Newsletter
Newsletter
EUROPE
Putin accuses the West of prolonging the war: The Russian president accused Washington once again of trying to draw out the conflict while using Ukrainian civilians as cannon fodder. Meanwhile, a week after an apparent Ukrainian attack on a Russian military base in occupied Crimea, an arms store at another military facility has been hit by a series of explosions. Blaming sabotage, Russian officials said a fire triggered the blasts in the Dzhankoi area, another fire hit a power station and a railway was damaged. forbes.com, bbc.com
- UN chief to meet Zelenskiy, Erdogan in Ukraine on Thursday. reuters.com
- Five Europeans go on trial in separatist-controlled Ukraine. washingtonpost.com
- Finland will slash Russian visas by 90%. politico.eu
- Estonia removes Soviet Union war monuments. politico.eu
- Latvia sends six more M109 howitzers to Ukraine. ukrinform.net
- Russia says Britain requested permission for spy plane to fly over Russia. reuters.com
- Ukraine nuclear power company says Russian hackers attacked website. reuters.com
Germany’s Scholz sure of EU solidarity in energy supply shortage: EU member states would show solidarity if there were to be energy supply shortages in light of the war in Ukraine, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a news conference in Stockholm on Tuesday. reuters.com
- Germany and Sweden consider longer nuclear power plant lifetimes. tagesschau.de
- More weapons for Ukraine.
- Scholz confident Sweden’s NATO membership will now progress very quickly. dw.com
- Norway unable to further expand gas supplies to Germany. table.media.
- Portugal and Spain want gas pipeline to Central Europe. euronews.com
Dutch court to announce ruling in MH17 murder trial on 17 November: The Dutch court handling the murder trial of four suspects in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 said on Monday it would hand down its verdict in November. Prosecutors say the one Ukrainian and three Russian defendants, who are all at large, helped supply a missile system that Russian-backed separatists used to fire a rocket at the plane on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board were killed. reuters.com
EU mediates between Serbia and Kosovo: EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has invited Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic to Brussels for mediation talks this Thursday. The EU invitation came after Kosovo, at the request of Borrell and the US, agreed to suspend controversial travel rules for Serbs for the time being. tagesspiegel.de
Salman Rushdie is awake and articulate after stabbing attack: The award-winning author is awake and articulate in his conversations with investigators as he remains hospitalised for severe injuries following a stabbing attack in western New York Friday, a law enforcement official told CNN. The mother of the alleged Iranian sympathiser accused of trying to murder Rushdie revealed how her American-raised son took a month-long trip to the Middle East – and came back a religious zealot, according to the „Daily Mail“. cnn.com, dailymail.co.uk
- Iran denies involvement but justifies Rushdie attack. npr.org
EU, US say they’re studying Iran’s response to nuclear proposal: The European Union and United States said on Tuesday they were studying Iran’s response to what the EU has called its „final“ proposal to save a 2015 nuclear deal after Tehran called on Washington to show flexibility. reuters.com
Poland says Berlin and Paris running EU as an oligarchy. dw.com
Climate change: Drought highlights dangers for electricity supplies. bbc.com
EU economy greenhouse gases still below pre-COVID levels. ec.europa.eu
The WHO is renaming Monkeypox and wants your help. bloomberg.com
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
British foreign minister Liz Truss has set out her policies for Scotland. euractiv.com
NATION
Abbas sparks outrage with Holocaust accusation against Israel: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took issue with words used by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas following talks in Berlin. In a joint press conference, Abbas described the way Palestinians are treated by the Israeli government as „apartheid,“ prompting Scholz to immediately distance himself from the comments. Scholz also appeared to bristle as Abbas‘ use of the word „Holocaust“ to describe the killings of civilians, restrictions on the rights of Palestinians, and Israeli settlement in Palestinian land. dw.com
EU Commission offers help with investigations into fish deaths in the Oder River: Experts are still trying to determine the cause of death of thousands of fish last week in the Oder River that borders Germany and Poland. A Commission spokeswoman said the EU was ready to help in any way it could in terms of expertise and information exchange. Local authorities have warned residents, along with their pets and livestock, not to touch the river water. dw.com, zeit.de
Forest fires in Spain, Portugal and Italy: The most devastating forest fire in Spain’s Valencia Region in the last 10 years continues to spread, prompting the evacuation of 2,000 persons. Meanwhile, a huge wildfire in central Portugal that raged for a week in a UNESCO-designated natural park and was finally brought under control on Friday night, flared up again Tuesday. New fires have also broken out in two Italian holiday areas. brusselstimes.com, france24.com, t-online.de
German troops spot Russian forces in Mali as French pull out: German troops spotted several dozen presumably Russian security forces at Gao airport in northern Mali on Monday, the day the last French soldiers wrapped up their operations and left the town, according to a German military document dated Tuesday. reuters.com
Germany flying 6 fighters 8K miles in 24 hours to Singapore: A group of German air force fighter jets landed in Singapore on Tuesday as part of a marathon bid to fly them some 12,800 kilometers (8,000 miles) from their home base to Southeast Asia in just 24 hours. apnews.com
German troops rejoin EU’s Bosnian mission, sparking Russian anger. rferl.org
Leaked audio reveals Liz Truss said British workers needed ‘more graft’. theguardian.com
Scotland becomes the first country to offer tampons and pads for free, officials say. npr.org
Armenian fireworks warehouse blast death toll rises to 16. reuters.com
Norway bridge collapse: Drivers of two vehicles rescued. bbc.com
Greece locates refugees in Evros, trapped for days between Greece, Turkey. euractiv.com
NUMBERS
Swedish social democrat prime minister Magdalena Andersson on Sunday presented the most extensive toughening of penalties against gang crime ever presented in Sweden. The initiative comes after 232 shootings by August and ahead of general elections in Sweden on 11 September. euobserver.com
AT LAST
How does Larry the Cat keep outlasting UK leaders? The brown and white tabby, whose official title is chief mouser to the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom, has been living in 10 Downing Street since 2011. With Boris Johnson’s resignation, Larry has now outlasted three British prime ministers, having previously seen the ends of David Cameron’s and Theresa May’s terms at 10 Downing. thehill.com