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Eine handgeschriebene Notiz von US-Aussenminister Marco Rubio hat eine entscheidende Rolle bei Trumps Verkündung der Israel-Hamas-Einigung gespielt. Ein Fotograf knipste den Moment, als Rubio den Zettel Trump übergab.

In today's edition: Snus, Life science strategy, Eu falls short on conversion therapy

Israel und Hamas haben einer ersten Phase eines Friedensplans von US-Präsident Donald Trump zugestimmt. Die Welt reagiert erleichtert und hofft auf einen dauerhaften Frieden.

Die Detailhändler schenken sich nichts im Kampf um tiefere Preise. Wenn einer die Preise senkt, ziehen andere nach. Erstaunlich oft bleibt Denner aber am teuersten.

In Ambri kam es zum Knall! Sportchef Paolo Duca verlässt seine Position, weil er sich vom Vereins-Präsidenten Filippo Lombardi hintergangen fühlt.

Die erste Phase der Waffenruhe im Gazastreifen sieht vor, dass Israel fast 2000 palästinensische Häftlinge freilässt. Im Gegenzug lässt die Hamas ihre lebenden israelischen Geiseln gehen. Blick zeigt einige der berüchtigtsten Personen, die freikommen sollen.

Heute Donnerstag erscheint die neue Netflix-Doku über Victoria Beckham mit dem gleichnamigen Titel wie die Designerin. In der Serie spricht Beckham über ihre dunkelsten Geheimnisse – und beichtet erstmals, dass sie tatsächlich einst unter Essstörungen litt.

AMENDMENTS 10 - 91 - Draft report Amending Regulation (EU) 2021/947 as regards increased efficiency of the External Action Guarantee
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Development
Charles Goerens, David McAllister

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On Thursday, 16 October 2025, the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Committee on Development (DEVE) will organise a joint public hearing on "Global Gateway – past impacts and future orientation". This hearing brings together experts and stakeholders to discuss the achievements and challenges of the Global Gateway strategy, launched by the Commission in 2021.

The hearing will allow Members to take stock of the results so far, and to provide guidance for future implementation. The hearing's takes will contribute to the ongoing work in AFET and DEVE on an own-initiative report on Global Gateway, which will also address the governance structure, the geopolitical considerations of the approach, as well as the emerging relation with the EU's development cooperation. The own initiative report is expected to be presented on 20 November, the vote in Plenary is planned for March 2026.
Location : Antall 6Q2
Draft programme
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Die Boca Juniors trauern um ihren Trainer Miguel Angel Russo, der im Alter von 69 Jahren verstorben ist. Der an Krebs erkrankte Argentinier hatte erst im Juni das Traineramt übernommen und stand zuletzt vor zweieinhalb Wochen an der Seitenlinie.

La décision de la Commission d’appliquer le nouvel accord commercial UE-Maroc sans consulter le Parlement a suscité l’indignation des députés européens et des agriculteurs. Mercredi 8 octobre, 29 élus de différents groupes ont adressé une lettre à la présidente du Parlement européen, Roberta Metsola, l’appelant à réprimander « officiellement et sans ambiguïté » l’exécutif.

The post Accord UE-Maroc : les eurodéputés exhortent la présidente du Parlement à interpeller la Commission appeared first on Euractiv FR.

And the latest Coreper moves on the mini-omnibus and EDIP

Credit: Ramil Sitdikov/Reuters via Gallo Images

By Andrew Firmin
LONDON, Oct 9 2025 (IPS)

Democracy was the winner and Russia the loser in Moldova’s 28 September election. The incumbent pro-Europe Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) won a parliamentary majority on just over half of the vote, while support for a pro-Russia coalition collapsed to a record low. The result came in the face of Russia’s most intense attempt yet to influence an election, with a propaganda and disinformation operation allegedly orchestrated by Ilan Shor, a disgraced Moldovan oligarch who fled to Russia to escape jail time for his role in a massive fraud.

Moldova, a landlocked country with a population of under 2.4 million, rarely commands headlines. But its location, sandwiched between EU member Romania and war-torn Ukraine, makes it prime territory for an ongoing tussle over the future of former communist states.

Since 2009, every Moldovan prime minister has been committed to European integration, and Moldova formally applied to join the EU following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As support for pro-Russia parties has declined at the ballot box, Russia has increasingly turned to covert influence operations, with Shor the reported lynchpin.

Shor is believed to have been a key figure in Moldova’s biggest scandal: in November 2014, around US$1 billion was fraudulently transferred from three banks in fake loans. The banks went bankrupt, forcing the government to provide a bailout equivalent to one eighth of GDP.

Shor, chair of one of the banks, was accused of being among the masterminds. In 2017, he was convicted of money laundering, fraud and breach of trust and sentenced to seven and a half years in jail. But in 2019, while under house arrest pending appeal, he fled the country, first to Israel and then Russia, where he now has citizenship. Shor’s only hope of returning without going to jail is a pro-Russia government, and he’s able to use his riches to promote his cause.

Shor was accused of paying people to take part in protests triggered by high energy prices when Russia used gas supplies as a weapon, slashing them in the winter of 2022-2023. Ahead of the 2024 presidential election and a referendum on the EU, he promised to pay people to register for his campaign to oppose the referendum or publish anti-EU posts; the government said he’d paid close to US$16 million to 130,000 people, sharing instructions on how spread disinformation on the messaging app Telegram. The 2024 campaign was awash with disinformation, including deepfake videos and false claims about President Maia Sandu. Fake social media accounts proliferated, opposing the EU and Sandu and promoting pro-Russia views.

The 2025 campaign saw a further intensification of these influence efforts. A secret network, again coordinated via Telegram, offered to pay people for posting pro-Russia propaganda and anti-PAS disinformation on Facebook and TikTok, and to help carry out selective polling that would overstate pro-Russia support, potentially as part of a plan to dispute the results should they be close. A BBC investigation found links between this network, Shor and one of his organisations, Evrazia, with money sent via a Russian state-owned bank used by its defence ministry.

The network ran online training sessions on how to use ChatGPT to produce social media posts, including those making ludicrous claims that Sandu is involved in child trafficking and the EU would force people to change sexual orientation. At least 90 TikTok accounts receiving over 23 million views since the start of the year were involved. The investigation found no comparable disinformation campaign in support of PAS.

Russia also evidently tried to target Moldova’s million-strong diaspora, who tend to favour pro-EU parties. People in diaspora communities were offered cash, evidently from Russian sources, to serve as election observers, with large bonuses for providing any evidence of fraud. This seemed to be an attempt to promote doubt about the integrity of the diaspora vote.

The influence campaign extended to the Orthodox Church: last year, Moldovan clergy were treated to an all-expenses-paid trip to holy sites in Russia, then promised money if they took to social media to warn their followers about the dangers of EU integration. They duly established over 90 Telegram channels pushing out almost identical content positioning the EU as a threat to traditional family values.

A few days before the vote, Moldovan authorities detained 74 people suspected of planning post-election violence. Authorities claimed they’d travelled to Serbia, under the guise of an Orthodox pilgrimage, to be trained in how to resist security forces, break through cordons and use weapons. On election day, officials reported attempted cyberattacks and bomb scares at polling stations in Moldova and abroad.

Challenges ahead

Moldova’s democratic institutions have survived a crucial test, repaying efforts to strengthen the country’s defences against Russian interference made since the 2024 votes. But the struggle for Moldova’s future is far from over. As it moves closer to the EU, Russia isn’t simply going to walk away. Even dirtier tricks may come.

Meanwhile the government faces many other problems. In one of Europe’s poorest countries, people are struggling with the high cost of living. Public services have come under strain as Moldova hosts proportionately more Ukrainian refugees than anywhere else. Corruption concerns haven’t been adequately addressed. Many young people are seeking better lives abroad.

In combating future Russian influence attempts, the government faces the challenge of striking the right balance on regulating social media and political financing, strengthening its intelligence services and building stronger social media literacy and awareness of disinformation. It will need help from EU countries, as it will to further modernise its energy infrastructure, including through more investments in renewable energy to disarm one of Russia’s most potent tools.

Moldova’s hopes of EU membership will rest on its progress in addressing these challenges. Even then, as the experience of Hungary shows, becoming an EU member doesn’t guarantee protection against the dangers of authoritarianism. But there’s no hope for democracy and human rights should Moldova fall under Russia’s grip.

Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

For interviews or more information, please contact research@civicus.org

 

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Die Baselbieter Polizei hat am Mittwoch einen 36-jährigen Schweizer wegen Verdachts auf Brandstiftung festgenommen. Er wird verdächtigt, in einer Kirche in Frenkendorf BL einen Brand verursacht zu haben, wie die Polizei am Donnerstag mitteilte.

A Progresszív Szlovákia (PS) csütörtöki (10. 9.) sajtótájékoztatója

Commission / Grèce (Exécution de l’arrêt sur la décharge de Zakynthos)
Manquement d’État : n’ayant pas exécuté un arrêt de la Cour de 2014, la Grèce est condamnée à des sanctions pécuniaires

Commission v Greece
Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations: Greece is ordered to pay financial penalties for failing to comply with a 2014 judgment of the Court of Justice

Bizottság kontra Görögország
Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations: Greece is ordered to pay financial penalties for failing to comply with a 2014 judgment of the Court of Justice

Environ 10 000 prisonniers ukrainiens ont rejoint l'armée pour sortir de prison, mais tous ne survivront pas pour obtenir leur liberté.

Willkommen bei Rapporteur! Jeden Tag liefern wir Ihnen die wichtigsten Nachrichten und Hintergründe aus der EU- und Europapolitik. Parlament: Die Kommission von Ursula von der Leyen steht vor zwei Misstrauensvoten – ein Scheitern gilt als wahrscheinlich. Deutschland: Friedrich Merz unter Druck – Autochefs reisen zu wichtigem Gipfel nach Berlin. Exklusiv: Neuer US-Botschafter bei der EU: […]