What Europe is Writing About: Trump Threatens Hormuz Annexation, Europe Burning from Ardennes to Dalmatia, Ceuta Awaits August 15th

🌍 Other countries

• Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham banned grilling and called in the army to fight fires, warning that the crisis is "far from over". Daily Mail ↗
• A fire in Stourbridge destroyed nineteen homes, doorbell footage captured the moment flames engulfed the family's home. During a fire in Porth, four teenagers were detained on suspicion of arson. The Sun ↗The Mirror ↗
• Men are set to lose the right to prostate cancer testing, Lord Cameron called it a "step back" and an expert called it a "shocking betrayal". Daily Mail ↗The Mirror ↗
• BBC wants to subpoena members of Trump's family in a lawsuit over the Panorama program. BBC News ↗The Hill ↗
• Nvidia disclosed a 21-billion stake in SpaceX. Financial Times ↗
• Turbulence is mounting at OpenAI while Sam Altman prepares pressure for a stock market listing. Financial Times ↗
• Traders are preparing for a battle over the Japanese yen. Financial Times ↗
• Venezuela is asking the Bank of England to return 31 tons of gold worth four billion dollars. The Sun ↗
• Geneva's super-rich were shaken by a series of burglaries into luxury homes. Financial Times ↗
• Heathrow warns of restrictions at two terminals following flooding. Sky News ↗
• Thousands of prison cells remain empty as Labour prematurely releases prisoners due to overcrowding. Daily Mail ↗
• BBC was warned about an author's claim that he owns missing clothing of a murdered child. The Guardian ↗
• Space images show a scorched European landscape after summer heat waves. BBC News ↗
• China is preparing to lift travel bans for Manus company founders. Financial Times ↗

• The New York Times reconstructed Putin's plan for Moldova, including a message the Kremlin sent to military commanders and officials. Adevărul ↗HotNews ↗
• According to Digi24, Russia has prepared "shock units" designed to cause chaos in Moldova — the plan was created in the "Kremlin's Silicon Valley". Digi24 ↗
• Ukraine hit a Russian base with MiG-31 aircraft that can fire Kinzhal missiles. G4Media ↗
• Navy Day in Constanța: exercises with over 3,500 soldiers and dozens of ships, Prime Minister Bolojan was present. Adevărul ↗
• Turkey wants to build a Black Sea highway over a hundred kilometers long that will reach into Romania. Libertatea ↗
• Anthropic warns that security risks associated with artificial intelligence are growing. G4Media ↗
• Zelensky says Russia could lose thirty thousand soldiers in August, and Ukraine is strengthening positions in Donetsk. Digi24 ↗
• Starting September 1st, the health card is changing, its functions will gradually be taken over by another document. Digi24 ↗

• The fire on Dugi otok is not under control. Firefighters defended homes all night, water bombers arrived, and sections of the road also burned. Index.hr ↗HRT ↗24sata ↗
• Near Omiš, the fire claimed a victim and dozens injured, thousands of people had to leave their homes. A hero from Stanić saved sixty people with two boats. 24sata ↗
• Jeff Bezos became a co-owner of football club Liverpool. Novi list ↗
• Residents of Gospić feel abandoned: would the state act the same if thousands of tons of hazardous waste were lying near Zagreb, Split or Rijeka? Večernji list ↗
• Strawberries are being pulled from shelves due to norovirus. 24sata ↗

• The Houthis are escalating attacks: eight dead in Yemeni Mokha and a hit on an Aramco facility in Saudi Arabia. Protothema ↗Naftemporiki ↗
• Iran told Trump: "The Strait of Hormuz is not conquered by aircraft carriers." The White House claims the president was joking. To Vima ↗Naftemporiki ↗
• The fire on Kos is contained, on Rethymno with no active front, but today there is a very high fire risk in twenty-one areas. Protothema ↗
• Due to strong winds, bathing is banned from Rafina and Lavrio until 1 p.m., and ferry departures from Piraeus are also changing. The Aegean Sea has winds up to nine on the Beaufort scale. Naftemporiki ↗Naftemporiki ↗
• Environmental conditions were approved for the electrical interconnection of the Dodecanese — a project worth two billion euros. Protothema ↗
• Naftemporiki explains why the loop of public debt in the European Union is dangerously tightening. Naftemporiki ↗
• Naftemporiki: how war in Iran is redrawing the map of world trade — from Asia to the Arctic. Naftemporiki ↗
• Eleven migrant bodies were found in the Mediterranean near Libya. Protothema ↗

• The Ministry is prepared for tough measures against African swine fever — it may send conscripts to southeastern Finland. Yle ↗
• The Ukrainian attack on Novorossiysk was exceptional: they used up to fifteen types of missiles and drones at once. Yle ↗
• A new way of utilizing fields is coming to Finland — cultivation continues under solar panels. Yle ↗
• Rumors about a new border crossing are circulating on social networks, the commissioner assures that disinformation is now being suppressed more rigorously. Yle ↗
• MEP Ville Niinistö described his health collapses, an ambulance took him away in Brussels. Ilta-Sanomat ↗
• A new EU rule surprised those affected: "This came completely out of nowhere." Ilta-Sanomat ↗
• In southern Finland, the heat wave record could fall on Saturday. Yle ↗

• Swedish prisoners in Estonia will avoid electric stun guns. An Estonian told Svenska Dagbladet about the deal: "People are pissed off." Svenska Dagbladet ↗Svenska Dagbladet ↗
• Moderates and Social Democrats promise to stop loans in the next election period. SVT ↗
• Missing boy found — fighting for Russia. Svenska Dagbladet ↗
• Vice Prime Minister Busch on the threats she faces: "Of course, it's a high price." Expressen ↗
• Who could replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary. Dagens Nyheter ↗
• Dagens Nyheter describes the game playing out behind the electoral compass. Svenska Dagbladet ↗
• Iran's response to Trump according to Expressen: the Strait of Hormuz cannot be conquered. Expressen ↗

• Minister fears growing intolerance and wants new figures on Muslims. Politiken ↗
• UN: Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo claims a life every half hour. Politiken ↗
• A sixteen-year-old boy died from multiple stab wounds in Roskilde. Berlingske ↗
• How to disarm a drone on foot: "It's a professional, hybrid threat." Politiken ↗
• A judge cleared the way for Somali deportations from the United States. Politiken ↗
• The best-selling electric car increased in price by 64 thousand kroner in three months. Berlingske ↗
• Two years after sponsors left Pride, it still hasn't made up for the loss. Politiken ↗

• They predicted a financial exodus from London's City: "No one dares to leave now." VG ↗
• Another Emirati ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. NRK ↗
• Record-long queue for student housing — 13,700 people waiting. Aftenposten ↗NRK ↗
• Eleven bodies were spotted off the Libyan coast. NRK ↗
• VG on five years of Taliban: war against women. VG ↗
• Judge gave Trump the green light for deporting Somalis. NRK ↗

• Politika writes about "blockade-related messages in service of foreign propaganda against Serbia". Politika ↗
• Miloš Jovanović admitted that representatives of New DSS had meetings with members of the German AfD. Danas ↗
• Herzegovina is burning — NASA recorded 1,292 fire spots, fire threatens homes and villages. Kurir ↗
• Ukraine hit an industrial plant in Russia's Samara region with missiles. Politika ↗
• N1 compares burnout at work: Germans "groan" for twenty-two days a year, but plans to tighten disability rules do not solve the problem. N1 Serbia ↗
• Danas: when antibiotics stop working, it's too late. Danas ↗

• Bosnia and Herzegovina were hit by three earthquakes overnight with epicenters near Sarajevo. Klix.ba ↗N1 Bosna ↗Radio Sarajevo ↗
• Tuzla faces water supply restrictions: springs are drying up, but residents consume water irrationally. Klix.ba ↗
• Klix.ba on a cold shower for Zelenskyy from the White House: "Tragically much has been given to Ukraine." Klix.ba ↗
• Zelenskyy: I demand from the United States ten percent of Patriot system missile reserves and Russians will no longer have ballistic missiles. Klix.ba ↗
• How errors in the registry of the missing from Srebrenica are exploited to spread misinformation about "fake victims". Radio Sarajevo ↗
• Large queues are at seven border crossings. Radio Sarajevo ↗

• The New York Times wrote about the importance of Moldova for Russia and also cited investigations by Ziarul de Gardă. Ziarul de Gardă ↗
• Russia is strangling Europe's granary: Ukrainian exports have plummeted by seventy-five percent. BANI.md ↗
• Moldova fell nineteen positions on the investment map and is in 101st place. BANI.md ↗
• Inheritances are coming into the tax authority's focus, Finance Minister Belous explains who will be taxed. BANI.md ↗
• Ukraine thanked Moldova for the decision to facilitate the transit of 600,000 tons of agricultural products. Newsmaker ↗
• The Panama Canal is becoming a luxury — ships pay up to 3.78 million dollars for passage. BANI.md ↗
• Thousands of Chișinău residents will be without gas and Gagauzia "without water". Newsmaker ↗
• Winners of the competition for the construction of ground-based wind turbines in Moldova were announced. Ziarul de Gardă ↗

• Twenty-three illegal migrants were returned at the border with Belarus. LRT ↗
• In Balbieriškis, joy from Ukrainian investments mixes with security concerns: "Why don't we know?" LRT ↗
• Trump: the Strait of Hormuz will soon be declared U.S. territory. 15min ↗
• Lietuvos Rytas on pedophile networks: from village churches to the Seimas building. Lietuvos Rytas ↗
• Another Russian attack killed a three-month-old baby, other children are among the wounded. Lietuvos Rytas ↗

• Demolition work related to the downed drone in Rugāji village continues on Saturday. LSM ↗
• French firefighters are demanding greater government support and preparing a nationwide strike. LSM ↗
• Fuel prices are falling in Riga and Tallinn, rising in Vilnius. LSM ↗

• airBaltic's gambit: how moving millions became fateful for Latvia. Postimees ↗
• The stock market price of electricity on Saturday will fall by sixty-eight percent. Postimees ↗
• War against spy cameras: a new pattern helps escape surveillance in urban spaces. Postimees ↗
• Postimees on Russia without civil society: now we need to properly overturn the empire of evil. Postimees ↗
• Raivo Vare: Estonia quickly and carefully secured independence at a moment of Russian weakness. Postimees ↗

• 1,100 Somalis are losing protection in the United States. RÚV ↗
• The American president threatens to make the Strait of Hormuz American territory. RÚV ↗
• A woman died in forest fires. RÚV ↗
• 131 political prisoners were released from prison. RÚV ↗

• Dugi Island is burning and the fire has not been contained yet. From Omiš, Slovenians describe the horrifying scale of the fire: "Residents were like in a cauldron." Siol ↗24ur ↗
• Highway company Dars has new leadership, the new chief is reportedly only temporary. Siol ↗Žurnal24 ↗
• Illegal discharge into the Ljubljanica: relevant authorities knew about it already in 2016. RTV Slovenija ↗
• Five years after the Taliban's return to power — that is the balance. From Kabul it sounds: "When the last NATO soldier leaves, we will fall very quickly." Žurnal24 ↗24ur ↗
• After an accident, the Karavanke tunnel was closed, chaos is looming on the roads. Žurnal24 ↗
• Janez Janša sent a message for today's national holiday. Žurnal24 ↗

• Due to low Danube levels, ferries Orjahovo – Bechet and Svištov – Zimnicea are not operating. 24 Chasa ↗
• In twenty-four hours, 138 fires were extinguished, with no casualties or injuries. 24 Chasa ↗
• Putin expressed confidence in future cooperation with North Korea. 24 Chasa ↗
• The GERB party dismissed Ivan Portnev from his position as regional coordinator in Varna. 24 Chasa ↗
• On Greek Chalkidiki, entry to forest areas is prohibited, the fine is three hundred euros. 24 Chasa ↗
• Dnevnik on five years of Taliban: hunger, rebellion and repression under "stable" rule. Dnevnik ↗
• International standards for juvenile defendants are still an exotic rarity in Bulgaria. Dnevnik ↗

• Critical appointments in the gendarmerie were announced in the official gazette — commanders in Istanbul and Ankara were replaced. Cumhuriyet ↗
• Thirty-seven suspects were detained in the visa mafia investigation. Milliyet ↗
• In the case of Rojin Kabaiş, they are demanding an investigation of public officials. Milliyet ↗
• "Trump's drone tariff will not affect Turkey." Milliyet ↗
• Ankara changed the face of Mogadishu. Milliyet ↗
• A confession about "real fear" was heard on Greek television: what is Turkey's most effective trump card and what is its new goal. Milliyet ↗
• Turkey is building 2,251 kilometers of high-speed rails from scratch, an automotive giant will manufacture in Kocaeli. Milliyet ↗Milliyet ↗

• In Tirana, the seventy-seventh protest against Premier Rama was held, the diaspora is back in the streets: "Government resignation is non-negotiable." Balkanweb ↗Gazeta Shqiptare ↗
• An emigrant responds to Rama: "Did the diaspora choose you? Here it is, we want you in prison." Gazeta Shqiptare ↗
• Opposition politician Luçiano Boçi: Rama's Albania is deindustrialization in peacetime. Gazeta Shqiptare ↗
• Fires are burning forest massifs, a she-bear with a cub appeared in Elbasan — animals are endangered. Balkanweb ↗

• Trump: I will declare the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. territory. Nezavisen ↗
• Rotary Club Skopje West launched an anti-fire campaign: "One spark, the whole forest! Don't burn, protect!" MKD.mk ↗
• MKD.mk commentary on Macedonian justice: the greater the damage, the lesser the punishment. MKD.mk ↗

• Drought is pressuring European nuclear power plants. Vijesti ↗
• Minister Bečić: aviation dropped 369 tons of water in a day. In Herceg Novi, houses are being defended against fire, with wind complicating extinguishing efforts. Vijesti ↗Vijesti ↗
• Trump asked the Supreme Court for permission to build a dance hall. Vijesti ↗
• Paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse stolen from a museum were found. Vijesti ↗
• A second patient died of West Nile fever in North Macedonia. Vijesti ↗

• What stood out this week in Melvin Theuma's testimony in the case of the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Newsbook ↗
• "The missing acute psychiatric unit at Mater Dei hospital leaves patients without adequate care." Newsbook ↗
• Roberta Metsola paid tribute to the tanker SS Ohio, which saved Malta. Lovin Malta ↗
• Protected herons were shot in broad daylight at Żonqor. Lovin Malta ↗
• DJ cancelled his performance at the Glitch festival for Etna. Newsbook ↗

• Trump on the nine-month deployment of an aircraft carrier: "Nowhere near long enough." The USS Washington is heading to the Middle East to replace USS Lincoln. CBS News ↗CBS News ↗
• The Department of Justice labeled the threat against Air Force One as an "assassination attempt" in an appeal in the dance hall case. The Hill ↗
• Senate panel launched an investigation into the game Roblox over concerns about children's safety. The Hill ↗
• Republican strategist Karl Rove: Trump must stop obscuring from Americans the true state of the economy. The Hill ↗
• The Hill asks: are the United States already in the fourth world war — and losing it? The Hill ↗
• Former Cambridge professor died a week after resigning over plagiarism allegations. CBS News ↗

🔁 Cross-country themes

• Trump wants to turn the Strait of Hormuz into US territory, Tehran rejects it and the White House softens the statement to a joke — 🇩🇪 DE · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇪🇸 ES · 🇵🇱 PL · 🇭🇺 HU · 🇦🇹 AT · 🇺🇦 UA · 🇬🇧 UK · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇳🇱 NL · 🇬🇷 GR · 🇸🇪 SE · 🇳🇴 NO · 🇱🇹 LT · 🇮🇸 IS · 🇲🇰 MK · 🇧🇦 BA · 🇺🇸 US (24 countries)
• Earthquake with magnitude 7.7 off Indonesian island of Flores claimed twenty lives, tsunami warning was withdrawn — 🇩🇪 DE · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇪🇸 ES · 🇵🇱 PL · 🇭🇺 HU · 🇦🇹 AT · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇳🇱 NL · 🇬🇷 GR · 🇭🇷 HR · 🇷🇴 RO · 🇩🇰 DK · 🇳🇴 NO · 🇷🇸 RS · 🇧🇦 BA · 🇮🇸 IS · 🇦🇱 AL · 🇲🇹 MT · 🇺🇸 US (24 countries)
• Europe is burning simultaneously in dozens of places: Hürtgenwald in Germany, High Ardennes in Belgium, Dugi otok and Omiš in Croatia, Landes and Gironde in France, Huelva in Spain, Kos in Greece, Stourbridge in Britain, Lower Austria and Herzegovina — 🇩🇪 DE · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇭🇷 HR · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇪🇸 ES · 🇬🇷 GR · 🇬🇧 UK · 🇦🇹 AT · 🇧🇦 BA · 🇸🇮 SI · 🇧🇬 BG · 🇲🇪 ME · 🇦🇱 AL · 🇵🇱 PL (20 countries)
• Drones over NATO territory: Italian fighter jets shot down a drone over Latvia, fragments were found in Romania four times a day, Belgium invests in microwave weapons and Germany, according to Polish media, is not prepared to shoot them down — 🇱🇻 LV · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇷🇴 RO · 🇺🇦 UA · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇵🇱 PL · 🇩🇰 DK (21 countries)
• Drought as a continental phenomenon: satellite images of dried-up rivers, the Rhine brings old cargo wagons back into operation, Danube ferries stand idle, wrecks from World War II emerge from the water and nuclear power plants are under pressure — 🇩🇪 DE · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇨🇭 CH · 🇭🇺 HU · 🇧🇬 BG · 🇲🇪 ME · 🇱🇺 LU · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇳🇱 NL · 🇧🇦 BA
• Five years since the fall of Kabul: Taliban broke international isolation, every third Afghan is hungry and women have disappeared from public life — 🇫🇷 FR · 🇩🇪 DE · 🇨🇭 CH · 🇦🇹 AT · 🇪🇸 ES · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇸🇮 SI · 🇧🇬 BG · 🇳🇴 NO · 🇬🇧 UK (14 countries)
• Ceuta before the fifteenth of August: calls on social media for a new mass crossing, reinforced borders on both sides and hundreds of minors from the previous wave on the street — 🇪🇸 ES · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇨🇭 CH · 🇦🇹 AT · 🇮🇪 IE · 🇳🇱 NL · 🇩🇰 DK · 🇫🇮 FI (13 countries)
• French Constitutional Council annulled the ban on social media for children under fifteen and that same night confirmed the law on assistance in dying — 🇫🇷 FR · 🇵🇱 PL · 🇺🇦 UA · 🇱🇺 LU · 🇩🇰 DK · 🇫🇮 FI · 🇲🇩 MD (22 countries)
• Houthis escalate: eight dead in Yemeni Mocha, Aramco facility hit in Saudi Arabia and attacked ADNOC tanker in Hormuz — 🇬🇷 GR · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇦🇹 AT · 🇳🇴 NO (12 countries)
• Moldova as the axis of Putin's plan to "break NATO and the EU from within" according to New York Times reconstruction, Russian "shock units" prepared for chaos — 🇷🇴 RO · 🇵🇱 PL · 🇲🇩 MD
• Ukrainian deep strikes hit Novorossiysk, Samara and the Savasleika base with MiG-31s; Russia admits a shortage of gasoline and is introducing rationing in regions — 🇺🇦 UA · 🇷🇴 RO · 🇫🇮 FI · 🇷🇸 RS · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇧🇦 BA
• Netanyahu called Britain an "Islamic republic", London says it is completely unacceptable — 🇩🇪 DE · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇭🇺 HU (12 countries)
• Former Cambridge professor Jason Arday was found dead a week after resigning over plagiarism, family speaks of a witch hunt — 🇩🇪 DE · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇦🇹 AT · 🇨🇭 CH · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇬🇷 GR · 🇩🇰 DK · 🇦🇱 AL · 🇺🇸 US · 🇭🇺 HU (17 countries)
• Venezuela released 131 political prisoners in a process forced by the United States — 🇦🇹 AT · 🇪🇸 ES · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇵🇹 PT · 🇳🇴 NO · 🇮🇸 IS (10 countries)
• Belgian workers found gold walled up while laying sewage for nine million euros — 🇧🇪 BE · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇺🇦 UA · 🇭🇺 HU · 🇲🇹 MT · 🇩🇪 DE (11 countries)
• Two planes with the same flight number headed toward each other, air traffic control prevented a collision — 🇩🇪 DE · 🇵🇱 PL · 🇦🇹 AT · 🇷🇸 RS · 🇬🇧 UK
• Shanghai Ranking 2026: Chinese campuses are pushing out European universities, Spain lost eight places — 🇫🇷 FR · 🇪🇸 ES

🔭 What we notice

• Drought reveals war. Belgian Het Laatste Nieuws and VRT brought a series about dozens of German wrecks from World War II that were brought to the surface by low water; Süddeutsche Zeitung at the same time writes that old ammunition is exploding in burning German forests from former exercise grounds. In most countries, drought is still described as a transportation and energy problem — yet it is also an archaeological and security event. Slovakia has its own node in this story: a Roman altar dedicated to Jupiter was pulled from the Danube near Dunaújváros and the Hungarian Telex identified the owners of a motorcycle from the same period, which the river gave back when the water level dropped.
• Moldova as the axis of a plan to break NATO and the EU from within. The New York Times published a reconstruction of Putin's plan including a message sent to Russian commanders and "shock units" being prepared in the Kremlin's technological center. Romanian and Moldovan media are taking it as an existential issue, but outside the region it is almost invisible. Moreover, the Moldovan Ziarul de Gardă points out that the American newspaper also relied on its own investigations.
• Sweden rents prison cells in Estonia. Svenska Dagbladet and Aftonbladet discuss whether Estonian guards can use electric stun guns on Swedish prisoners — and an Estonian respondent says "people are pissed off". This is the first rental of prison capacity within the European Union and a precedent that Europe will deal with long after the topic disappears from Swedish front pages.

Limits of this view