Europe

Thousands of supporters flocked to the Barcelona on Sunday 31 August pier to salute the departing Global Sumud Flotilla carrying aid for Israeli-blockaded Gaza; the convoy was then forced to return to port due to storm and set sails again this week

The 'cultural canon', or the list deemed to define what it means to be Swedish, was unveiled; part of the election manifesto of the right-wing and nationalist parties, it includes Pippi Longstocking, IKEA and the Nobel Prize, but not the Abba

Helsinki’s city board has rejected planned public transport fare increases for 2026 and with a formal statement urged the regional transport authority HSL to revise its pricing and funding strategies

Police seized 2 tons of cocaine in Borgerhout and Bowel, arresting 3 men; the case began with 9 kg found in Deurne in June 2025 and is the biggest blur to trafficking after the discovery of 1,5 tons of cocaine in Antwerp in March 2022

Von der Leyen’s trip to Bulgaria included a visit to state-owned weapons plant in Sopot, where expansion is planned for a thousand new workplaces; as she praised aid given to Ukraine’s defence, supporters of Revival and Greatness party staged a protest

New navy breast badges depicting the ship Jadran, The Adriatic, sparked Croatia's resentment and a claim for $2 billion for “illegally seized military property”; this was of words is rooted in unease over the rise of a pro-Serbian faction in Montenegro

HajdúZoo opened in Keszthely the first in the western corner of Lake Balaton: it hosts exotic animals and beloved domestic pets, and the biggest star of this unique zoo is undoubtedly the global 'trending' rodent capybara

A record number of high grades achieved by A-level students was announced two weeks ago, but a social cluster has underperformed again, with too few students getting top marks at GCSEs and A-levels: white, working-class Britons

Relatives commemorated the 30th anniversary of the wartime massacre at the Markale market in Sarajevo, where 43 people were killed by a shell fired from Bosnian Serb positions during the siege of the city

Journalist Eyrún Magnúsdóttir and author Auður Jónsdóttir will launch a new media outlet, Gímaldið: the name describes a large hall with high ceilings, chosen because the channel will welcome many voices and report on various aspects of complex issues

Sexist site Phica.eu is shutting down after controversy amid complaints from several women politicians, actresses, influencers that their photos had been posted and manipulated; the forum's administrators notified users that all content had been removed

New law on eSports, among the most advanced, was presented at the opening of San Marino Comics, an annual gathering of tens of thousands visitors; formally approved by the IOC, eSports are fueling innovation and revenues in the digital sector worldwide