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Europe’s spymaster panic

21 September5 min read
Collage of spy related themes

You know Europe's summer is officially over when the beaches turn empty and the spies grab the mic. So let's take a listen to what they're saying, starting with...

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  1. 01

    UNITED NATIONS

    Look who’s in town.

    The UN’s annual ‘high-level week’ is now underway in New York amid media buzz around who got US visas (Iran’s Pezeshkian) and who did not (the Palestinian Authority’s Abbas, who’ll instead appear via video again). Watch for Presidents Trump 🇺🇸, Lula 🇧🇷, Erdoğan 🇹🇷, Macron 🇫🇷, and Lee 🇰🇷 on Tuesday; Pezeshkian 🇮🇷 and Zelensky 🇺🇦 on Wednesday; Netanyahu 🇮🇱 on Thursday; then Lavrov 🇷🇺 on Saturday. Meanwhile, the latest Security Council straw poll suggests Costa Rica’s ex-veep Rebeca Grynspan might be firming up in the race for the UN’s top job, while Australia has announced it’s now running for election to the 2029-30 Security Council. (Reuters)

  2. 02

    CHINA

    Pre-summit summit.

    The only appetiser for Thursday’s big Trump-Xi summit in DC, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has emerged from eight hours of talks with his Chinese counterpart at JPMorgan’s Manhattan HQ, describing their session as “very successful”. For his part, China’s He Lifeng echoed the positive-if-vague vibes, with state outlets describing the day as “constructive”. (CNBC)

  3. 03

    POLAND

    Window mystery.

    The head of Poland’s diplomatic-security bureau is now in critical condition after somehow falling from the third-floor window of an apartment within Poland’s broader embassy compound in the capital of Slovenia! (The Sun)

  4. 04

    GREENLAND

    Ice-breaker.

    Ahead of his first meeting with President Trump, the UK’s Andy Burnham has publicly congratulated Denmark and the US on what the two sides are billing as a landmark agreement on Greenland — the deal apparently recognises both Danish sovereignty and Greenlandic self-determination, but expands the US military footprint on the strategic island, and bars any rival bases or “sensitive investments” without US say-so. (BBC)

  5. 05

    HAITI

    Suspects extradited.

    The US has now taken custody of eighteen suspects — mostly Colombian mercenaries — in the 2021 assassination of President Moïse. The rest of the alleged network — Haitian plotters, Florida fixers, mystery financiers — remains a mix of fugitives, corpses, and pending cases. (Independent)

  6. 06

    SAUDI ARABIA

    Capital hit.

    In a major escalation, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have claimed drone and missile strikes on key sites across both the Saudi capital of Riyadh (airport + depot) and the Red Sea port of Yanbu (energy assets). (DW)

  7. 07

    RUSSIA

    Super-predictable supermajority.

    You’re not going to believe this, but initial results suggest Putin’s United Russia party has retained its supermajority in the Duma. Ukraine dampened any regime celebrations by again hitting the oil refinery that supplies nearly half of Moscow’s refined fuel. (Le Monde)

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