标签： Europe

Tucked along the northern coast of Africa, Spain’s tiny autonomous exclave of Ceuta has long marked its annual official holiday on September 2 as a quiet, local affair, largely overlooked by the Spanish mainland hundreds of kilometers away. But 2026 is different. Just over a month after the territory became the flashpoint of the most severe border crisis Spain has faced in modern history, what would typically be a day of celebration has been replaced by anger, political tension, and a nationwide wave of protest, as a lingering humanitarian crisis continues to strain the small territory and divide Spanish politics.

The crisis unfolded in late July, when an unprecedented 72,000 people crossed the border from neighboring Morocco into Ceuta, a territory that is home to just 84,000 permanent residents. At least 90 people died during the dangerous crossing attempt, according to official estimates. While the vast majority of migrants either returned voluntarily or were escorted back to Moroccan territory within days, the Spanish national government confirms that roughly 5,000 people — including 1,200 unaccompanied minors — remain stranded in Ceuta weeks later. The mass arrival overwhelmed the exclave’s limited housing, medical, and social services, sparking widespread frustration among local residents, who have criticized the central government in Madrid for ignoring repeated advance warnings that a large-scale crossing was being organized.

For Ceuta’s regional leader Juan Jesús Vivas, a member of Spain’s main conservative opposition Popular Party (PP), the event was far more than a migration crisis. “What happened to us was not a migratory crisis,” Vivas stated during an institutional commemoration for the holiday on Wednesday. “What happened was the violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.”

The crisis has quickly become a central political battleground ahead of Spain’s national election scheduled for next year. The PP and far-right opposition party Vox have seized on the incident to ramp up pressure on the left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, aiming to turn public anger over the crisis into support to oust the current administration.

The main event marking this year’s holiday is a protest scheduled for Wednesday evening in Ceuta, with coordinated demonstrations planned in more than 200 cities and towns across the country. The officially nonpartisan Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces is listed as the organizer, but the events have been heavily promoted by the PP and Vox, which has taken a hardline stance against irregular migration. Spain’s Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres dismissed the protests as a transparent political power play, telling national radio: “This is not to show support for the city of Ceuta or its residents; it is to attack the government of Spain.”

In a bid to counter criticism that it has abandoned the exclave, the Sánchez administration this week announced a 309 million euro ($357 million) aid package to boost Ceuta’s social services, fund migrant housing support, shore up local security, and revitalize the territory’s economy damaged by the crisis. In a pre-recorded video address released Wednesday, Sánchez reiterated that his administration is deploying every available resource to help Ceuta return to normalcy and restore peace of mind for local residents.

One of the most divisive points of the crisis is the question of what triggered the unprecedented mass crossing. Many Spanish political observers and opposition figures have questioned whether the Moroccan government could have done more to prevent the border breach, but Sánchez has repeatedly defended Moroccan authorities, noting they acted quickly to assist with the repatriation of most migrants. “There is no information from any of our intelligence services that points to the participation of Moroccan authorities,” Sánchez told Cadena Ser radio earlier this week.

The prime Minister has instead blamed a misinterpretation of a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling and coordinated disinformation campaigns on social media for encouraging the border rush. He went further to accuse social media accounts linked to Russia, Israel, and domestic right-wing groups of amplifying disinformation to exacerbate the crisis for political gain. The Sánchez administration has not released any public evidence to back up these claims, citing internal classified reports from the Spanish Foreign Ministry and the European Union’s diplomatic service. Both the Russian and Israeli governments have strongly rejected the accusations. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters: “Without facts, without materials backed up by numbers, dates, names there is simply nothing to talk about.”

Weeks after the initial border rush, daily life in Ceuta remains far from normal. Thousands of migrants still remain without formal housing, sleeping in makeshift camps along the city’s El Trampolín beach and in public spaces, despite ongoing efforts by authorities to register, shelter, and repatriate those eligible to return to Morocco. “We’re suffering and we want to get to Europe or find a solution right now. Here, we’re all sleeping on the beach and having a really hard time,” Nebil Tazi, a 24-year-old Moroccan migrant stranded in Ceuta, told the Associated Press. “We’ve been waiting for a month, waiting for a solution here, but there isn’t one.”

Vivas, Ceuta’s regional president, has called on the central government to prioritize returning the exclave to stability and commit to permanently strengthening the border with Morocco, rather than relying on bilateral cooperation with Rabat to prevent future crises. “If we don’t do this, there will always be someone tempted to use migration as a tool for political ends,” Vivas warned.

Ceuta’s September 2 holiday commemorates the 1415 arrival of the first Portuguese governor, just weeks after Portuguese forces seized the territory from local rulers. The territory was transferred to Spanish control in 1580, and has remained an overseas possession of Spain ever even as Morocco has continued to claim sovereignty over the area.

In a sharp rebuke of escalating Russian hostile activity on European territory, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have formally accused Moscow of growing increasingly reckless, vowing a unified, robust response to what leaders frame as a dangerous new phase of hybrid aggression.

The confrontation was triggered by last month’s attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, a critical NATO logistics hub that regularly hosts Ukrainian military transport aircraft. On Tuesday, the German government confirmed that weeks of police investigations and intelligence assessments conclusively tied the incident to Russia. Three drones were recovered in and around the airport: one was safely defused by a bomb disposal robot, a second collided with a cargo plane, and a third was discovered 10 days after the 4 August incident. German Interior Ministry officials note that the drones’ design, components, explosives, and triggering mechanisms match the signature of other proven Russian hybrid operations across Europe. Authorities have also identified two suspects linked to the plot: a Belarusian national holding a Russian passport who entered Germany on a tourist visa, and a dual Latvian-Russian citizen who flew into Berlin before departing two days ahead of the attempted attack. Moscow has forcefully denied all accusations, claiming Berlin has presented no concrete evidence to support its claims.

In its first formal response to the proven attack, Germany has announced it will shutter the Russian consulate in Bonn and close the Russian House, a prominent cultural institution in Berlin that German security agencies have long suspected of operating as an unregistered Kremlin propaganda hub. The Kremlin has hit back sharply: Russian Foreign Ministry officials have pledged a “mirror-image” retaliatory measure, while President Vladimir Putin condemned Berlin’s actions as a “serious mistake” that directly contradicts the interests of the German people. When asked whether Moscow could cut full diplomatic ties with Berlin, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko acknowledged the possibility remained on the table, but said Moscow would give diplomatic channels a chance to de-escalate first. Some German political critics have argued Berlin’s current response is overly restrained, but German officials note they are prioritizing building a coordinated multilateral response alongside European and transatlantic allies, which could include expanded EU-wide sanctions and tighter entry restrictions for Russian travelers across the 27-nation bloc.

Speaking alongside Rutte in Brussels, von der Leyen emphasized the unprecedented nature of the incident: “Leipzig marks a new escalation on European Union soil directly attributed to Russia. We have to step up and that means being ready to respond to Russia’s recklessness faster and better.” She added that the Leipzig attack is not an isolated event, but part of a growing pattern of increasingly dangerous Russian hostile actions targeting European critical infrastructure, including repeated drone incursions and sabotage attempts. Rutte echoed the condemnation, affirming that the entire 32-member NATO alliance – including the United States – stands in full solidarity with Germany. He noted that alliance members have seen a steady rise in direct malign activity on NATO territory, ranging from arson attacks on factories manufacturing defense equipment for Ukraine to the confirmed hybrid plot in Leipzig.

As EU and NATO leaders met in Brussels, EU foreign ministers gathered in Wicklow, Ireland, to discuss further collective measures. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that European-level action could be targeting Russia’s shadow fleet of oil and cargo vessels that operates to evade existing EU sanctions. Barrot, alongside his counterparts from Belgium and the Netherlands, has already summoned the Russian ambassador in their respective capitals to formally protest the Leipzig attack. Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys pointed out a worrying trend: Moscow has calculated that it faces no meaningful political cost for its repeated hybrid operations against European allies, encouraging further escalation.

In a separate development that adds to heightened security tensions, Germany reported multiple suspected sabotage incidents across the country in just 24 hours, including two separate attacks on electrical substations – one in eastern Germany and a second near Cologne in western Germany. While authorities have not yet attributed these attacks to any actor, Herbert Reul, Interior Minister for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, confirmed the attack on power lines in Bergheim was deliberate, stating that the perpetrators “attacked the entire country.” Reul added that investigators are probing two leading hypotheses: foreign state-directed sabotage and attack by domestic left-wing extremist groups.

Von der Leyen outlined the next steps for the bloc, noting that existing sanctions have already constrained Russia’s war capacity, but EU foreign ministers are currently negotiating new measures to “cut deeper into Russia’s war chest.” The EU has already approved a €90 billion loan package to support Ukraine’s government and military operations, and von der Leyen confirmed that Kyiv has requested additional billions in funding to acquire PAC-3 air defense missiles to protect civilian infrastructure from Russian missile and drone attacks. She also revealed that work is already underway on a joint European-Ukrainian anti-ballistic missile defense initiative, codenamed Project Freyja. Closing her statement, von der Leyen reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of the EU and NATO to supporting Ukraine: “Europe and NATO will not just maintain pressure on Moscow, we will increase it, and we will not stop – not until Russia stops bombing and killing innocent people in Ukraine.”

A cross-party coalition of U.S. legislators is pushing the U.S. Army to justify its controversial order to disband a specialized drone warfare unit based in Europe, a decision that comes amid a global shift in modern combat toward widespread reliance on uncrewed aerial systems.

Established last November, the 600-strong 173rd Airborne Brigade’s specialized drone battalion was designed to develop custom uncrewed vehicles and refine tactics that have already reshaped 21st century warfare: the same drone-centric strategies Ukraine has deployed to devastating effect against invading Russian forces, and that Iran has used to inflict casualties on U.S. troops across the Middle East. Tasked with rapid deployment to any theater where drone capabilities were urgently needed, the unit aligned with broader U.S. military efforts to adapt to rapidly evolving battlefields.

In a public letter shared with The Associated Press on Tuesday, the bipartisan group of four lawmakers laid out stark concerns that eliminating the specialized drone unit will curtail the U.S. military’s ability to glean critical operational insights from frontline allies, most notably Ukraine’s battle-tested armed forces. They argue the move will also slow critical efforts to modernize U.S. drone warfare tactics at the pace required to maintain competitive advantage on modern battlefields.

The letter, addressed to outgoing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and acting Army Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve, requests an in-person briefing to fully unpack the reasoning behind the Army’s decision. Signatories include Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, independent Senator Angus King of Maine, and Republican Representative Mike Turner of Ohio, a rare display of cross-partisan agreement on military policy.

“This specialized unit was a prudent response in a moment when the character of warfare is changing faster than a conventional formation’s ability to adapt,” the legislators wrote in the document. They emphasized that the unit had been operational for less than a year, and they are eager to review the full data, internal analysis, and decision-making process that led to the order to shut it down. Lawmakers also want clarity on whether the decision originated from internal Army leadership or was driven by broader guidance from Pentagon brass.

The order to refocus the 173rd Airborne Brigade back on its core airborne infantry mission was issued recently by LaNeve, who stepped into the role of acting Army chief of staff after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth abruptly removed former Army chief Gen. Randy George from his post in April without any public explanation.

Integrating drone technology into standard Army tactical doctrine was a central policy priority for George during his tenure. Alongside Driscoll, George launched the Army Transformation Initiative last year, a wide-ranging reform plan that centered on rolling out modernized unmanned aircraft systems into standard frontline formations. George, who was appointed to the top Army role by former President Joe Biden, repeatedly emphasized the urgent need to speed development of new drone systems and get these capabilities into the hands of regular infantry soldiers, rather than restricting them to small specialized units.

Driscoll, who announced his resignation earlier this week after 18 months in the top Army civilian role, was a close ally of George and openly supported his drone modernization agenda. Driscoll focused heavily on cutting bureaucratic red tape to allow defense contractors to accelerate drone development and deployment to frontline units. No public reason has been given for Driscoll’s departure, but multiple reports have documented ongoing tensions between Driscoll and Hegseth over policy and leadership priorities.

“We are supportive of the transformative initiatives the Army has taken under Secretary Driscoll’s leadership in this area and would like to see that momentum maintained even as uniformed leadership changes,” the lawmakers wrote in closing.

The original reporting for this story was contributed by Toropin from Nuremberg, Germany.

During a high-stakes 45-minute press conference held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a sharp, combative display of his stance on the ongoing Ukraine war and escalating tensions with the Western bloc, leaving audiences with deliberate ambiguity over potential military action against the United Kingdom and stark warnings for powers he claims seek to undermine Russia. When pressed by reporters on whether Moscow would target British military infrastructure in retaliation for London’s ongoing military support to Kyiv, Putin offered only two words in response: “That’s a secret. A military secret.”

French President Emmanuel Macron touched down in London on Wednesday for a two-day diplomatic visit that blends 1,000 years of shared history with urgent modern policy discussions, marking his first meeting with the United Kingdom’s newly installed Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

The visit’s centerpiece cultural event is the long-awaited British showing of the Bayeux Tapestry, the iconic medieval masterpiece that chronicles the 1066 Norman Conquest of England. Macron, Burnham, their spouses, King Charles III and Queen Camilla will gather for an exclusive private preview of the 70-meter embroidery at the British Museum, where the artifact will remain on loan for a 10-month public exhibition opening to visitors on September 10.

For a work of such profound historical significance, moving the tapestry from its permanent home in the Normandy town of Bayeux required extraordinary precautions. In a covert, high-security operation conducted in July, the 1,000-year-old artwork was transported to London via a combined road and rail route. This historic transfer marks the first time the tapestry has been located on British soil since it was created in the 11th century, and the piece is insured for a staggering 960 billion euros (equivalent to $1.1 billion). In a reciprocal arrangement, the British Museum will send a collection of its own Viking and Anglo-Saxon treasures to Normandy museums later in the exchange program.

Calling the tapestry’s historic arrival “a landmark moment in the history of our two nations,” Burnham highlighted how the centuries-old artifact embodies the intertwined, complex relationship that has shaped both France and the United Kingdom for a millennium. Stitched from wool thread onto a linen backing, the artwork depicts the chain of events that culminated in the October 1066 Battle of Hastings, where William, Duke of Normandy defeated the army of Anglo-Saxon King Harold II. The Norman invasion brought an end to Saxon rule in England, crowned William the Conqueror as the country’s first Norman monarch, and tied the two nations into the close, often complicated dynamic that endures to this day.

Following the museum event, King Charles III will join Macron for a reception in the British Museum’s Great Court, where both leaders will deliver addresses to an audience that includes British and French officials who organized the loan arrangement, alongside school students from both countries. The historic loan itself was first announced during Macron’s official state visit to the U.K. back in July 2025.

On Thursday, Burnham will host Macron for formal bilateral talks at 10 Downing Street, with policymakers set to tackle a range of pressing modern challenges alongside celebrating cultural and historical ties. According to a statement from Burnham’s office, curbing irregular migrant crossings of the English Channel in small boats will top the meeting’s agenda. U.K. official data shows that expanded joint law enforcement cooperation between the two countries has already cut the number of crossings in 2026 by more than 40% compared to 2025, a trend both leaders are expected to look to build on.

Beyond migration policy, the talks will also cover two major ongoing global conflicts: the standoff between the United States and Iran, and the more than four-year-long Russian invasion of Ukraine. France and the U.K. have spearheaded diplomatic and military efforts to shore up European support for Kyiv, and Burnham has reaffirmed his commitment to sustaining Britain’s long-term backing for Ukraine in its defensive war.

A core priority for the new British prime minister, who took office just six weeks prior to Macron’s visit, is forging closer trade and political ties with the European Union nearly a decade after the U.K. voted to leave the bloc in 2016. Burnham has repeatedly argued that Brexit created what he calls a “decade of low growth” for the British economy, and his visit with Macron is expected to open new conversations about resetting the U.K.-EU relationship after years of strained post-withdrawal negotiations.