Latest news for 3 September 2026

UKRAINE

Internecine fighting.

A shootout between Ukraine’s SBU (domestic intelligence) and HUR (military intelligence) has left three wounded on the streets of Kyiv, after the SBU detained an HUR-protected senior Russian fighting for Ukraine. President Zelensky, already fending off political challengers and corruption scandals, has sacked a senior SBU officer and called the incident “absolutely shameful”. (RFE/RL)Comment: Two separate agencies with two separate missions: the SBU hunts spies, while the HUR runs anti-Kremlin Russian units that fight for Ukraine. Not the first country to struggle with coordinating its spooks, but nobody needs dysfunction under the hood while a common enemy attacks.

THE NETHERLANDS

Goldfinger.

The Dutch central bank has shifted 86 tonnes of gold out of New York and Ottawa to London, citing “increasing geopolitical unrest”. (Guardian)

Comment: We know a Jason Statham plot when we see one, though the Dutch executed two-thirds of this transfer via sales and repurchases rather than full-blown gold ships. The idea is that gold can be more rapidly deployed from London in a crunch. But when the Dutch start moving gold away from the US, there’s clearly a subtext around US political risk, and plenty in Europe are now openly turning that subtext into text: whether it’s unpredictable electoral cycles or weaponised sanctions, maybe European central banks don’t have the same faith in the US as a risk-free vault.

CUBA

Is Raúl dead?

Rumours are swirling through Miami’s exile community and Havana’s diplomatic corridors that 95-year-old Raúl Castro is on life support or dead. The regime isn’t commenting. (Miami Herald)

Comment: While we await any kind of verification, consider it a reminder that in a system this personalised, the health of a 95-year-old Castro is a big succession story, particularly amid continued US pressure.

SPAIN

The report he didn’t want.

Tens of thousands have marched calling for the nation’s shockingly handsome leader (Pedro Sánchez) to resign over July’s migrant crisis in Ceuta. The immediate trigger appears to have been a leaked internal report citing evidence that Moroccan border authorities showed “total permissiveness”. (BBC)

Comment: The spicy thing about this report isn’t that it aligns with what we’ve flagged all along (Morocco might’ve been retaliating for Spain’s rapprochement with rival Algeria), or even what the would-be migrants themselves told international outlets (“they waved us through”), but that it all clashes with Sánchez’s own narrative that Morocco’s hands are clean. Spain’s opposition is now openly fanning the theory that, after Morocco hacked Sánchez’s phone in 2021, it started blackmailing him with whatever they found, forcing Sánchez to trade away decades of neutrality on Western Sahara and back Morocco’s territorial claims. Fanciful or not, after years of corruption scandals, Sánchez is under serious pressure.

EUROPEAN UNION

Running on empty.

With winter approaching, Europe’s natural gas reserves now sit at just ~65% capacity, one of the lowest seasonal levels on record. (WSJ $)

Comment: One issue seems to be that firms delayed restocking on a bet that the Iran war would subside, Hormuz would reopen, and Qatar’s LNG would get cheap again. That bet is now souring, with Europe’s spot prices back to 3.5-year highs as the continent bids against Asia.

SERBIA

Spyware on campus.

A report by digital rights group SHARE alleges authorities used military-grade spyware to hack at least 14 Serbian students and activists ahead of elections earlier this year. A key bit of evidence is that the hacking sometimes occurred after police took the phone into custody! (FT $)

Comment: When a regime starts using cyberweapons usually reserved for cartel bosses on undergrads instead, it’s rarely a sign of quiet confidence after years of persistent public protests against President Vučić.

NIGERIA

Mid-ride, no ride.

After more than a decade of ride-hailing, US tech giant Uber has suddenly halted ops in both Nigeria and Uganda, citing a global review that recommended a refocus elsewhere. The company unveiled its new London robotaxis the next day. (AllAfrica)

Comment: Uber’s statement denies this having anything to do with recent confusion about the Uber rules across Nigerian airports, though that’s little consolation for the many drivers and riders who were apparently mid-ride when the service halted! Either way, it’s a win in Africa’s most populous nation for Uber’s Estonia-based rival Bolt.