actu UESeptember 2, 2026

Germany says Russia is responsible for an attempted attack at Leipzig-Halle airport, and Berlin is now closing Russia’s last consulate on German soil. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said police investigations, the methods used, and intelligence information point to Russian responsibility. The incident happened in early August. A drone loaded with explosives was found in the secure freight area of the airport, near several Ukrainian cargo planes. A second device reportedly hit a DHL cargo plane a few minutes later. Leipzig-Halle is important for military transport, especially for the German army and allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is also used as a base by the Ukrainian aircraft maker Antonov. Germany says it will close the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian cultural centre in Berlin, known as the Russian House, on September the eighteenth. Berlin also plans to propose adding more Russian nationals to European sanctions lists, and says it will increase pressure on what it calls Russia’s shadow fleet, used by Moscow to get around Western sanctions. France says it is fully in solidarity with Germany. President Emmanuel Macron said hybrid attacks are increasing in Europe and cannot go unanswered. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union stands fully with Germany, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance will keep strengthening its ability to deter and defend against threats. Russia rejects the accusation. Russian ambassador Sergei Nechaev called Berlin’s claims unfounded and absurd, and said the sanctions mark an unprecedented escalation in Russian-German relations. Vladimir Putin, speaking from Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, called the decision another major mistake and said it goes against the interests of the German people.

Next, the death of Ratko Mladic has triggered nationalist tributes in Serbia and in the Serb Republic of Bosnia, and that has drawn sharp criticism inside European institutions. Mladic died on Thursday, August the twenty-seventh, in a prison hospital in The Hague. He was eighty-four and was serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed during the Bosnian war. The conflict, between nineteen ninety-two and nineteen ninety-five, killed about one hundred thousand people and displaced two point two million. In Trebinje, a memorial with his portrait and a condolence book has been placed in the town hall. In Doboj, people have lit candles. In Bratunac, religious ceremonies have been held in his memory. In Belgrade, several dozen admirers gathered on the Branko Bridge with torches on the evening of his death. His name was also chanted by Red Star supporters during a Europa League match in Plzen. Serbia’s justice minister, Nenad Vujic, has promised state funerals, saying Mladic will receive the military and state honours to which he is entitled. European lawmakers quoted in the article reacted with anger. French member of the European Parliament Nathalie Loiseau called the tributes revolting, and Croatian member Marko Vesligaj said the denial or manipulation of facts established by justice dishonours the victims. European Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said the glorification of war criminals is contrary to fundamental European values and has no place in the European Union or in countries that aspire to join it, including Serbia. The international mechanism handling remaining United Nations tribunal functions is still investigating the circumstances of Mladic’s death. His lawyer says he does not expect to recover the body before the end of September.

And in Cameroon, cocoa growers are trying to adapt to the European Union’s coming deforestation rules, but they say compliance must come with better pay. In the village of Ekombitié, in southern Cameroon, forty cocoa producers met to discuss better agroforestry practices. The European Union deforestation regulation is due to take effect next year. It requires cocoa and cocoa products imported into the European Union to be deforestation-free, fully traceable, and legally produced. Farmers say they are ready to comply, but they are worried about prices. According to Cameroon’s National Cocoa and Coffee Board, cocoa sold in some producing areas for as much as six thousand Central African CFA francs per kilogram during the twenty twenty-three to twenty twenty-four season. On July the ninth this year, it was trading between two thousand seven hundred fifty and two thousand eight hundred fifty Central African CFA francs per kilogram. Growers describe practical changes, including protecting useful fruit and medicinal trees, pruning cocoa trees on time, and avoiding overcrowded plantations. Bernadette Ondobo, vice-president of the Scoops-PROCAM cooperative, says her group is already producing certified cocoa and has learned to protect the environment, people, and the cocoa bean. The World Wide Fund for Nature is also helping cooperatives through a Cameroon agroforestry initiative. Its teams explain the European rules, map farms, support proof of ownership, and help build traceability so buyers can know where the cocoa comes from. Farmers say the extra effort may support sustainability, but they also want it to bring a fair return.