us." A report on the housing crisis. De Standaard ↗
- Flanders inspects companies but not its own roofs for solar panels. An inconsistent energy policy. De Standaard ↗
NL🇳🇱Dutch Media
- Russian postal workers are being issued anti-drone weapons against Ukrainian attacks. de Volkskrant ↗
- Public transport stood still for 24 hours as unions struck against government cuts to social security. Stations remained empty, and the feared rush-hour chaos did not materialize. NRC ↗Politika ↗
- For the first time, researchers managed to peer into the female brain during puberty, pregnancy and menopause. A scientific breakthrough in imaging. NOS ↗
- French firm Mistral is changing course and wants control over its own servers. A European player's move away from foreign cloud infrastructure. Trouw ↗
- Twenty-five years after September 11, Trump is driving a knife into the counterterrorism agenda. The dismantling of structures created after the attacks. NOS ↗
- The Supreme Court did not overturn the Republican electoral map in Missouri. A decision with an impact on the congressional elections. de Volkskrant ↗
- Elderly people must move repeatedly in the final phase of life: "Drastic and emotional." A report on the care system. AD ↗
GB🇬🇧British media
- A British national has been charged with assisting Russian intelligence services. The Independent ↗Sky News ↗
- Google has picked Finland for its largest single investment in Europe. BBC News ↗
- PM Burnham sees sanctions against Israeli settlements as an electoral advantage and refuses to fund defence through benefit cuts. The Guardian ↗The Mirror ↗
- Tens of thousands of teenagers are outside education, "under the radar" of official statistics. The children's commissioner found 40,000 hidden young people without work or school and warns of a "lost generation". BBC News ↗Daily Mail ↗
- Food inflation could reach nearly four percent by Christmas. Price growth is expected to continue next year as well. The Mirror ↗
- Voters want Burnham to scrap Labour's red lines on Brexit and move closer to the EU. Poll for The Independent. The Independent ↗
- Very hot drinks may damage the oesophagus and increase cancer risk. New study with a practical recommendation. BBC News ↗RTÉ ↗
PT🇵🇹Portuguese media
- PM Montenegro responded to the motion of no confidence with a pension bonus and a cut to income tax. The measures will cost 800 million euros and the government promises to end the year with balanced accounts. CM Jornal ↗RTP ↗
- "The government was the big winner of the parliamentary marathon." Assessment after the vote; Diário de Notícias raises the question of a cabinet reshuffle. CM Jornal ↗Diário de Notícias ↗
- Payments under the recovery plan reached 15 billion euros. Drawdown of EU funds has accelerated. CM Jornal ↗
- Back-to-school is straining family budgets. Costs are rising faster than incomes. CM Jornal ↗
- The PSP and GNR police forces are meeting over new protests. Unions continue to press the government. CM Jornal ↗
- Minister: boat intercepted off Sesimbra may have been "support" for drug smuggling. Investigation continues. CM Jornal ↗
- Angola performed its first robotic kidney operations. A medical breakthrough in the Lusophone world. Observador ↗
RS🇷🇸Serbian media
- UN special adviser condemned the glorification of Ratko Mladić as "deeply inappropriate and extremely troubling". Danas ↗N1 Bosna ↗
- Redžepi called on Albanian parties from Bujanovac, Preševo and Medveđa to form a single list. Minority politics ahead of the October elections. N1 Serbia ↗
- Vučić attacked Croatia after Mladić's funeral. The diplomatic row continues. Večernji list ↗
- Zelensky hinted where a trilateral meeting could take place and revealed the topics for negotiation. Kurir ↗
- Putin congratulated Kim on North Korea's 78th founding anniversary and promised further strengthening of strategic partnership. Kurir ↗
- Former New York mayor on Mamdani: "He's worse than the hijackers." Accusation of involvement in a "global Islamic conspiracy". Kurir ↗
GR🇬🇷Greek media
- The far-right Kasidiaris is being released from prison and "sees elections". To Vima ↗
- Singer Giorgos Mazonakis has died of a heart attack at the age of fifty-four. The national topic of the day in Greek media. Naftemporiki ↗To Vima ↗
- A Greek-flagged ship was hit by a drone in the Persian Gulf, and the value of old large tankers has jumped by as much as 90 percent. Risk has begun to be priced into ships. Protothema ↗Protothema ↗
- New video of the Phantom fighter jet crash in Tanagra shows the moment the aircraft falls in flames and explodes. Residents say the pilots saved them. Protothema ↗To Vima ↗
- Romania shut down two nuclear reactors due to low water levels on the Danube. Drought has affected the plant's cooling. Naftemporiki ↗
- Germany is rearming, the far right is rising, and in Poland memories of the two world wars are awakening. An analytical view from Athens. Naftemporiki ↗
HR🇭🇷Croatian media
- Russia is waging a second war behind the first — it has destroyed more than twelve million books in Ukraine. N1 Croatia ↗
- A major fire broke out at the Petrokemija plant in Kutina, sending up thick black smoke. Minister Ćorić reports the fire is under control and poses no danger, while residents are asking why the warning system did not sound. N1 Croatia ↗HRT ↗
- Anušić: I'm lumping Serbia and Republika Srpska together over Mladić, we will take political steps. Croatia will also buy 18 Chunmoo rocket systems. Novi list ↗Nezavisen ↗
- Waste scandal in Gospić: toxicologist speaks of a state "equivalent to a fire" and demands immediate action. Water from private wells and cisterns in Lika is not drinkable. Index.hr ↗24sata ↗
- Attorney General Turudić: first information about the waste arrived back in 2023, politicians did not disclose it. Indictment is approaching. N1 Croatia ↗
- Croatian pupils improved in mathematics and science in the PISA test. An exception amid an otherwise poor European average. 24sata ↗
RO🇷🇴Romanian media
- The presidential administration denies that Romania is sending soldiers to the front in Ukraine, calling it "alarmist manipulation". Meanwhile, the drone that flew over the north of the country yesterday and fell in Moldova carried metal balls in its warhead, and according to the Kyiv Post it flew over Romania for thirty minutes without any NATO intervention. Digi24 ↗Adevărul ↗Kyiv Post ↗
- Parliament is investigating a Constitutional Court judge's private-plane flight to Mykonos. The costs are being scrutinized; former PM Ponta defends himself: "I am a free and independent person." Pro TV Stirile ↗HotNews ↗
- The British army is mobilizing veterans as part of war preparations. A shift in defence planning. Digi24 ↗
- Ireland has opened an investigation against the platform X, which faces a massive fine. European pressure on Musk's platform is growing. HotNews ↗
- Artificial intelligence is helping criminal gangs develop illegal tobacco networks, an EU auditor warns. According to the report, the Union is losing the fight. Digi24 ↗Vijesti ↗
- A court has allowed Bucharest's transport operator STB to enter insolvency. City transport under temporary administration. G4Media ↗
CH🇨🇭Swiss media
- Swiss trade in Sudanese gold is illegal as of today. Tages-Anzeiger ↗
- Switzerland's intelligence service released its file on Nazi doctor Josef Mengele only in redacted form. Tages-Anzeiger ↗
- Zimmer Biomet wants to cut more than 500 jobs in Winterthur — the city calls it a shock and mayor Fritschi had hoped for the opposite news. Neue Zürcher Zeitung ↗
- Both critically injured in the explosion at a hydroelectric plant in Ticino died at the scene. The building collapsed and rescuers searched for people under the rubble. SRF ↗Makfax ↗
- OpenAI solved one of the biggest mathematical mysteries in 88 hours, though several teams claim priority. Tages-Anzeiger ↗Financial Times ↗
- Rice cakes put to the test: big differences in contaminants, a particular problem for small children. SRF ↗
SE🇸🇪Swedish media
- Social Democrat leader goes on the attack: Sweden Democrats infiltrated by friends of Putin. The campaign ahead of the election is heating up, and Åkesson's bandmate has been found to have sold Nazi music. Dagens Nyheter ↗Dagens Nyheter ↗
- The centre is now leading in the election. Polls have turned just before the vote. Expressen ↗
- Andersson and Åkesson clashed on public television: "Parrot tactics." Expressen ↗
- Air traffic controllers went home shortly before the fatal crash. Aftonbladet raises the question of staffing coverage. Aftonbladet ↗
- Moderna Museet lent out paintings worth millions. Question marks over the loan conditions. Svenska Dagbladet ↗
NO🇳🇴Norwegian media
- United States warns of conflict over Taiwan. A shift in American rhetoric toward Beijing. NRK ↗
- "There is still no right-wing wave." Aftenposten questions the widespread interpretation of European election results. Aftenposten ↗
TR🇹🇷Turkish media
- Google announced a thirteen-billion-euro investment in artificial intelligence. Cumhuriyet ↗
- Court ordered the exhumation of former MİT officer Kaşif Kozinoğlu — his suspicious death is being reopened after fifteen years. Iran, meanwhile, claims to have seized an American underwater drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Cumhuriyet ↗Cumhuriyet ↗HVG ↗
- The power of the İsmailağa community in the Turkey–Africa–Syria triangle. An investigation into a network of alleged madrasas that has spread from Turkey into Africa. Cumhuriyet ↗
- Inheritance dispute within the Menzil community deepens rift between brothers. A power struggle inside an influential religious network. Cumhuriyet ↗
- Minister boasted about dormitory occupancy, girls left outside. Successful female students did not get accommodation. Cumhuriyet ↗
- Spending on city hospitals exceeded 100 billion lira in eight months. The costs of the public-private partnership model. Cumhuriyet ↗
- Textile industry awaits a new policy after losing 364,000 jobs in four years. Cumhuriyet ↗
IE🇮🇪Irish media
- Bord Gáis Energy is raising electricity and gas prices by up to 10.6 percent from October, which will cost some customers over three hundred euros a year. Irish Examiner ↗The Irish Times ↗
- Cabinet likely to discuss risk assessment and citizenship. The topic returns to the government table. RTÉ ↗
- Transport minister criticises road safety authority for not saying more after fatal crash on the M9 motorway. A dispute over transparency. The Journal ↗
- Financial sector lacks enough fraud-fighting experts, warns the Compliance Institute. The capacity gap is growing. The Irish Times ↗
- Final winding-down of the state's "bad bank" included average severance payments of 147,000 euros per employee. The Journal ↗
- Mary McAleese sharply criticises the GAA sports association after leaving the integration steering committee: "A slap in the face for women." Irish Independent ↗
FI🇫🇮Finnish media
- A small left-wing party could decide the AfD's path to power. Helsingin Sanomat breaks down the arithmetic around BSW. Helsingin Sanomat ↗
- Harry and Meghan are not allowed to return to royal duties. The palace's decision is final. Helsingin Sanomat ↗
- Journalists filming a volcanic eruption in Indonesia have gone missing. The search operation continues. Yle ↗
- It's worth cutting out alcohol even before getting pregnant. New recommendation for prospective parents. Helsingin Sanomat ↗
BA🇧🇦Bosnian media
- Shocking testimony at the Prijedor war crimes trial: "Almost everyone was killed the same way." Radio Sarajevo ↗
- Mothers of Srebrenica back Minister Konaković: "He showed that there are limits when it comes to the dignity of the victims." Klix.ba ↗
- European Union invests 400 million euros in a new insulin factory in Germany. Radio Sarajevo ↗
- New information on the postman from Čapljina who disappeared with pension funds: via Sarajevo to Turkey and then to Thailand? Klix.ba ↗
BG🇧🇬Bulgarian media
- "Brussels is taking over": public procurement in Bulgaria is meant to look like it does in Denmark. Dnevnik ↗
- Google announced it will worsen the functioning of its search engine to avoid fines from the European Union. The company openly speaks of reducing service quality as a response to regulation. Dnevnik ↗
- Initiative committee of presidential candidate Yotova: cadres from GERB, BSP and DPS, public figures and athletes. The campaign is taking shape, one committee member has already been removed. Dnevnik ↗
- GERB heeded Borisov and will not enter a "fratricidal war" over the presidency. A strategic retreat ahead of the election. 24 Chasa ↗
- Sofia police chief Peltekov: fentanyl is pushing heroin out of the market. A shift in the capital's drug scene. 24 Chasa ↗
LT🇱🇹Lithuanian media
- In a diplomatic dispute the US blocked the candidacy of the French ambassador. LRT ↗
- The Veterinary and Food Service has seized two more samples from grain shipments of unclear origin from Russia. LRT ↗
- Latvia has banned imports of toys and books made in Russia: "We should not be supporting them." Sanctions logic has moved to everyday consumer goods. LRT ↗
- Argentina has taken legal action against oil companies operating near the Falklands. The dispute is moving to the courts. LRT ↗
- Peskov rejects European participation in the talks: "Europeans are doing everything to make sure this war doesn't end." 15min ↗
- Men in Russia aren't taking any chances — what they're grasping at to escape Putin's plan. A report on draft evasion; alongside it, "borscht inflation" in Russian shops. 15min ↗15min ↗
- National defence: companies admit most don't know what to do in a crisis situation. LRT ↗
SI🇸🇮Slovenian media
- Twelve countries have announced sanctions against Israeli settlements; Turkey and seven other states backed the British decision. 24ur ↗Cumhuriyet ↗
- Kosovo MPs elected a speaker of parliament after more than a year of constitutional crisis. Kurti, however, says the assembly's establishment will not avert new elections. RTV Slovenija ↗Gazeta Shqiptare ↗
- Slovenia goes against the current: opening an Israeli embassy just as the West tightens pressure on Israel. Israel's foreign minister is arriving, protests have been announced, and a business forum is being held behind closed doors. Delo ↗
- Jaguar Land Rover is cutting 4,000 jobs, billion-euro investments remain in place. Siol ↗
- Radical school reform has put the SVIZ trade union on its feet. 24ur ↗
- In the wealthiest district, they're asking how many data centres is too many. Limits of data infrastructure. Delo ↗
🌍 Other countries
🇦🇱 Albanian media- Hundred-and-first day of protests against the Trump family's tourism project: demonstrators block intersections and a bridge, chanting "Arrest Rama." Berisha condemned the police intervention as "inhuman brutality." Gazeta Shqiptare ↗Balkanweb ↗
- Divjaka's protest reaches forty days: "We don't want to merge with Lushnja, this is our municipality." Gazeta Shqiptare ↗
🇩🇰 Danish media
- Scientists fear paracetamol in pregnancy shrinks children's genitals. German and Spanish press write on the same day about a possible impact on daughters' fertility. Berlingske ↗Welt ↗
- Party leader purges the candidate list: "I will do everything to remove this type of candidate." Politiken ↗
🇺🇸 American media
- Tech firm reveals first AI cyberattack by one government against another. It calls the case a precedent of its kind. NBC News ↗
- New report shows the economic cost of ICE immigration raids. NPR ↗
- New Hampshire clarifies: Pappas vs. Sununu in a duel that could decide the Senate. The Hill ↗
🇪🇪 Estonian media
- Russia has damaged or destroyed 2,687 healthcare facilities in Ukraine over 1,659 days of war. Postimees ↗
- Teachers begin wage negotiations with the state, aiming for 2,304 euros. Postimees ↗
🇲🇰 Macedonian media
- Lavrov responds to Europe: "If we are attacked, the war will be short." Makfax ↗
- German finance minister: Germany cannot defend itself without new debt. Makfax ↗
- Politico: Kaja Kallas's idea for a defense expert group collapsed before it was even created. Makfax ↗
🇮🇸 Icelandic media
- Organizers apologize for text about North Korea in the king's funeral program. RÚV ↗
- Only about 28 percent of immigrants have basic reading literacy. Vísir ↗
- "There is nothing funny or normal about mocking the sovereignty of states." Reykjavík responds to Trump's renamings. RÚV ↗
🇲🇪 Montenegrin media
- Reuters: mass student-led protests mark a turning point in Serbia. Vijesti ↗
- Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong's first leader under Chinese rule, has died. Vijesti ↗
- Ukrainian official Vlasiuk: Russia again using American processors in hypersonic missiles. Vijesti ↗
🇱🇻 Latvian media
- Pro-Russian terrorists are trying to sow fear and weaken support for Ukraine by threatening Latvian firms. That's according to Latvia's public broadcaster LSM. LSM ↗
- On the same day, Lithuania declared 22 Belarusian citizens a threat to national security and Estonia refused transit of Russian grain through Baltic ports. The three Baltic states reported hybrid risks in a single day. LRT ↗ERR ↗
- The European Union has allowed Ukraine to use part of the loan provided to purchase Patriot missiles. LSM ↗
- The government backed continued financial stabilization of airline airBaltic. LSM ↗
🇲🇹 Maltese media
- Cardinal Grech warns: "We have hit rock bottom," but insists hope remains. Newsbook ↗
- Illegal tobacco trade: the European Union is losing the fight. Newsbook ↗
🇱🇺 Luxembourgish media
- New Luxembourgish passports are overwhelming some airports. Readers can't cope with them. Luxemburger Wort ↗
- The "kissing disease" with a long shadow. An overview of the long-term effects of infectious mononucleosis. Luxemburger Wort ↗
🔎 What's worth its own article
- Google is deliberately degrading its search engine to escape EU fines. Neither Slovak nor Czech media are writing about this at all. It's a precedent for how a major platform passes the cost of regulation directly onto the European user — and it will hit anyone searching in Slovak.
- Piracy is returning to the Persian Gulf. While attention is focused on strikes and the price of oil, a security vacuum in the strait is being filled by pirate groups. The Polish counterpart — Kuwait exporting further via Hormuz — shows that the strait isn't blocked, just more expensive and riskier.
- The first AI cyberattack by one government against another. A case the tech firm called the first of its kind hasn't been covered in the Slovak space. It follows on from what we wrote about the cybersecurity risk of OpenAI's new model.
