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What to know about Bill Gates' relationship with Jeffrey Epstein as he is interviewed in House probe

Bill Gates, billionaire co-founder of Microsoft and philanthropist, is expected to sit for a closed-door transcribed interview on Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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Car bomb kills Russian general who armed Russia’s war on Ukraine—fourth top officer assassinated near Moscow since late 2024

GRAU

The car exploded around 5:30 am on 9 June as Davydov pulled the BMW X3 out of its parking spot on Koldunova Street in Balashikha's Aviatorov microdistrict. Bystanders pulled him from the wreckage still alive, but he died at the scene before medical teams arrived, The Insider said. The outlet published the SUV's license plate and the apartment address on Kozhedub Street, several hundred meters from the blast, to confirm the identification.

Davydov, 57, had headed the missile and artillery ammunition supply directorate within the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU) of Russia's Defense Ministry since 2017. Ukraine's Myrotvorets database lists him as a participant in planning and organizing Russia's full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, with operational responsibility for keeping Russian forces supplied with shells and missiles. Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed the death of one man in the blast and opened a criminal case but did not name the victim.

The improvised explosive device carried the force of up to 500 grams of TNT and was attached to the underside of the vehicle, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported. Conflict Intelligence Team founder Ruslan Leviev reviewed the footage and concluded the bomb had been hidden in a separate parked vehicle and detonated remotely as the BMW drew alongside. The Insider attributed the operation to Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) without citing further sources, and Ukrainian officials had not commented as of late Tuesday.

A second device, then a third

Hours after the Balashikha blast, a Zeekr electric vehicle caught fire in a parking lot at the intersection of Butlerova and Vvedensky streets in Moscow's Konkovo district. Bomb technicians found a device under the car and neutralized it with a controlled detonation. Around 6 p.m., Moscow police evacuated the Nebo shopping center in Solntsevo after another suspicious object was discovered beneath a parked vehicle. Russian authorities ordered mass under-vehicle inspections across the capital region.

The pattern of four

Tuesday's killing fits a deepening pattern: the fourth senior Russian officer assassinated in the rear since late 2024. Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's chemical defense troops, was killed by a scooter bomb outside his Moscow apartment in December 2024 in an operation the SBU claimed openly. Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the General Staff's Main Operational Directorate, died in April 2025 in a car bombing 350 meters from Tuesday's blast site, also in the Aviatorov microdistrict; Russia's FSB later sentenced Ignat Kuzin, who said he worked for the SBU, to life in prison. Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, who oversaw the General Staff's operational training, was killed by a bomb planted under his Kia Sorento in southern Moscow in December 2025.

Background

The slain officer grew up in the closed nuclear city of Penza-19, now called Zarechny, where his father worked at the Start production association, a facility that built nuclear warheads until 2002. He held patents in rocket-engine design and artillery ammunition. In 2009 he led the Central Testing Technical Bureau attached to the 51st GRAU arsenal in the Vladimir region, and bought the BMW X3 in 2024 from a businessman in that same area, the Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU reported. The Kremlin, the Defense Ministry, and the SBU had not commented publicly as of late Tuesday.

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Germany adds €300 million to Czech ammunition drive, about 50,000 long-range rounds for Ukraine

Ministry of defense of Germany

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced an additional €300 million ($345 million) for the Czech-led ammunition initiative for Ukraine on 9 June 2026. The funds will purchase roughly 50,000 rounds of long-range ammunition, Pistorius said after meeting new Czech Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna in Berlin.

The pledge keeps Germany positioned as the initiative's largest foreign backer at a moment when donor numbers are thinning and Prague's new government has retreated on several other Ukraine fronts. The Czech-led channel has delivered 4.4 million large-caliber shells since early 2024 — more than half of all such ammunition Ukraine has received over that period, according to Czech President Petr Pavel.

What the pledge buys

The new commitment lifts Germany's total share of the initiative past €1.2 billion, building on roughly €900 million already disbursed. Pistorius called the Czech channel an essential contribution to Ukraine's ammunition supply and said Berlin would continue to back it.

"Germany will contribute an additional €300 million to this initiative — that's approximately 50,000 rounds of long-range ammunition," Pistorius said.

Prague's new government holds the channel

The Berlin session was Pistorius's first in-person meeting with Zůna, who took office in December 2025 as part of Andrej Babiš's coalition government. Zůna, a retired lieutenant general, was nominated for the post by the center-left SPD party.

Babiš has cut planned Czech defense spending for 2026 and secured a Czech opt-out from the European Union's €90 billion Ukraine funding package. The new government also put on ice a previously discussed transfer of L-159 combat aircraft to Ukraine.

The ammunition initiative is the major exception. Zůna confirmed in December that the channel would continue, and the Berlin meeting was his first public reaffirmation of that position to a NATO partner.

"Germany plays an important role as a supplier of military equipment and ammunition and, together with our defence industry, makes a significant contribution to European security," Zůna told reporters at the Bendlerblock.

Donor base thins as need grows

The initiative needs €5 billion in 2026 but had raised only €1.4 billion by February, Reuters reported. Pavel said last month that the number of contributing countries has dropped.

The channel has firm contracts to deliver about 1 million rounds to Ukraine in 2026, the Czech Defense Ministry said — well below the 1.8 million delivered in 2025 and the 1.5 million in 2024. Russia continues replenishing its own stockpiles, including through North Korean deliveries that NATO officials estimate at 9 million rounds since 2023.

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Russia fitted Kalibr cruise missiles with cluster warheads and reverted to foreign electronics, Ukraine’s MoD says

Kalibr missile. russia

Russia has made two significant modifications to its Kalibr cruise missiles since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense reported.

The cluster payload mirrors the one Russia already uses on its Kh-101 cruise missiles, expanding the lethal radius across dispersed targets like airfields, hangars, and open positions. Russia is not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which 124 states have ratified.

From 2022 through early 2026, Kalibr missiles carried a fragmentation-high-explosive warhead. Researchers documented a cluster warhead for the first time on missiles shot down in spring 2026. Russia made the change to substantially increase the strike area and deploy the missile against dispersed targets, the ministry said.

Russia's failed attempt to replace imported electronics

The second modification concerns the missiles' onboard electronics. Between 2023 and 2024, Russia gradually shifted Kalibr production to domestic components. The attempt failed. Analysis of the onboard digital computing unit from a Kalibr manufactured in 2025 again found imported components. The homing boards are "more than 80–90% foreign-made," the ministry stated, calling it "a confirmed fact, not an estimate" — each part is marked and verified by military representatives.

The shift to domestic electronics likely degraded guidance accuracy, the MoD suggested, prompting the return to foreign parts despite sanctions exposure. A Russian Kh-101 that killed 12 people in Kyiv this May was built in the second quarter of 2026 — pointing to components still reaching Russia after 21 EU sanctions packages and years of Western export controls, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month.

Manufacturers and designers identified for sanctions

The ministry said it had identified all electronics manufacturers supplying Kalibr production, as well as the chief designers and managers involved. "The Ministry of Defense has established all electronics manufacturers for the Kalibrs, as well as the chief designers and managers involved in missile production. This data is being transferred for further processing within the framework of sanctions policy," the ministry stated.

The MoD has previously published technical analyses of downed Russian Kh-101 missiles and North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles used against Ukraine.

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Chonhar bridge halted twice, now Arabat Spit crossing hit — Kherson’s occupied south loses two routes

russian air-defense crews now hunted ukraine bolts rocket pods its long-range drones · post nasa firms satellite detection fire arabat spit kherson oblast after ukrainian drone strike 0258 17 2026

Ukraine attempted a missile strike on a bridge connecting Henichesk to the Arabat Spit early on 10 June 2026, according to Vladimir Saldo, Russia's installed head of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, who posted the claim on social media.

The strike is the latest in a series of Ukrainian attacks targeting road links between Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast and Crimea. The Chonhar bridge—the main overland route—was first struck on 7 June, after which traffic resumed in reversible mode; a second Ukrainian drone strike on 9 June halted movement again. Saldo had advised drivers to use alternative routes through Armyansk and Perekop.

Traffic across the Henichesk–Arabat Spit bridge has been temporarily closed, Saldo said, with emergency services on site establishing the circumstances.

Power outages across eight districts

In the same post, Saldo reported that eight municipalities were left without electricity following a separate overnight Ukrainian drone attack: Henichesk, Novotroitske, Chaplynka, Kalanchak, Ivanivka, Hornostaivka, Kakhovka, and Nova Kakhovka. Utility and emergency crews were working to restore power, he said.

Broader logistics pressure

Russian pro-war bloggers have in recent weeks reported an intensified Ukrainian drone campaign against military transport in southern Ukraine, Hromadske reports. On 30 May, Russian-occupied Crimea imposed limits on sales of A-95 petrol, citing drone strikes on Russian oil refineries; occupied Luhansk Oblast followed with similar restrictions shortly after.

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Fire reported at Kuibyshev oil refinery in Russia’s Samara after drone strike

title · post fires raging kuybyshevsky oil refinery samara russia 10 2026 fires-rage-at-samara-kuybyshevsky-oil-refinery ukraine news ukrainian reports

A fire broke out at the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara, Russia, following a drone strike on 10 June, according to OSINT analysis by Astra and Russian Telegram channels.

The Kuibyshev refinery is one of the largest oil industry facilities in the region and is part of Rosneft. The 10 June strike is the third reported attack on the plant since August 2025.

What happened overnight

Residents of Samara Oblast reported explosions during the night of 9–10 June. The regional governor wrote of a missile threat in the oblast.

Astra said its analysis of eyewitness footage established that the Kuibyshev refinery in Samara was struck and caught fire.

The same refinery halted operations in August 2025 following a drone attack, Russian social media channels reported. It was struck again in January 2026.

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Ukraine reportedly strikes Russian defense plant ‘Progress’ in Cheboksary with Flamingo missiles

Russia

A fire broke out at what is reportedly the Progress defense plant in Cheboksary, Russia, following a missile strike on 10 June, the governor of Russia's Chuvash Republic said, according to Russian telgram channel Astra.

The incident marks the second reported strike on the same facility in under a week — on 5 May, Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo missiles were reported to have struck the VNІIR-Progress defense enterprise in the same city, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirming the attack.

Oleg Nikolaev, governor of Chuvash Republic, confirmed on Telegram that Cheboksary had come under missile attack. He did not specify casualties or damage.

What the strike targeted

Photos and video of a fire following the strike in Cheboksary were published by Russian social media channels, including footage of a missile passing over the city. According to OSINT analysis by Astra, the targeted facility is the VNIIR-Progress defense enterprise.

The plant manufactures Kometa antennas — systems designed to protect drones from electronic warfare — as well as other components used in Russian Shahed drones and Iskander-M and Kalibr missiles.

Astra analysts also noted that the VNIIR-Progress premises had been fully covered with camouflage netting following the previous strike.

The weapon used

Monitoring channel Exilenova+ identified the missiles used as Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles. Denis Shtilerman, founder of the Ukrainian company FirePoint, which produces the Flamingo, published a photo of a launch on X on 10 June, without providing further details.

Previous strike

The 5 May attack on the same plant caused a large-scale fire after a missile struck the facade of one of the factory buildings, according to OSINT analysts. Zelensky confirmed the use of Flamingo missiles in that incident.

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L’Italia può essere il ponte tra Europa e India

Le dimensioni contano. È naturale, allora, che la visita a Roma del primo ministro del Paese più popoloso del mondo conti parecchio. Ricevere Narendra Modi implica un segnale preciso: vogliamo ampliare, e di molto, lo spettro dei nostri partner strategici e facendolo puntiamo ai massimi livelli. Scherzando, si potrebbe dire che quando i capi dei governi italiano e indiano si incontrano rappresentano oltre un miliardo e mezzo di cittadini. Sappiamo che si tratta di una visione distorta, ma il diverso peso demografico dei due Paesi non solo indica un motivo di complementarietà, ma soprattutto nasconde più importanti aspetti di sinergia economica e anche politica (del resto l’intreccio tra le due dimensioni è inestricabile).

Anche per l’India la visita di Modi è significativa. Basti pensare alla straordinaria eco mediatica degli incontri romani dettata certamente dalle dimensioni del Paese, ma che comunque è un dato di fatto che letteralmente pesa, soprattutto in un sistema democratico nel quale i cittadini votano (e sempre di più producono e consumano). Alcuni numeri sono impressionanti: si calcola che circa cinquecento testate abbiano pubblicato l’articolo scritto insieme da Meloni e Modi, che trovate anche all’interno di questo giornale. Questo può significare centinaia di milioni di potenziali lettori. Certamente i post con le foto dei due leader, il duo #Melodi, ottengono milioni di visualizzazioni. C’è un aspetto pop in tutto ciò, ma va considerato con rispetto perché questa è la combinazione tra la “chimica” tra i responsabili dei governi, che continua (per fortuna) a valere anche nell’era del dominio tecnologico, e il ruolo che comunque le democrazie, per quanto imperfette, assegnano ai cittadini.

Quale ruolo, allora, per India e Italia nel grande disordine mondiale? Tutto inizia col salto di qualità del 2023, nel primo anno del governo di Giorgia Meloni, col superamento di un rapporto fino ad allora inadeguato al livello dei due Paesi. Dopo ben sedici anni abbiamo rotto il ghiaccio: nel marzo di quell’anno ho accompagnato la nostra presidente del Consiglio nella prima visita in India di un nostro capo di governo dopo molti, troppi, anni. Nel settembre del 2023 Meloni torna in India per il vertice del G20. In quella occasione Italia e India lanciarono con altri partner la rete di connettività Imec. La parola d’ordine era differenziare: occorre il maggior numero possibile di partner rilevanti come l’India, il paese più popoloso del mondo e, tra i grandi, quello che cresce con i ritmi maggiori.

Da allora molto è cambiato – il 7 ottobre e la guerra di Gaza che a poche settimane dalla firma del memorandum di Imec di fatto ne hanno a lungo (e non a caso) congelato l’attuazione – poi la nuova guerra del Golfo con il blocco dello Stretto di Hormuz che si aggiunge alle minacce Houthi all’imbocco del Mar Rosso. Ma tutto questo non fa che rafforzare gli obiettivi di aprire nuove opzioni, offrire ridondanza. Soprattutto, nel gennaio scorso, l’accordo di libero scambio tra Unione europea e India ha aperto la possibilità di un raddoppio dell’interscambio. Quindi di nuove rotte e infrastrutture tra l’India e l’Europa diventano un’esigenza ineludibile. E Roma può essere il ponte tra Europa e India.

nche per l’India c’è lo stesso obiettivo comune che rende importante il rapporto bilaterale: differenziare. Nell’era dell’incertezza caotica è fondamentale alleggerire i condizionamenti che limitano le opzioni e in definitiva la sovranità dei governi. Occorre rendersi più indipendenti in un mondo che – malgrado il cambiamento profondo della globalizzazione – rimane caratterizzato dalle interdipendenze. Questo si ottiene non con l’isolamento dei dazi, ma attraverso la diversificazione dei partner, partendo dai più rilevanti. Importante quindi la scelta del governo Meloni di puntare sull’India, un gigante giovane e quindi sempre più innovativo che punta a diventare protagonista nelle nuove tecnologie, dallo spazio all’intelligenza artificiale. Le stesse considerazioni sono state presenti a New Delhi nel puntare sull’Europa. Ma proprio perché la parola d’ordine è differenziare occorre evitare un rapporto esclusivo con l’oggetto della nostra differenziazione: occorre allargare l’orizzonte dei rapporti, meglio se insieme. Ed ecco la prospettiva di un impegno comune di Italia e India in Africa che si colloca nel contesto del nostro Piano Mattei.

Le visioni più ampie, possibilmente condivise, devono appunto essere la caratteristica di nazioni con ambizioni strategiche. La visita di Modi rappresenta il consolidamento di una visione comune, quella dell’Indo-Mediterraneo. Questa per me è una soddisfazione personale perché da anni sostengo la necessità di superare la formula del “Mediterraneo allargato”, che probabilmente è stata utile nel contesto interno (ad esempio per la nostra Marina Militare con la legge navale), ma è rimasta poco comprensibile fuori dai nostri confini. Occorre invece passare a formule chiare e per così dire vendibili. Così è il concetto di Indo-Mediterraneo. Una visione ormai ampiamente adottata, che si aggancia a quella di Indo-Pacifico lanciata con successo dall’allora primo ministro giapponese Shinzo Abe.

Anche Meloni e Modi hanno sottolineato questa visione che del resto ha inquadrato la conferenza dedicata a Imec tenutasi a marzo a Trieste. Questa iniziativa, promossa dal ministro degli Esteri Antonio Tajani, è stata la più importante finora organizzata su questo tema anche perché ha coinvolto molte imprese. Il ministro Tajani lo scorso anno ha promosso tre Business Forum ai quali hanno partecipato numerosi imprenditori, e il ministro della Difesa Guido Crosetto è andato recentemente in India perché dal punto di vista della sicurezza New Delhi è ormai protagonista degli equilibri internazionali. Questo vuol dire passare dalla visione all’azione, ed è coerente con le dichiarazioni di Giorgia Meloni, che ha insistito con la parola lavoro. Abbiamo una visione, ora dobbiamo metterla in pratica. È questa la sintesi dell’intervento pubblico di Meloni al vertice, quando ha citato un proverbio indiano: «Parishram safalta ki kunji hai», ovvero «il duro lavoro è la chiave del successo».

Questo è l’articolo di apertura del nuovo Linkiesta Paper – Speciale Imec. Si può comprare adesso, qui sullo store.

L'articolo L’Italia può essere il ponte tra Europa e India proviene da Linkiesta.it.

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Por 500 votos, neonazista deixa de ser eleito prefeito na Alemanha

Pouco mais de 500 votos livraram a modesta Aue-Bad Schlema, no leste da Alemanha, de se tornar a primeira cidade do país a eleger um neonazista desde a Segunda Guerra Mundial. Stefan Hartung foi superado pelo conservador Marcus Hoffmann no segundo turno municipal, no domingo (7). No primeiro, ele foi o mais votado, com 29%. Leia mais (06/08/2026 - 18h28)
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Ukraine foils Russian plot to assassinate intelligence official with FPV drone

Main Intelligence Directorate

Ukrainian police arrested a Russian-recruited agent in Kyiv who was planning to assassinate a senior official of Defense Intelligence (GUR) using an FPV drone, the National Police announced on 8 June. The suspect, a 38-year-old Kyiv resident with a prior criminal record for property offenses, had received a $10,000 advance on a promised $100,000 bounty.

The target was Andrii Yusov, GUR's spokesperson and deputy head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, according to law enforcement sources cited by multiple Ukrainian outlets including Hromadske and OBOZ.UA. In February, a joint Ukrainian-Moldovan operation dismantled a 10-person network that had also targeted Yusov among at least five public figures—making this the second known assassination attempt against him in under four months.

The suspect planned to hire an FPV drone operator

The agent spent weeks studying Yusov's daily schedule, commute routes, residence, vehicles, and surrounding infrastructure before settling on an FPV drone as the method, the police statement said. He then began searching for an operator with the skills to pilot one.

FPV drones—cheap, fast, first-person-view kamikaze weapons that have killed more soldiers in Russia's war on Ukraine than almost any other single weapon type—have not been known to be used for targeted assassination inside Ukraine before. OBOZ.UA reported that the suspect planned to use a loitering variant known as a "zhun"—a drone that hovers in position and waits for the target to appear.

Police intercepted a recorded conversation in which the suspect used codewords, referring to the assassination plan as "construction" and the drone method as "airborne-droplet transmission through the air," Hromadske reported. He also consulted a fortune teller, asking for spiritual help so "the guys would do the 'construction' and safely go home."

Officers arrested the suspect before he could act

Detectives from the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department, working with GUR's Internal Security directorate, arrested the man before the plot could be carried out, the police said. Officers seized mobile phones, a GPS tracker, a vehicle, and other evidence during a search of his residence.

The suspect has been charged under Article 14(1) and Article 115(2) of Ukraine's Criminal Code—preparation for premeditated murder for mercenary motives. The charge carries a sentence of 10 to 15 years, or life imprisonment.

The investigation, supervised by the Office of the Prosecutor General, is ongoing. Police said they are working to identify other individuals involved in the plot.

Russia's assassination campaign in Ukraine continues to escalate

The arrest is the latest in a series of Russian-directed assassination plots targeting Ukrainian public figures. In February, the dismantled network had planned to kill at least five targets using shootings and car bombs, with Russian handlers offering up to $100,000 per killing.

In May 2025, activist and drone supplier Serhii Sternenko was shot and wounded by an agent who had rented an apartment to surveil him. In August 2025, former politician Andriy Parubiy was shot dead in Lviv in a killing that authorities linked to Russia.

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French NATO jets shoot down drone over Latvia in country’s first intercept

NATO Ukraine Russia war humanitarian intervention

French fighter jets operating under NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a drone over eastern Latvia on 8 June, the country's National Armed Forces (NBS) confirmed. The drone was intercepted over Nautrēni parish between Rēzekne and Kārsava, near Latvia's border with Russia.

It was the first time NATO jets had downed a drone over Latvian territory.

The intercept is the second in Baltic airspace since 19 May, when a Romanian F-16 shot down a stray Ukrainian strike drone over Estonia's Lake Võrtsjärv. Latvia's drone crisis has been the most politically destabilizing in the region.

A 7 May crash near the Rēzekne oil storage facility toppled the ruling coalition after Prime Minister Evika Siliņa forced Defense Minister Andris Sprūds' resignation.

Latvia described the drone as deflected by Russian electronic warfare

The NBS described the aircraft as "a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that had flown into Latvia as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare," Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported. A military spokesperson told Reuters the drone entered Latvian airspace from Russia.

Baltic defense ministries have previously identified drones entering their airspace as Ukrainian, knocked off course by Russian electronic jamming while targeting sites inside Russia. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has argued Moscow deliberately steers those drones into NATO territory to erode Western support for Kyiv.

Several allied foreign ministers echoed that claim at a 22 May meeting in Helsingborg.

The NBS issued cell-broadcast alerts to residents in the Rēzekne, Ludza, Balvi, and Alūksne municipalities at around 09:20 local time. The threat level in Rēzekne and Ludza was raised to orange at 09:40.

The alert was lifted by approximately 10:30 after the drone was confirmed destroyed.

Drone also violated Moldova's airspace overnight

Separately, an unidentified drone violated Moldovan airspace overnight and exploded on impact, Yevropeiska Pravda reported. Authorities are examining the fragments.

The incident came a day after Moldovan President Maia Sandu instructed the government to draft legislation enabling domestic production of interceptor drones, citing repeated airspace violations linked to Russia's war on Ukraine.

Last week, 56 countries and the EU condemned a Russian drone violation of Romanian airspace at a UN Security Council emergency session requested by Bucharest.

Escalating incursions are reshaping Baltic security

The shootdown caps a month that has transformed how the Baltic states approach drone defense. Estonia activated its first border drone-detection sensors on 30 May.

Ukraine and Estonia expanded drone cooperation on 3 June. Latvia's armed forces commander General Kaspars Pudāns warned last week that Russia could exploit its drone advantage to attack the Baltics by the end of 2028.

European leaders have agreed to develop a "drone wall" along their eastern borders, and a US anti-drone system has been deployed to NATO's eastern flank. A NATO counter-drone testing range at Sēlija in central Latvia hosted European startup demonstrations on 26 May.

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São Brás lamenta que «dois graves problemas na Nacional 2» condicionem mais um Verão

São Brás de Alportel prepara-se para entrar em mais um Verão com a estrada principal de ligação ao concelho sem as condições devidas. Tanto a norte como a sul, a Nacional 2 apresenta, atualmente, «dois graves problemas» e esta é uma situação que preocupa o executivo, por vários motivos.

Há mais de um ano, a 2 de Junho do ano passado, o trânsito ao quilómetro 710,5 da EN2, no sentido Ameixal (Loulé)/São Brás de Alportel, foi cortado depois de ter sido identificada uma instabilidade no talude de aterro. O problema, entretanto, tem vindo a agravar-se e a estrada ainda não foi reparada, pelo que continua fechada.

Marlene Guerreiro, presidente da Câmara de São Brás de Alportel, lamentou que só oito meses depois tenha sido lançado o concurso para a obra e que só agora esta esteja em condições de começar. Uma espera que faz com que o concelho seja obrigado a passar mais um Verão sem este acesso «essencial para a sua dinâmica».

Os prejuízos ao nível do turismo são grandes, até porque São Brás de Alportel costumava ser uma etapa importante no início ou no fim da viagem pela histórica Estrada Nacional 2, que liga Chaves a Faro, e começou a ser, nestes anos mais recentes, uma oferta turística importante.

«São muitos meses e é todo um prejuízo muito grande, quer a nível da economia e do turismo, quer a nível da dinâmica social das comunidades. Os concelhos de Loulé e Tavira são também prejudicados, mas o de São Brás de Alportel muito em particular. Nós vimos um decréscimo imenso na entrada de pessoas no concelho, nos prejuízos diários, e, nomeadamente, nas nossas infraestruturas turísticas. Portanto, não nos cansamos de pressionar para que esta obra seja feita o mais rapidamente possível», frisou a autarca ao Sul Informação em Maio, à margem de uma recente visita do ministro das Infraestruturas e Habitação ao Algarve.

Ao nosso jornal, Marlene Guerreiro adiantou ainda que a obra já foi adjudicada e que estão a decorrer os processos para que se possa iniciar, possivelmente, este mês.

«Enquanto a obra não terminar, nós defendemos também, tal como a população defende, uma alternativa que pudesse ser viável para que, aproveitando aquele troço, pudesse minimizar-se este prejuízo. Uma solução ali mesmo, naquela zona, para uma alternativa, com uma faixa, naturalmente, de uma forma harmoniosa e segura, para que a população não tenha este enorme prejuízo», continuou a edil.

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Foto: Hugo Rodrigues | Sul Informação

Por outro lado, a sul de São Brás de Alportel, na ligação pela EN2 a Faro e, consequentemente, à Via do Infante, o concelho enfrenta «uma luta antiga» que «revolta e preocupa» o executivo municipal.

Marlene Guerreiro destacou que esta é uma obra «importante, não apenas para o desenvolvimento económico, mas também a nível da segurança rodoviária» e que «está a ser vítima de um processo de litigância que leva uma década».

A presidente da Câmara salientou que «o que está aqui em causa neste momento não é uma nova via, mas uma reabilitação daquele troço, de São Brás até à Via do Infante e a Faro, e, por isso, custa-nos muito compreender como é que estamos a ser vítimas desta litigância quando é apenas a reabilitação de uma estrada que é a segunda mais antiga do país e é tão importante, uma espinha dorsal do país e a maior do país e da Europa».

«Dado que é uma obra do Estado, não a podemos lançar, mas sim pressionar, pugnar, lutar com as nossas populações. Estamos a falar de uma obra que é muito importante para a economia, mas é sobretudo importante para a segurança rodoviária, para poupar vidas, porque, infelizmente, há rostos que nós nos recordamos, vidas que se perderam, vidas que se modificaram, pessoas que hoje têm uma situação de falta de mobilidade, tudo graças àquele troço que, infelizmente, não está seguro e precisa de ser reabilitado», rematou a autarca.

Fotos: Hugo Rodrigues | Sul Informação

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O conteúdo São Brás lamenta que «dois graves problemas na Nacional 2» condicionem mais um Verão aparece primeiro em Sul Informação.

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Photographer of the Year winner Citlali Fabián: ‘Photography can be incredibly powerful as a tool for rediscovering yourself’

In each photograph by 37-year-old Citlali Fabián, you can find the story of an encounter, as well as an attempt to portray memory with dignity. For her series Bilha, Stories of My Sisters, the artist — who hails from the Yalateca Indigenous community in the Mexican state of Oaxaca — was named Photographer of the Year at the 2026 Sony World Photography Awards, run by the World Photography Organization. This is one of the most prestigious recognitions in her field.

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© Cedida Citlali Fabián

Self-portrait by Citlali Fabián, May 2021.
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