Europe

Germany is bringing back a form of conscription to encourage more young people to become soldiers. But in some European countries, conscription never went away.

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At the same time, since September 1, the list of diseases, in the presence of which it is forbidden to drive, has been updated. In it, general disorders of psychological development, including autism, Rett and Asperger’s syndromes, as well as eye diseases were added to mental disorders – achromatopsia was replaced by anomalies of color vision.

France, Germany and the United Kingdom started the process on Thursday to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, after a 12-day conflict with Israel in June saw its atomic sites repeatedly bombed.

The mechanism, termed snapback by the diplomats who negotiated it into the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) with world powers, was designed to be veto-proof at the UN and is likely to go into effect.

It would again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalise any development of its ballistic missile program, among other measures, further squeezing the country's reeling economy.

The European move starts a 30-day clock for the sanctions to return, a period that could see intensified diplomacy from Iran, whose refusal to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) inspectors started the crisis.

Tesla sales slumped 40% across Europe in July compared with a year earlier as Elon Musk’s electric car company faces increasingly tough competition from its Chinese rival BYD.

There were 8,837 sales of Tesla cars last month across the EU, the European Free Trade Association and the UK, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). That compared with 14,769 at the same point last year.

New car registrations for BYD across Europe rose to 13,503 last month, compared with 4,151 a year earlier. BYD now has 1.2% market share, the ACEA found. Tesla’s share remains at 0.8%.

A group named online as Palestinian Martyrs appear to have broken into the Moog Aircraft Group factory in Pendeford, Wolverhampton at 3:50am on Tuesday.

Dramatic footage shows a black four-wheel drive car smashing through two white barriers, before the activists set off red flares and climb a ladder onto the roof of a building.

The manufacturer was targeted because it builds parts for the F-35 fighter jets which the UK sells to Israel via a global pool, the group claimed. F-35 fighter jets have been used in Israel’s destructive bombing campaign in Gaza for nearly two years.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4256169

Russian forces launched a large-scale overnight drone and missile attack on Kyiv, killing four people, injuring more than 20 and damaging residential and other buildings across several districts in the city, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram that the dead included two children, with more than 20 injured. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported 22 injuries, including three children.

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4256163

Stickers with the slogan "“Russia is not my enemy" have appeared in Romania, France, and Italy.

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“Russia has launched the propaganda campaign ‘Russia is not my enemy,’ which has reached Romania. Stickers with this message are appearing in cities as part of the Kremlin’s hybrid campaign aimed at creating the illusion of a ‘peaceful partnership.’ Through such tools of influence, Russia seeks to portray itself as a peacemaker, downplay its own crimes, and sow discord within European societies,” the statement by the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said.

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The Center added that the purpose of the campaign is to undermine citizens’ trust in the rule of law and democratic institutions in their countries, cast doubt on the Euro-Atlantic course, and discredit support for Ukraine.

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Russia has significantly intensified hybrid attacks on the EU’s critical infrastructure since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

German arms maker Rheinmetall opened Europe’s largest munitions plant in northern Germany on Wednesday, a move NATO chief Mark Rutte hailed as key to bolstering Western defenses. The Unterluess facility, spanning 30,000 square metres, aims to produce 350,000 artillery shells annually by 2027.