Europe

RTÉ has announced that it will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest "if the participation of Israel goes ahead".

In a statement, the broadcaster said that "it is RTÉ's position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, if the participation of Israel goes ahead, and the final decision regarding Ireland’s participation will be made once the EBU’s decision is made".

Archive: https://archive.ph/2025.09.11-122856/https://www.ft.com/content/7a86b25b-540f-41ea-82d4-a2002f8e4ff7

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4497186

The UK will manufacture and jointly develop cutting-edge military equipment with Ukrainian industry through a groundbreaking new technology sharing agreement which will support British jobs and strengthen both UK and Ukrainian national security.

The first joint project, to be announced at the DSEI trade show in London tomorrow (Thursday), is an advanced new air defence interceptor drone, named Project OCTOPUS, which will be mass produced in the UK, with a target to produce thousands per month to provide to Ukraine to support its ongoing fight for freedom against Putin’s illegal full-scale invasion.

Interceptor drones are considerably cheaper than regular air defence missiles and are proving to be highly effective in countering the waves of one-way attack drones Russia continues to launch at Ukraine’s cities. They fly quickly to intercept incoming drones and missiles, destroying them before they reach their targets.

They will help Ukraine defend against aerial attacks such as Russia’s reckless overnight attack against western Ukraine, which saw Poland and NATO scramble to intercept Russian drones that entered Polish airspace. The Prime Minister and Defence Secretary both condemned Russia’s attack, voicing support for Poland.

[...]

Donald Trump has asked the EU to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and China as part of an effort to force the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to end the war in Ukraine, according to reports.

The US president made the demand during a meeting between US and EU officials discussing options to increase economic pressure on Russia on Tuesday, according to the Financial Times, BBC and Bloomberg, who cited sources familiar with the discussions.

One US official reportedly said that Trump administration was “ready to go, ready to go right now, but we are only going to do this if our European partners step up with us”.

Archive: https://archive.ph/2025.09.11-150436/https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/eu-sticks-2028-russian-gas-exit-after-talks-with-us-energy-chief-2025-09-11/

Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun has joined Slovenia’s national broadcaster in threatening to withdraw their country’s participation in Eurovision 2026 if Israel is not banned.

“I don’t think we can normalise Israel’s participation in international events as if nothing is happening.”

These were the words spoken by Ernest Urtasun, the Spanish Minister for Culture, who has stated that Spain should withdraw from Eurovision 2026 if Israel is not excluded from the contest.

cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/37268108

Dive Deeper

Source: Commission of inquiry into the psychological effects of TikTok on minors.

Recommended reads in french:

• TikTok Commission of Inquiry: Report recommends banning social media for under-15s;
• TikTok Commission of Inquiry: "We saw an ocean of harmful content," says rapporteur Laure Miller.

Imposing the ban and a 10 pm to 8 am curfew for 15- to 18-year-olds would "send a signal both to children and parents" that social media "is not harmless" for the young, Laure Miller, the MP who compiled a parliamentary inquiry's report, told AFP.

With more than 1.5 billion users worldwide, TikTok -- owned by China-based ByteDance -- has been especially under fire from Western governments in Europe and the US in recent years.

Concerns raised over the platform have included content encouraging suicide, self harm or an unhealthy body image as well as its potential use for foreign political interference.

French President Emmanuel Macron has already backed a social media ban for children and young adolescents, following in the footsteps of Australia which started drafting its own landmark ban for under-16s last year.

Meanwhile TikTok is in legal limbo in America, as President Donald Trump has permitted the platform to continue operating there despite a law requiring its sale.

The service was also singled out as a vector for Russian influence when Romania's presidential election was controversially annulled last year by the country's supreme court.

Launched in March, the French parliamentary committee set out to examine TikTok and its psychological effects on minors after a 2024 lawsuit against the platform by seven families accusing it of exposing their children to content pushing them towards suicide.

Members put forward Thursday's recommendations -- welcomed by Laure Boutron-Marmion, a lawyer representing the families -- after months of testimony from families, social media executives and influencers.

As a collection of small and medium-sized powers, the EU sees itself as a world power, certainly in economic terms. But recent years do not support that claim: on trade and, particularly, defence and security, it has moved far too slowly and timidly.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/are47aa3c8

Mohammed, who loved chicken wings and helped his mother knead dough for family bread each day, was the first to head out. He picked up his cousin Youssef* at his home nearby, and the two men headed out.

His last moments may have been filmed by Israeli forces. Gilbert’s montage includes two grainy videos of targeted killings. Youssef says he recognises himself, walking with his hands in his pockets beside Mohammed, his lifelong friend.

Raab describes that video as Graetz’s “second elimination”, in their first days in Tal al-Hawa. Graetz, who grew up in Munich, can be seen in Gilbert’s video, and his identity was confirmed by facial recognition technology and interviews with former classmates.

Establishing an invisible “security perimeter” then shooting civilians who cross it has become common practice in Gaza, Israeli soldiers have testified.

When asked how his squad decided whether to shoot unarmed Palestinians, Raab said: “Its a question of distance. There is a line that we define. They don’t know where this line is, but we do.”

Arch: https://archive.ph/2025.09.11-110705/https://www.reuters.com/world/baltic-states-prepare-push-save-us-security-assistance-pentagon-cuts-2025-09-11/

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4480693

Poland's newly elected President Karol Nawrocki arrived in Helsinki on Tuesday for a one-day working visit hosted by Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

As expected, the two heads of state's discussions centred on their countries' security policies, particularly in regard to Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.

In that vein, at a joint press conference alongside Stubb, Nawrocki said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was prepared to attack other countries besides Ukraine.

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Stubb said more pressure needs to be placed on Russia than is currently the case.

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