Spain to allow 500 children in Ceuta to go to mainland in immigration U-turn 19. August 2026 (16:33) Madrid government changes stance after previously saying anyone who entered territory illegally would be sent backEurope live – latest updatesThe Spanish government has U-turned and said it will allow 500 migrant children in Ceuta to relocate to the mainland.The majority of the estimated 70,000 people who crossed into Ceuta – a Spanish territory on the coast of north Africa – on 30 July have returned to Morocco. However, under Spanish law, the state has a duty of care to young, unaccompanied migrants until they reach the age of 18. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Germany’s firewall was meant to hold the far right at bay. It may have done the reverse 19. August 2026 (16:30) An AfD win in next month’s state election in Saxony-Anhalt would shatter a decades-long political consensus and reverberate throughout the EU• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereIn just over two weeks’ time, Saxony-Anhalt – home to historic timber-framed houses, the dramatic Harz mountains and the birthplace of Martin Luther – will hold what could prove one of the most significant state elections in Germany’s postwar history.The vote, on 6 September, could see a far-right party whose local branch is officially classified by the country’s domestic intelligence service as “confirmed rightwing extremist” appoint a state premier and govern a state alone, for the first time. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ukrainian diver arrested in Croatia over Nord Stream pipeline bombings 19. August 2026 (16:14) Berlin to seek suspect’s extradition for 2022 explosions that damaged gas pipelines to RussiaEurope live – latest updatesA Ukrainian man has been arrested in Croatia as part of an investigation into the 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Germany and Russia.Undersea explosions in September 2022, just months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, damaged three of the four pipelines built to carry Russian fossil gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Adviser to far-right Latin American leaders arrested for allegedly plotting to kill girlfriend 19. August 2026 (15:44) Fernando Cerimedo, 42, arrested on suspicion of ordering shooting of Bolivian lawyer Nadia BellerA senior adviser to many of Latin America’s new wave of far-right leaders has been arrested for allegedly masterminding the attempted murder of his girlfriend.The businessman and political consultant Fernando Cerimedo, 42, had been working as an adviser to the Bolivian president, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, and was one of the main strategists behind Javier Milei’s campaign in Argentina’s 2023 presidential election. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Former Fauci adviser pleads guilty to conspiracy to conceal Covid-19 records 19. August 2026 (14:50) David Morens confessed to concealing government documents linked to grant research fundingA former adviser to infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiring to evade public records laws and conceal government documents related to grant research funding and the Covid-19 pandemic.David Morens, who had worked under Fauci as a senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the pandemic, entered his plea, to a conspiracy charge during a hearing in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Chinese carmaker Chery to set up UK research centre 19. August 2026 (14:46) Manufacturer, which makes Jaecoo and Omoda brands, will open facility in Bedfordshire in autumnThe Chinese carmaker behind the irreverently nicknamed “Temu Range Rover” is plotting further UK expansion with a major research and development centre in England.Chery, which makes the Jaecoo and Omoda car brands, said the launch of a new R&D site was “the next step in our long-term plan” for Britain as it also moves towards manufacturing its cars in the UK. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Andy Burnham warns of dangers of open-water swimming after ‘terrible family tragedy’ in Sussex 19. August 2026 (14:45) A mother, father and their teenage daughter died after getting into difficulty in water off Shoreham-by-Sea, and a younger girl remains in hospitalAndy Burnham has warned of the dangers of open-water swimming as he called the deaths of a mother, father and their teenage daughter who got into difficulty in water off Sussex “a terrible family tragedy”.The prime minister expressed his sympathies to their loved ones as a young girl from the same family remained in a critical condition in hospital. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
ICC decries latest US sanctions as ‘flagrant attack’ on court’s independence 19. August 2026 (14:35) Trump administration put sanctions on the international criminal court’s president and a senior trial lawyerThe international criminal court on Wednesday condemned the latest US sanctions targeting senior ICC staff, including its president, as a “flagrant attack” on the global tribunal’s independence and vowed to continue seeking justice for atrocities around the world.The state department announced Tuesday that it had hit ICC president Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national, and ICC senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, who is from Senegal, with sanctions that freeze any assets they have in US jurisdictions or come into contact with the US financial system. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Forecast energy price cap rise in Britain could push UK fuel bills up 4% this winter 19. August 2026 (14:11) Expected quarterly rise highest in three years and likely to wipe out Burnham’s VAT cut on electricity billsHousehold energy bills across Great Britain are expected to climb to a three-year high this winter as the impact of the Middle East war wipes out Andy Burnham’s tax cut on electricity bills.The government’s cap on energy prices is on track to rise by 4% from this October to the equivalent of £1,729 a year through the last three months of 2026, which could hit struggling households especially hard this winter, according to analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Republican senator Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola advance in Alaska Senate primary 19. August 2026 (13:22) Result tees up marquee race in US midterm elections, which could decide if Republicans or Democrats control SenateIncumbent Dan S Sullivan, the US senator, advanced in Alaska’s nonpartisan primary race for his seat on Tuesday alongside Mary Peltola, a former Democratic congresswoman.With the top four candidates moving forward from Alaska’s open primaries to the general election, the Associated Press reported that Sullivan and Peltola, had qualified for the November’s general election. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
