Russia bars its only anti-war party ‘Yabloko’ from parliamentary elections.
Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday barred the country’s only anti-war party, Yabloko (Apple), from running in September’s parliamentary elections.
About a hundred protesters gathered outside the courthouse chanting, “Shame! Shame!” after the ruling was delivered.
The UK government declares drought in ‘almost three-quarters’ of England.
After the United Kingdom experienced its driest July on record, the government declared that some 71.3% of England was in a state of drought, and that ‘nowhere’ in the UK reports a normal water resource status.
A new rail link reconnects Finland and Sweden.
A new rail service linking Oulu in northern Finland with Haparanda in Sweden began on Monday, with the first train departing in the morning.
Passenger rail service between Kemi, Tornio and Haparanda was discontinued in 1988, leaving the border region without a direct rail link for decades.
“Russia’s Amazon”: 5 billion US dollars in damage from Ukrainian attacks.
The Ukrainian drone attacks on Wildberries warehouses are causing enormous economic damage.
A state rescue is reportedly being negotiated.
Two drones spotted flying over a military base in the western part of the country, German armed forces say.
The incident comes just days after a drone carrying explosives was found on the tarmac at Germany’s Leipzig-Halle airport, near a Ukrainian Antonov Airlines cargo plane.
Serbia’s Vučić sends a signal to Brussels and Moscow by hosting Zelenskyy with pomp and circumstance.
The talks between Zelenskyy and Vučić come as Russia’s war against Ukraine once again intensifies.
Despite Serbia’s historical ties to Russia, its bid to join the EU now seems to have taken the lead in considerations.
#Serbia #Zelensky #Vucic #Russia #WarInUkraine #Ukraine #EU #EUEnlargement #Politics
An unidentified drone explodes in Bulgaria, close to a major gas pipeline.
An as yet unidentified drone exploded in Bulgaria on Saturday, close to the border with Romania.
Bulgaria’s prime minister said both Bulgarian and Romanian authorities had failed to pick up the drone as it made its way through their respective airspace.
Spain imposes reciprocal border checks on Italy.
Spain has announced it would introduce temporary border checks on travellers from Italy in response to Rome imposing similar measures after a mass migrant rush into Ceuta.
The checks, which come “amid the persistent irregular migration pressure” facing Italy, will start at midnight on Saturday and last until 7 September, Spain’s interior ministry said in a statement.
The EU adds 66 satellites to IRIS² in push for secure connectivity.
The European Commission announced on Friday that it has moved its IRIS² constellation into full-scale deployment, and added 66 satellites to the planned secure satellite network.
The Commission and the SpaceRISE consortium, led by satellite operators SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat, signed an agreement clearing the way for construction of the expanded network.
Madrid threatens retaliation if Italy keeps border controls on travellers from Spain.
The Spanish government has given Rome until Sunday to restore passport-free travel and put an end to the crackdown instituted amid the Ceuta crisis.
France to ban unsolicited telemarketing calls from 11 August.
After a joint call by 11 consumer groups, the French parliament approved a law to impose fines on individuals or companies that make unsolicited marketing calls, which can be reported through a public website.
Will Russia start a fresh mobilisation drive?
Russia is preparing a new mobilisation campaign to boost troop numbers, Ukrainian officials and independent Russian media outlets report.
The Kremlin denies this.
A bomb disposal robot was deployed after a drone carrying explosives was found at Leipzig airport.
A DHL plane also collided midair with unknown object.
The counter-terrorism team and the Saxony state police have taken over the investigation into the incidents, which security experts said could amount to a serious escalation in tensions with Russia if it was determined the Kremlin played a role.
Firefighters scramble to contain fires outside Athens before high winds return.
According to an initial investigation by the fire service, the blaze started on Friday with a spark on power cables managed by a private company in Agios Vasileios.
Apple challenges the UK’s second attempt to gain access to iCloud data.
Apple has launched a fresh legal challenge against the UK government’s demand for access to its customers’ encrypted data, months after it withdrew a security feature for UK users rather than build the back door the UK wanted.
#Apple #DataProtection #Tech #UK #Legal #Court #ICloud #Backdoor #Encryption
UEFA threatens Infantino and Joshua Kushner with legal action.
The governing body of European football, UEFA, has threatened legal action against FIFA President Gianni Infantino, venture capitalist Joshua Kushner — brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — and other individuals involved in the controversial plan to privatise a share of the World Cup’s commercial operations.
Russia steps up ship protection in the Black Sea as attacks threaten grain exports.
Russia’s Transportation Ministry said Monday that it was stepping up protection of ships in the Azov-Black Sea basin while also developing alternative cargo routes, in a move that follows a sharp escalation of attacks at sea by both sides in the war in Ukraine.
A bomb carried by a woman kills 3 and injures 21 near a Moscow restaurant, authorities say.
A homemade bomb carried by a woman killed three people and injured at least 21 in an explosion near an upscale restaurant in central Moscow on Saturday evening.
The explosion occurred just before 20:00 local time close to an Italian restaurant located in one of Moscow’s seven Stalin-era skyscrapers at Kudrinkskaya Ploshchad.
Spain installs a floating barrier in Ceuta after a migration influx.
Spanish authorities said Saturday that they were installing a floating barrier on the sea border between its North African territory of Ceuta and neighbouring Morocco after a surge of tens of thousands of migrants into the territory earlier in the week prompted alarm across the European Union.
An ‘AI-generated’ label becomes mandatory in the EU.
The EU’s comprehensive AI law enters into force in stages.
From Sunday, companies must ensure their AI systems like chatbots make it clear to users they are AI, or when an image or text has been created using AI, there must be a label saying so.
#EU #AI #Tech #AILaw #Chatbot #LLM #Deepfakes #Disinformation