Real Madrid supporters’ group Ultras Sur has demanded public apologies from Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Ibrahima Konate for wearing a Ceuta tribute shirt only partially. La Liga president Javier Tebas also criticised them, while Mbappe said he stood in solidarity with Ceuta and migrants who died.

Real MadridKylian MbappeCeutaLa Liga

Real Madrid players Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior and Ibrahima Konaté have drawn controversy in Spain after partly covering a solidarity message supporting Ceuta on their pre-match shirts. The episode has revived debate about migration, Ceuta’s recent migrant crisis and Spain’s ties with Morocco, with political and football figures split over the players’ conduct.

Real MadridKylian MbappéCeutamigration

Mbappé said why he, Vinícius Jr and Ibrahima Konaté hid some lettering on a pro-Ceuta shirt.

Real MadridKylian MbappéCeuta

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said elections in Russia were taking place amid bombings of polling stations that had caused casualties, accusing the West of failing to see this and the deaths of children from Ukrainian drones supplied by Western countries. State Duma voting is scheduled for September 18-20, alongside regional elections.

Russian electionspolling station attacksUkraine dronesMaria Zakharova

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told the European Parliament that Ottawa wants to deepen its partnership with the EU beyond trade, including cooperation on energy, AI, space and payment sovereignty, and is seeking to join the Erasmus programme. The effort reflects Canada’s strategy to strengthen alliances beyond the United States without entering the EU single market, though its practical implementation remains uncertain.

CanadaEuropean Uniondiplomacyartificial intelligence

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney urged a sweeping strategic alliance with the European Union in a Thursday address to the European Parliament. He proposed joint work on critical minerals, artificial intelligence, defence and trade.

CanadaEuropean Unionstrategic alliance

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the European Parliament as Ottawa and Brussels deepen ties while relations with the United States grow strained. His speech reflects a broader realignment: a message that until recently would more likely have been delivered in Washington was instead delivered in Brussels.

CanadaEuropean UnionMark Carneyalliances

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the EU’s invitation for Canada to become its first “associate member,” while stressing that the plan is not aimed at full membership or surrendering sovereignty.

CanadaEuropean Unionassociate membership

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Thursday for deeper transatlantic ties with the European Union, saying Canada and Europe are “stronger together” amid a dispute with the United States.

CanadaEuropean Uniontransatlantic ties

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday that Canada would decide for itself which countries to make deals with. He was responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of proposed closer EU-Canada ties, including an EU offer for Canada to become its first associate member.

CanadaEuropean UnionMark Carneydiplomacy

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the UN of acting as a biased party supporting the West, NATO and the Kyiv regime over Bucha rather than conducting an impartial investigation. She said the UN has failed for years to provide victim lists while accepting claims that those killed were civilians.

BuchaRussiaUnited NationsUkraine

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that international organizations, the UN, Western media and the Kiev authorities had never produced lists of the real names of people killed in Bucha. She argued that the absence of official information should have raised legitimate doubts about the supposedly “unbiased” Western media, which she accused of failing to verify the narrative further.

BuchaRussiaWestern mediaUnited Nations

Kherson Regional Duma member Alexander Fomin said the Kiev regime has created “myths built on blood” since 2014, making the alleged fabrication of events in Bucha in 2022 only the latest example. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said bodies in Bucha were disguised as civilians. Russia has opened a criminal case over what it calls false information about its forces.

BuchadisinformationRussia-Ukraine conflict

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the Kiev regime of presenting slain militants from the Azov nationalist battalion as civilians allegedly killed in Bucha. She called the account an “absolute falsification,” said Russia had irrefutable evidence, and alleged that names were mixed up to stage a provocation and mislead the world.

Bucha eventsRussian Foreign MinistryAzov battaliondisinformation

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said a report alleging that events in Bucha were falsified will be distributed at the Dialogue on Fakes 4.0 forum in Moscow. She said the gathering would again call on the international investigative community to conduct independent investigations.

RussiaBuchadisinformationindependent investigations

A Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will present a report alleging that events in Bucha were falsified at the UN General Assembly, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. She said Moscow would use every opportunity to promote the report during and after the assembly’s political week.

RussiaBuchaUN General Assemblydisinformation

A pipeline serving as an alternative to the besieged Strait of Hormuz has been attacked, raising the prospect of even higher fuel prices worldwide. European leaders are scrambling to respond to an impending surge in diesel prices.

Saudi Arabiapipeline attackdiesel pricesStrait of Hormuz

Russia will not abandon its demand for the return of Scythian gold artifacts, Russian Military Historical Society historian Mikhail Myagkov says. The collection is currently held in Kyiv, and although reclaiming it is unrealistic for now, efforts to return it to Crimea will continue.

Scythian goldCrimeacultural heritage

Tsinghua University professor Wu Dahui said Russia and China should focus future military cooperation on new technologies, including artificial intelligence, big data, cyber threats and unmanned systems. He said existing mechanisms for joint exercises and naval and air patrols are sufficient, while traditional cooperation is already highly developed.

Russia-China relationsmilitary cooperationartificial intelligenceunmanned systems

Sweden’s centre-left opposition, led by Magdalena Andersson, is expected to defeat the incumbent right-wing bloc by a single seat after nearly all ballots were counted in Sunday’s election. The razor-thin result is likely to make coalition talks difficult, with parliament set to begin the government-formation process on September 28.

Sweden electioncentre-leftcoalition talks

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says he will resign after four left-wing opposition parties won 176 of the Riksdag’s 349 seats, a three-seat majority. Magdalena Andersson’s Social Democrats were the largest party, but divisions over the Left Party could complicate coalition talks.

Sweden electiongovernment changeleft-wing blocUlf Kristersson

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has resigned after preliminary results showed his right-wing bloc narrowly losing to the centre-left opposition. Magdalena Andersson’s Social Democrats and allied parties are projected to win 176 of 349 seats, compared with 173 for the governing bloc, and have begun talks on forming a government.

Swedish electiongovernment changecentre-left opposition

A complete count of Sweden’s national election votes shows that the left-leaning opposition has secured a narrow majority.

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