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- El País - English
- Students recruited via Telegram, amateur saboteurs and hitmen: How Russia outsources its operations in Europe
Students recruited via Telegram, amateur saboteurs and hitmen: How Russia outsources its operations in Europe
On the night of March 20, 2024, unusually humid and mild in London, three people in their twenties pulled up at an industrial estate in the east of the city in a cherry-red Kia Picanto. They went inside, set fire to a warehouse, and filmed the blaze on a cellphone. The video of the flames consuming the premises ended up in the hands of another 20-year-old, Dylan Earl, who was reached via the Telegram messaging app by the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner, linked to the Kremlin, which had in turn recruited others to do the dirty work. One of the burned units contained humanitarian aid and Starlink satellite equipment destined for Ukraine. According to the British investigation, the three young men who lit the fuse did not know they were actually working for Russia.

© Jens Schlueter (Getty Images)
O Cartoon do João!
Estavam os dois afamados elefantes quinhentistas descansados da vida, no resguardo de uma reserva própria, uma espécie de lar para elefantes idosos, quando este pobre duo recebe a notícia de que terão de voltar ao activo. Pelo menos desta vez não terão de voltar aqueles tão longínquos, mas penosos, trabalhos de início de carreira: carregar uma arca tumular ou um jazigo, bem pesados. Serão eles…
- El Dia
- Luis Planas es ya el ministro de Agricultura que más tiempo ha ocupado el cargo en democracia
Luis Planas es ya el ministro de Agricultura que más tiempo ha ocupado el cargo en democracia
Canarios en Venezuela reclaman ayuda y medicinas para niños y mayores tras los terremotos
- El Dia
- Feijóo asume ahora suprimir nacionalidades tras haber votado este año contra una propuesta similar de Vox
Feijóo asume ahora suprimir nacionalidades tras haber votado este año contra una propuesta similar de Vox
Más de 52.000 estudiantes afectados por la ola de calor en Canarias
- El Dia
- El calor empieza a dar un respiro este miércoles y el jueves llegará el aire fresco del Atlántico
El calor empieza a dar un respiro este miércoles y el jueves llegará el aire fresco del Atlántico
- El Dia
- Dos estudiantes de Canarias viajan por primera vez a China para hacerse con el 'oro olímpico' de la FP
Dos estudiantes de Canarias viajan por primera vez a China para hacerse con el 'oro olímpico' de la FP
- El Dia
- Feijóo confirma su propuesta para quitar la nacionalidad a los inmigrantes con delitos graves
Feijóo confirma su propuesta para quitar la nacionalidad a los inmigrantes con delitos graves
- El Dia
- Cinco colegios de Canarias piden la salida anticipada por la ola de calor y se suman a las zonas con clases 'online'
Cinco colegios de Canarias piden la salida anticipada por la ola de calor y se suman a las zonas con clases 'online'
Migraciones de aves y nietos; emigración / inmigración los demás
- El Dia
- Vivas rompe definitivamente con Sánchez: "No puedo confiar en que defienda a Ceuta ni a España"
Vivas rompe definitivamente con Sánchez: "No puedo confiar en que defienda a Ceuta ni a España"
- El Dia
- Una residencia escolar de Tenerife comienza el curso sin vigilantes de seguridad: docentes se turnan de noche para acompañar a los alumnos
Una residencia escolar de Tenerife comienza el curso sin vigilantes de seguridad: docentes se turnan de noche para acompañar a los alumnos
- El Dia
- Feijóo "europeiza" la crisis de Ceuta llevándose al presidente del PP europeo a su cuarta visita a la ciudad
Feijóo "europeiza" la crisis de Ceuta llevándose al presidente del PP europeo a su cuarta visita a la ciudad
O Cartoon do João!
Com a guerra a asfixiar cada vez mais o estreito de Ormuz, o preço gradualmente maior dos combustíveis está, cada vez mais, a fazer-se sentir na rotina do comum cidadão português. Parecem distantes, mas estes conflitos, de uma maneira ou de outra, acabam sempre por fazer sentir-se por cá. É o ser humano a asfixiar a própria humanidade…
- El País - English
- How Venezuela pushed aside a local oil company to make way for new US partners: ‘They simply took the assets and disappeared’
How Venezuela pushed aside a local oil company to make way for new US partners: ‘They simply took the assets and disappeared’
The heirs of Oswaldo Cisneros, once one of Venezuela’s richest men, received unusual news last April: strangers were touring their oil fields in the Orinoco Belt. On paper, they remained the legitimate operators of the assets, but it soon became clear that, even as those visits took place in plain sight, a plan was being put in motion to take the fields away from them.

© MIRAFLORES PALACE (via REUTERS)
O Cartoon do João!
O cartoon desta semana, num tom um pouco mais sério, reforça os votos para que mais pessoas possam ser resgatadas com vida, após o desastre ocorrido no Nepal, particularmente por se encontrar no nosso país uma comunidade tão forte de emigrantes oriundos desta região asiática. Exemplo desses pequenos grandes milagres é a menina de seis anos, resgatada com vida, depois de estar 60 horas presa…
- Le Monde Diplomatique - Português
- A nova agenda de reforma das pensões: individualizar direitos, responsabilidade e risco
A nova agenda de reforma das pensões: individualizar direitos, responsabilidade e risco
Em agosto foi divulgado o relatório sobre a reforma da Segurança Social encomendado pelo governo de Luís Montenegro ao grupo de trabalho coordenado por Jorge Bravo. Insere-se na ofensiva contra o sistema público de pensões que tem sido denunciada neste jornal. A nova agenda procura instaurar uma repartição à imagem da capitalização e dos sistemas complementares, trocando valores solidários por uma extensão do mercado em que o Estado subvenciona quem menos precisa. Está a emergir uma nova (…)
- 2026/09- European Council on Foreign Relations
- One foot out: Understanding Bulgaria’s geopolitical shift under Radev
One foot out: Understanding Bulgaria’s geopolitical shift under Radev

Problem
Bulgaria has agreed to host up to eight American refuelling tankers at its Bezmer military base to support US operations in the Middle East. The announcement came just days after prime minister Rumen Radev withdrew his country from the European coalition of the willing (CoW) for Ukraine, arguing that military support would only prolong the war and that Bulgaria lacks the resources to contribute.
Radev has put the final decision on Bezmer to a vote in Bulgaria’s parliament, allowing him to spread the political responsibility and limit direct ownership of the move. Now the prime minister can maintain his rather clumsy position: by rejecting military support for Ukraine (despite previous parliament votes) and justifying logistical support for American military operations elsewhere, he hopes to preserve US security guarantees without dedicating Bulgaria to Europe’s developing security architecture.
These decisions expose a growing inconsistency in Bulgaria’s strategic posture. Sofia is distancing itself from European efforts to strengthen Ukraine and is planning for its own defence, while simultaneously supporting Washington’s military operation in the Middle East. Rather than aligning with the broadly pro-European consensus and anti-American sentiments in Bulgarian society, Radev is attempting to balance competing security frameworks without sufficiently considering European security interests.
This ambiguity also presents a broader challenge for Europe. As the Trump administration continues to conduct foreign policy through bargaining, some European governments appear tempted to pursue bilateral arrangements with Washington rather than invest in European unity. Such behaviour risks weakening collective defence, precisely when strategic coordination is needed.
Solution
European security cannot rely on member states choosing cooperation only when politically convenient. The EU needs to engage more actively with the Bulgarian government and push back on Radev’s form of hedging while political conditions remain favourable, to help strengthen defence cooperation among the EU’s 27 member states.
The EU should also reinforce the political and practical incentives for participation in common defence initiatives, for example through its Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and other European defence instruments. At the same time, it needs to reduce opportunities for external powers—particularly China, Russia and the US —to exploit divisions, institutional weaknesses and the strategic ambiguity encouraged by MAGA. Bulgaria’s recent work to delist two Russian oligarchs and a Russian patriarch from the EU’s 21st sanctions package is an example of Russia’s growing leverage over the government in Sofia.
Overall, the EU should treat Bulgaria as an urgent political case rather than a lost cause. This is especially true given that, in 2027, Europe will see several major elections which have the potential to return governments that are more concerned with nationalism than European unity. This, in turn, would constrain the political space in which governments committed to a strong European foreign and security policy can act.
Context
Since taking office in May 2026, Radev has gradually shifted Bulgaria’s foreign policy away from alignment with its European partners. Bulgaria did not join the international agreement to establish the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, nor did Radev attend May’s B9 summit in Bucharest. Bulgaria’s decision to leave the CoW has attracted strong criticism from pro-European parties and raises broader questions about Bulgaria’s long-term strategic orientation.
The latest move in Bezmer follows the previous deployment of as many as 15 US tanker aircraft at Sofia Airport between February and June, which sparked political controversy. The government ended the deployment, which was linked to arrangements for (unsuccessful) discussions on Bulgaria’s inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program, on June 30th.
Delays in military modernisation and uncertainty surrounding planned defence-industrial cooperation, including a Rheinmetall partnership, are compounding Sofia’s lack of clarity about whether it intends to become a consistent contributor to Europe’s security architecture. As it stands, Radev appears to be pursuing more transactional, case-by-case relationships with both Europe and the US.