🇪🇺 EU elevates joint defence procurement to ministerial level

The defence ministers of the EU member states are discussing the further development of European defence procurement in Brussels. In the official agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council, the issue of public procurement in defence has been included in the ongoing defence agenda, alongside Ukraine, hybrid threats and the situation in the Middle East. ⁠

Before the Council meeting, the ministers also met in the format of the Board of the European Defence Agency, chaired by Kaja Kallas. The main meeting is dedicated to air defence, EUMAM Ukraine, industrial cooperation and combating Russia’s “shadow fleet” — procurement is thus being viewed as part of a broader effort to strengthen European defence capabilities. 

The EU is seeking to link national defence spending with a joint European system for the procurement and production of weapons.

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🇨🇳🇺🇸 China establishes a new formula for relations with the United States

On September 28, China’s Foreign Ministry officially issued a political assessment of Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States. Beijing stated that the heads of state had agreed to build “constructive relations of strategic stability based on respect, fairness and reciprocity.” The Chinese side also confirmed mutual support in hosting the APEC and G20 summits.

This formula is now being translated into concrete mechanisms for cooperation. China confirmed its readiness to support intergovernmental dialogue with the United States on artificial intelligence, and the two sides had previously announced eight practical outcomes of the summit – ranging from trade and strategic stability to military communication channels. Beijing says it intends to ⁠implement the agreements reached by Xi and Trump.

After several years of confrontation, Beijing and Washington are trying to create a system intended to make their rivalry more manageable.


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🇷🇺🇺🇸🇨🇳 Kremlin: Talks on strategic weapons should have resumed “yesterday”

Dmitry Peskov said that Russia and the United States needed to resume arms control talks as soon as possible. According to him, the treaty-based legal framework that had previously existed practically no longer exists today; therefore, the talks should have resumed “yesterday”.

The statement came after Trump said that, during his meeting with Xi Jinping, he had raised the issue of possible trilateral talks between the United States, Russia, and China on strategic weapons. The Kremlin did not reject the idea, but Peskov warned that such talks would require lengthy technical preparations and would take a considerable amount of time.

Following the collapse of the former treaty system, Moscow and Washington are beginning to discuss a new arms control framework in which China could participate as a full-fledged party for the first time.


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🇩🇪 Jens Spahn leaves the Bundestag Budget Committee

Former CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn announced on September 28 that he was giving up his seat on the Bundestag Budget Committee. In a letter to colleagues, he justified the decision by saying that the situation surrounding him had become so heavily politicized that ⁠“normal work” in the committee had become practically impossible.

The trigger was a scandal following Spahn’s absence from a meeting of the Budget Committee: Shortly afterward, photos of his family vacation in Sardinia emerged. Some CDU/CSU lawmakers called for his removal from the committee; initially, they agreed on a probationary period until the end of the year, but Spahn decided to leave himself.

Just a few months after his resignation as parliamentary group leader, a new internal party conflict led to Spahn’s further resignation.


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🇪🇺 EU selects first five joint major defence projects

The Council of the EU has approved the first five European Defence Projects of Common Interest — EDPCI. They cover ⁠drones and countering them, maritime and underwater defence, space, integrated air and missile defence, and protection of the EU’s eastern flank.

The DECODER project will deal with drones and anti-drone systems; IMSD with the protection of the sea and seabed; SPACE with satellites for early warning, reconnaissance, communications and navigation; EU-FIAMD with a joint air and missile defence system; Eastern Flank Watch will bring together the protection of the eastern border on land, at sea, in the air and in cyberspace. All five projects will now be eligible for funding from the EDIP programme.


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🇺🇸🇮🇷 The USA Makes an Exception to the Sanctions for Air Travel Between Iran and Iraq

The administration of Donald Trump is prepared to issue a special waiver that would enable Iraqi Airways to resume flights between Iran and the Iraqi city of Najaf, which is holy to Shiites. The exemption from the sanctions regime is initially expected to apply for one month and could subsequently become permanent. An Iraqi official expects that flights between Iran and Najaf could resume within 48 hours.

Baghdad proposed to Washington tighter passenger screening, increased information sharing, and guarantees that the aircraft would not be used to transport weapons, sanctioned individuals, or illicit funds. The decision came after protests in Iraq. The American restrictions have already led not only Iraq but also several other countries to suspend their direct flights with Iran.

Washington is maintaining the pressure on Iranian aviation but must make an exception for the first time, as the sanctions have already begun causing internal problems for the Iraqi government itself.


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🇮🇱🇦🇪 Iran was the main topic of Benjamin Netanyahu’s secret visit to the United Arab Emirates

Benjamin Netanyahu spent about six hours in the United Arab Emirates and met with the country’s president, Mohammed bin Zayed. According to sources cited by the “Jerusalem Post”, Iran was the particular focus of their talks.

The visit took place on Sunday and was initially kept secret. Netanyahu and bin Zayed had spoken by phone several times before the meeting. The Israeli side had already been pressing strongly for a face-to-face meeting before the elections. The United Arab Emirates initially made no public comment on the trip.

Against the backdrop of negotiations between Washington and Tehran, Israel is coordinating its Iran policy in parallel with one of the most important states in the Persian Gulf.

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🇩🇪 BioNTech to close three facilities in Germany

The company has announced the closure of its production sites in Marburg, Idar-Oberstein and Tübingen. The company had spent several months trying to find buyers, but the talks failed due to the difficult investment and market conditions. Around 1,800 people currently work at the three sites.

The closures will take place in stages: The site in Tübingen will cease operations at the end of 2027, the one in Marburg at the beginning of 2028, and the one in Idar-Oberstein at the end of 2028. In the first six months of the current year, BioNTech recorded a net loss of around €1.35 billion.


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🇮🇱 The Mossad has revealed new details of the operation involving Hezbollah’s exploding pagers

The Israeli military censor has approved the publication of previously classified details of the Mossad’s 2024 operation involving Hezbollah’s exploding communications devices. The new information is revealed in the film “Paging Hezbollah.” The operation was prepared over the course of several years, during which the Israeli intelligence service infiltrated Hezbollah’s supply chain directly—from the development of the devices to their marketing and delivery to the organization.

The previously secret part of the story is particularly interesting. According to it, one of Hezbollah’s members became suspicious and began checking the pagers—after which Israel liquidated him. Iran then sent a special X-ray device to inspect the devices for explosives. However, this too was destroyed by Israel. The strike was disguised in such a way that the actual objective of the operation remained unknown.

The new details show that the operation went far beyond the detonation of the pagers themselves. The Mossad had to control the supply chain for years and separately thwart attempts by Hezbollah and Iran to uncover the tampering with the devices.

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🇩🇪 Germany is preparing to wage war in space as well

Today, Mission-K 2026 begins in Germany, a meeting of representatives of the Bundeswehr, as well as defense and aerospace companies. Participants include the Bundeswehr Space Command, ArianeGroup, Airbus Defence and Space, STARK Defence, and German space startups. The focus is no longer solely on satellite communications: Participants will develop mechanisms for the active defense of German infrastructure in space, as well as protected satellites and mobile control systems in the event of the destruction of terrestrial centers.

The Bundeswehr is going even further. In 2027, Germany plans to launch four experimental military satellites into orbit. Among other things, these are intended to be used to test attacks on foreign satellites. The Defense Ministry is considering the creation of its own offensive space capabilities.


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The United States has approved the construction of the country’s first commercial small modular reactor. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission published a corresponding statement.

The reactor will be built in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee by the Tennessee Valley Authority with the commission’s permission. It will be a 300 MW nuclear reactor designed by GE Vernova Hitachi.

📋 The capacity of small modular reactors is approximately one-third higher than that of traditional nuclear facilities. According to TVA, the technology was developed using factory-manufactured components, passive safety features, and lower land and water requirements.

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The Supreme Court has allowed Trump to resume deporting migrants to “third” countries, Reuters reports.

The ruling will allow the administration to “get rid of” migrants by sending them not “back,” but to countries with which an agreement has been reached, the agency specifies.

According to tallies by human rights groups, more than 25,000 migrants have been deported to 29 countries since last year, with the vast majority sent to Mexico.

The administration carried out deportations from third countries to politically unstable South Sudan, as well as to Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, and the Central African Republic.

“A bad day both for criminal illegal aliens and for activists in the open-borders movement,” wrote James Percival, chief legal counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

❗️On August 22, it was reported that the United States would pay Liberia $5 million to accept migrants deported from the U.S.

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