US House passes Graham sanctions against Russia
The U.S. House of Representatives on September 16 gave final approval to a bill tightening sanctions on Russia, named after the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. The measure passed 262–159. The Senate approved it in August, so the bill will now be sent to President Donald Trump for his signature….
Nine EU countries ask Brussels to delay full biometric border checks
Nine Schengen countries, including France, Italy, Greece and Portugal, have asked the European Commission to postpone the full rollout of the Entry/Exit System (EES). The system requires fingerprints and facial images from travellers who are not EU citizens. Germany, Malta, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland have also requested more time….
Finnish Customs investigates €5.9 million in shipments to Russia that circumvented sanctions
Finnish Customs is investigating an alleged circumvention of EU sanctions: goods worth about €5.9 million may have been exported to Russia in 2022–2023. Finnish broadcaster Yle reported this, citing Customs. According to investigators, the case involves two companies from eastern Finland. One handled export operations; the other stored the goods….
Large-scale sabotage paralyzes railways across the Netherlands
A large-scale act of sabotage hit the Dutch railway network on the morning of 15 September. Unknown individuals attached metal and plastic pipes to the tracks at more than 30 locations. The safety system mistakenly registered those sections as occupied, signals switched to red, and train traffic in the central…
US officially confirms deployment of weapons in space for the first time
The United States has publicly acknowledged for the first time that it has placed weapons systems in near-Earth orbit. U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink made the statement on September 14 at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. According to Meink, the systems are…