During the night of September 9–10, and for the first time since 1945, European fighter jets were forced to shoot down enemy aircraft over NATO territory: at least 19 Russian drones and one cruise missile violated Polish airspace. This was not an “incident,” but a deliberate test of Europe’s defenses....
Moldova’s President accuses Russia of meddling in elections by targeting diaspora with disinformation
Maia Sandu has accused Moscow of using Russian Orthodox priests to spread propaganda and of deploying the “Matryoshka” bot network to generate fake content disguised as legitimate foreign media. Sandu said that Russia has expanded its interference in the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for 28 September, to target voters...
Poland deploys planes due to threat of drone strikes in nearby Ukraine
Polish and allied aircraft have been deployed in a preventive operation in Poland’s airspace because of a threat of drone strikes in neighbouring areas of Ukraine. Authorities also closed the airport in the eastern city of Lublin. The alert on Saturday lasted about two hours. Earlier in the week, multiple...
Venice’s daytripper fee raised €5 million in 2025, but did it curb overtourism?
On the busiest day, 25,000 visitors paid the daytripper fee, a number equivalent to over half the resident population. At the end of July, the second year of Venice’s daytripper tax trial came to an end. For 54 days in April, May, June, and July, tourists spending a day in...
Greece targets demographic crisis with band-aid tax relief
Greece has announced a sweeping €1.6 billion tax reform aimed at tackling what Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis calls one of the country’s greatest threats, the demographic crisis. But are these measures enough to reverse Greece’s demographic decline and ease the cost of living or are they simply quick fixes to...
Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine, pledges support for thousands injured in War
Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to Kyiv following an invitation from the Ukrainian government, vowing to do “everything possible” to aid the recovery of the thousands of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war against Russia. During his trip to the Ukrainian capital, the Duke of Sussex...
New French PM Sébastien Lecornu promises ‘profound break’ with past politics
Lecornu, 39, faces the challenge of securing support in a divided parliament to pass a budget France’s new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has pledged a “profound break” with past politics as he succeeded the unpopular centrist François Bayrou, who was ousted this week over a proposed budget squeeze. Lecornu, 39,...
Von der Leyen’s promises on Israeli sanctions, Russia, and the EU economy
Ursula von der Leyen delivered her annual State of the European Union speech in Strasbourg, where she, for the first time, proposed sanctions on Israeli officials, acknowledged the backlash over the EU-US trade deal, and underlined the importance of competitiveness for Europe. But can these promises restore trust in her...
Trump blames ‘radical left political violence’ for killing of Charlie Kirk, fails to mention killing of Democratic lawmaker in Minnesota
In an Oval Office address delivered before the person who killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk had even been identified, Donald Trump blamed “the radical left” for the shooting and promised a crackdown. “For years those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s...
Ukraine War Briefing: Putin Awards ‘Courage’ Medal to Russian General Wanted by ICC
Russian president Vladimir Putin has awarded a state medal for courage to Army General Valery Gerasimov, the overall commander of Russia’s war in Ukraine, despite an international arrest warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity. Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces and one of the most...