europe

Italy’s Alessandro Bastoni cancels out Michael Olise’s opener for France in 1-1 UEFA Nations League draw in Saint-Denis.

Michael Olise scored another superb goal but France were held to a 1-1 draw by Italy on Friday in Zinedine Zidane’s first home game since being appointed coach of Les Bleus.

Four days after coming off the bench to score a stunning solo effort to give France a 1-0 win in Belgium, Bayern Munich star Olise again showcased his spectacular talent by smashing a shot in off the crossbar from a free kick early in the second half.

However, Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni equalised for Italy midway through the second half to prevent Zidane from making it three wins out of three in charge of his country.

France, who had defender Dayot Upamecano sent off late on, lead UEFA Nations League Group A1 with seven points, with Belgium just behind on six points after a 3-0 win over Turkiye.

France and Belgium meet on Monday in their last match of this two-week international window. Italy have four points before hosting Turkiye next.

Zidane was the focus of attention as his home debut, before a packed crowd of 77,118 at the Stade de France just outside Paris, came against the same opponents as in his final game as a player.

The now 54-year-old icon and former Ballon d’Or winner never played again after being sent off for an infamous headbutt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin, which Italy won on penalties.

It was a first appearance for the former Real Madrid playmaker at France’s national stadium since he played in a friendly against Mexico in May 2006, winning his 100th cap in the process.

Beyond the spotlight on his past, Zidane is trying to stamp his mark on the France team in this Nations League campaign, with one eye on the next major tournament, Euro 2028.

He was again without captain Kylian Mbappe here with the Real striker having returned to his club after suffering a knee injury while scoring the winner in Turkiye last week.

Olise returned to the starting lineup in one of six changes from the Belgium game, but new faces Jeremy Jacquet, the Liverpool defender, and Como midfielder Lucas Da Cunha again played.

Italy are rebuilding under Roberto Mancini, who has returned for a second spell as coach of a nation who have failed to qualify for the last three World Cups.

They will be the happier of the two teams with the draw in this game, although they had goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Donnarumma to thank for keeping them in it with a host of saves in the second half.

Moise Kean should have given Italy an early lead after a sweeping move, only for his disappointing finish to be saved by Mike Maignan.

Davide Frattesi also came close in the first half while Kean had a goal disallowed for offside, as an Olise cross that landed on the bar was as close as France came.

The hosts turned up the volume after the break and Donnarumma saved from Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Olise before the latter crashed in the opener on 55 minutes when Rayan Cherki laid off a dead ball.

However, Bastoni caught Da Cunha in possession just outside the France box and was left with an easy finish to pull the visitors level.

Donnarumma, formerly of Paris Saint-Germain, then produced more magic to save from Adrien Rabiot and twice from Eduardo Camavinga, before Upamecano walked for a second yellow on 85 minutes.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled in a union dispute that could affect thousands of passengers

A ‘massive’ EasyJet cabin crew strike has resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of flights in a popular British tourist destination – and could jeopardise Christmas plans for holidaymakers.

The initial 5-day industrial action is expected to ground approximately 500 scheduled flights across Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports. And the festive period is also set to be disrupted.

The strike began this Friday, October 2, in Portugal and is the first of two walkouts planned for this year. The affected flights involve all domestic airports, but mainly Lisbon and Porto.

The EasyJet cabin crew strike goes on until Tuesday, with 443 flights from the Lisbon, Porto, and Faro bases already scrapped as of this morning, according to the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC). “80% of flights involving the Lisbon, Porto, and Faro bases” between October 2 and 6 have already been cancelled, union official Ana Dias told local news agency Lusa. They noted that “the impact has already been massive.”

EasyJet, meanwhile, said 55% of flights were set to operate over the five-day strike period. The National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC) reported strong participation on Friday, the first of five scheduled strike days for EasyJet cabin crew, adding that only minimum services are being maintained.

EasyJet has confirmed that two return flights from Manchester Airport to Portugal have been axed in the coming days due to industrial action, the MEN reports. The walkout was announced by the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel and is set to impact flights from Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports, all served by EasyJet from Manchester Airport.

Sic Noticias reports that the union has said other currently scheduled flights could still be disrupted by the strike, although some may be operated by aircraft and crews from other European bases. An official EasyJet source told Lusa on Thursday that the airline anticipates operating approximately 55% of its schedule during the strike period. The source explained that, in addition to “minimum services” (representing about 22% of its Portugal-based operations), the airline is maintaining flights to and from the country operated by crews from other European bases.

The company says these operations are being conducted “in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations,”. The SNPVAC union deems the use of workers from other bases to replace striking staff “illegal” and is considering taking the matter to court.

EasyJet said it was “extremely disappointed” that the strike was taking place, despite its “ongoing efforts to maintain a constructive dialogue and reach an agreement.” It expressed regret over the disruption caused to passengers.

An EasyJet spokesperson said: “We are extremely disappointed that the union representing our Portugal-based cabin crew has announced an industrial action from 2 to 6 October, despite our willingness to continue a constructive dialogue and reach an agreement to meet our employees’ requests and protect the sustainability of EasyJet business in Portugal.

“We are sorry for the impact the unnecessary action will have on our customers, and are doing all we can to minimise disruption, including cancelling two return flights from Manchester in advance to allow our customers to rearrange their travel plans. Customers have been informed directly and offered options including a free transfer or a refund.

“We advise customers travelling to or from Portugal between 2 and 6 October to check the status of their flight via our Flight Tracker.”

Both decrees to tackle housing affordability crisis shot down as critics say measures would tighten the housing market.

Spain’s government has lost key votes to ratify emergency measures aimed at tackling the nation’s housing affordability crisis, after protests intensified last month following the eviction of an 87-year-old woman.

The proposed measures, which comprised two separate decrees, were both shot down by the majority of ⁠the 350-seat lower house of parliament on Friday.

The move is a heavy blow to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose government faces public pressure, including from the hundreds of protesters who had gathered outside parliament demanding help for renters.

The first decree was meant to stop evictions of vulnerable people, make real estate speculation harder, impose tighter restrictions on short-term leases and provide tax incentives to encourage renting and the construction of housing.

The second decree proposed making leases automatically renew when they are set to expire, essentially making them indefinite. A property owner would have to pay a tenant 12 months of rent to break the contract.

The right-wing ⁠Catalan separatist ⁠party Junts refused to back the housing decrees, saying they would ultimately tighten the housing market. The centre-right Popular Party and far-right Vox also voted against the measures.

Sanchez, who leads a coalition government composed of his Socialist Party and the far-left Sumar, ⁠appealed to lawmakers in the run-up to the vote to put aside political calculations and pressure.

“Think about ordinary people, about those who most need the protection of public institutions. Think about the millions of young people who ⁠cannot afford to ⁠move out of their parents’ homes. Think about the families living with the constant ⁠anxiety of ever-rising rents,” he said.

“Do the right ⁠thing, because I ⁠believe that if you do not, history will judge you sooner than you ‌think, and far more harshly than you can imagine.”

Miriam Nogueras of Junts argued the decrees would only lead to owners removing their properties from the rental market, and thus driving up prices even further.

“These decrees still allow speculators to buy property and to evict people,” Nogueras said.

‘Your profits, our misery’

As the vote was under way, protesters marched on the parliament demanding help for renters.

The government decrees were intended to quell a public uproar following the televised eviction on September 23 of Maria del Carmen Abascal, known across Spain as Maricarmen, that set off protests and a camp-in that occupied Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square ever since.

Abascal was living in the property in Madrid’s central Retiro neighbourhood under a rent-capped lease contract signed by her father in the 1950s. The property was then bought by the real estate and investment firm Urbagestion in 2018.

Urbagestion sought to terminate Abascal’s contract and evict her after raising her rent from 500 euros ($572) to 2,650 euros ($3,010) – nearly double her pension of 1,350 euros ($1,533) a month – according to Spanish newspaper El Pais.

When the police carried out her eviction on their fourth attempt, hundreds of activists who had been protesting against her losing a home she had lived in her entire life were waiting outside. Abascal has since been offered a preliminary agreement that would allow her return to her home.

Protesters rallying at the chamber in downtown Madrid on Friday held up homemade signs with images of vultures on them, denouncing the real estate speculators they blame for driving up prices.

Some people gathered outside the assembly chanted “your profits, our misery” as lawmakers voted down the government’s decree.

The average rent in Spain has almost doubled in the past 10 years. The average price per square metre has risen from 8.20 euros (about $9.08 at the time) in 2016 to 15.1 euros ($17.15) this year, according to the real estate website Idealista.

United States President Donald Trump has said Europe has agreed to release a “massive amount” of their diesel stockpile, although no European parties have confirmed the claim.

Trump made the statement on his Truth Social account on Friday as he has heaped pressure on European countries to release diesel stockpiles to ease soaring prices caused by the US-Israel war with Iran and the resulting constriction of traffic via the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump had previously floated banning US diesel exports if European countries did not comply. The European Union had earlier on Friday said it “fully rejects” the threat.

More to come…

It takes between 15 and 20 minutes to drive across

The Passage du Gois, in France, is one of the most popular underwater roads connecting the Île de Noirmoutier to the French mainland. The 2.6 miles road vanishes under the sea twice every day, turning a scenic drive into a journey that must be timed around the tide.

High tides submerge the Passage du Gois under 1.5 to four meters (five to 13 feet) of Atlantic Ocean water most of the day. Drivers have to carefully plan their journey as they can only cross during a short window of about three hours.

Nine raised refuge markers stand along the Gois for people caught by rising water. Officials warn that the road should never be treated as passable when it’s flooded, just because another vehicle has entered it.

Alternatively, visitors can use the Noirmoutier bridge to reach Île de Noirmoutier, located 5.3 miles from the Passage du Gois.

Travel experts at Lapland Famille warned drivers and holidaymakers to plan their trips carefully. Alex Dyer, managing director at Lapland Famille, said: “A tide window can look generous until a meal stop runs late or a child needs an unexpected break.

“I’d keep the bridge route ready and treat the Gois as a bonus, because that removes the pressure to race the final minutes with the sea already on its way back in.”

On TripAdvisor, a visitor described the road as “absolutely unique”. They said: “I have known the Passage du Gois since I was a little girl; it is absolutely incredible and unique in the world.

“This road is revealed every six hours, depending on the tide. Of course, you absolutely must know the tide times and coefficients to know how much time you have to be able to cross it and not be caught off guard by the sea.

“The island of Noirmoutier was connected for years only by this passage before the bridge in 1971.

“Many people stop there for shore fishing. Magnificent photos can be taken, and every year, there is a race organised against the clock on the Passage du Gois.”

Other famous underwater roads in Europe are the Lindisfarne Causeway and the Strood, both in England.

The Lindisfarne Causeway is a three-mile paved road connecting the Northumberland mainland to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, as the North Sea tides cover the road twice daily. The Strood, in Essex, is covered by water during high spring tides, temporarily cutting access to Mersea Island.

Stuttgart, Germany – Minutes after the results of the first exit polls flashed across German screens, Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) declared in a televised statement at the party’s headquarters that he was going nowhere.

“It’s a disaster,” he said of the state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on September 20. “What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness and patience. I will muster them – as party chairman of the CDU and, above all, as chancellor of our country.”

But pressure on Merz is mounting.

On Thursday, a survey by Germany’s public broadcaster ARD found that only one in 10 respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with his work. That is the lowest figure for any chancellor since the survey began in 1997.

His party crashed out of the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, failing to clear the 5 percent threshold needed to win seats – the first time this has happened since the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came first with more than a third of the vote.

On the same day in Berlin’s state elections, the CDU suffered another major setback. It came second after The Left party, which won 25.7 percent of the vote. The Left now hopes to form a government in the capital although it will need coalition partners.

Just two weeks earlier, the CDU suffered another blow. The AfD won the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, receiving more than 40 percent of the vote, compared with 17 percent for the CDU.

No obvious successor

Merz could face a revolt within his own party, but removing him as chancellor would be considerably harder.

Under Germany’s Constitution, the Bundestag can replace a chancellor only by simultaneously electing a successor with an absolute majority.

Wolfgang Schroeder, a professor of political science at the University of Kassel, told Al Jazeera: “The CDU is in a situation where it can’t really get any further with Merz, but it also doesn’t know how things would work without him. There is no attractive replacement, so there is no alternative.”

A former chairman of the BlackRock investment company’s German supervisory board, Merz had long harboured ambitions of becoming chancellor but was sidelined by then-Chancellor and -CDU leader Angela Merkel in the early 2000s. He staged an unexpected comeback, finally taking office in May 2025.

At the helm, Merz has drawn criticism for remarks about the country’s “Stadtbild” (cityscape), widely interpreted as a suggestion that there were too many refugees and migrants on the streets. The debate has resurfaced in recent days with prominent CDU figures returning to the issue after the party’s poor election results.

The AfD’s surge is but one factor behind the decline of Germany’s long-dominant conservative party, which has produced six chancellors in its history.

The CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, govern Germany in coalition with the Social Democratic  Party (SPD). The government is struggling amid the rising cost of living, deindustrialisation, crumbling infrastructure and a housing crisis in major cities.

Nils Diederich, a professor emeritus of political science at the Free University of Berlin and a former SPD member in the Bundestag, said Merz has failed to make a good impression but argued he is not the main reason for the CDU’s poor results.

“Overall, I see the coalition itself as the main problem,” he said. “The Social Democrats have worn themselves out in the coalition. They have lost their sense of direction and are putting the brakes on reforms. That, in turn, is dragging the CDU down with them.”

Schroeder told Al Jazeera: “It’s possible that the crisis surrounding the chancellor could develop into a fundamental crisis for the CDU and from there into a crisis for the coalition.”

The reform dilemma

In July, the German government announced a package of 34 measures, including reforms to pensions, taxation, bureaucracy and the labour market. Merz originally intended to push through his repeatedly promised reforms by the end of the year.

But the state elections have put the coalition parties under greater pressure to stake out their own positions.

To ease the burden on people in need of long-term care and to plug multibillion-euro deficits, the SPD is calling for a cap on care costs and for people with private health insurance to share the costs. The CDU firmly rejects both proposals on legal and financial grounds.

State premiers from both major parties and the SPD leadership want to retain the option of retiring without a pension reduction after 45 years of contributions, which they see as a reward for a lifetime of work. The conservative bloc’s business wing, however, insists that the provision be phased out.

Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil of the SPD is planning new revenue measures to consolidate the budget but faces fierce resistance from CDU state premiers and conservative legislators determined to block any tax increases.

Schroeder warned that the coming months could be difficult.

“The CDU is caught in a dilemma. If Merz continues down the path of reforms that place a burden on society, the likelihood of cooperative governance with the SPD will diminish further. If he goes along with the course the SPD is proposing, pressure within the party will increase.”

Diederich said: “If the reforms fall through, then either Merz or the Social Democrats would have to act and let the coalition collapse.”

The next major election test will come in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, where voters elect a new parliament in April.

United Kingdom police have arrested a 25-year-old British-Iranian man in relation to a security incident at a Royal Air Force (RAF) station near Fairford, England, this week

The man, described by police as a “dual UK/Iranian national” and detained on suspicion of preparing “terrorist” acts, is the sixth person to be arrested in what British authorities said was potentially an Iran-backed plot. The five other people arrested earlier were released on bail on Monday.

The investigation began when British authorities were alerted early on Sunday about unusual activity near the airbase, including oddly parked vans and a group of masked men. After searching the vans, authorities found no weapons or explosives but did recover a “quantity of petrol”.

The RAF station has been used by the United States for military operations, including by bombers during the US-Israel war on Iran.

Here’s what we know about the latest development in the case:

What’s happened?

British counterterrorism police announced the arrest of a 25-year-old British-Iranian dual national in Westminster, London, on Thursday. Iran, however, does not recognise dual citizenship, and treats Iranians with a second passport solely as Iranian.

The man was detained on “suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006”, the same offence cited in the arrests of the five other suspects. In line with standard police practice, none of the suspects has been named ahead of any charges being made.

Police said they also conducted searches of two properties in the London area. They appealed to the public for any information that could assist the investigation.

What do we know about the suspect in custody?

The Times newspaper reported that the British-Iranian suspect is being investigated as a possible “recruiter” in the still-opaque plot or as someone otherwise believed to have played a significant role.

The media reported that the man was placed under surveillance after the arrest of the first five men. He has not been named.

What evidence is there that this was an Iran-linked plot?

The UK has pointed to an Iranian connection but has so far kept the reason for that assessment under wraps.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there are “strong indications” of Iran’s involvement in the incident and an “ongoing, complex and serious police investigation” is continuing.

He did not give information on what the suspects may have been planning or what intelligence has led the UK to suspect the involvement of Iran, saying only that he would “update people more in due course”.

In the US, President Donald Trump said the case “might be” Iran-linked and the US had been keeping tabs on the suspects “for a long time”. Trump criticised the UK’s decision to release the first five suspects on bail.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government had forewarned the UK about a potential “Iranian-sponsored attack” but did not specify if that was related to the same RAF base incident.

Iranian officials have firmly denied any connection to the incident. Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanch called the claims “false and ridiculous”.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned British Ambassador Hugo Shorter on Thursday to protest against the allegations.

What happened at RAF Fairford?

Authorities received two early-morning calls on Sunday alerting them to suspicious activity near the Fairford airbase, including three vans parked strangely and a group of hooded, masked men.

Unusually, the first call to the UK’s emergency line was made by one of the suspects who would later be arrested.

Police responded and arrested five British men in their early 20s in the nearby Whelford area, saying they were suspected of explosives offences. Counterterrorism police later took over the investigation and said the men were suspected of preparing “a terrorist act”.

The suspects were released on bail on Monday but remained subject to “stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others”, according to the UK’s head of counterterrorism policing, Laurence Taylor.

After searching the vans located near the airbase, police said they found no explosives but did retrieve a “quantity of petrol”.

Why were the men arrested at the scene given bail if this is a major incident?

That’s one of the big unanswered questions.

Under British “counterterrorism” law, police may hold suspects for up to two weeks before charging them. However, if authorities find little evidence to support their initial suspicion of “terrorism”, they have far less time – usually 24 to 36 hours, Chris Phillips, a former head of the UK’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office, told Al Jazeera.

Other security experts told Al Jazeera that police likely released the first five suspects because they did not deem them to be an imminent security risk or found that their potential involvement in any plot was unwitting.

“In cases involving terrorism, suspects can still be released on bail when the authorities feel relatively confident that these individuals do not pose an imminent danger of either carrying out or organising a terrorist attack,” Andrew Silke, professor of criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London, told Al Jazeera.

“Individuals may have been involved unknowingly or in a peripheral manner to potential terrorist activity. This seems possible in the current case,” he added.

Afzal Ashraf, a visiting fellow in international relations and security at Loughborough University and a former senior RAF officer, agreed that police likely have assessed that the five released suspects do not pose “any immediate danger”.

“We can reasonably assume that police judged that these individuals did not present any immediate danger nor did they have any credible means or intention of creating further danger to the public or to government installations,” Ashraf told Al Jazeera.

However, he said their release on bail should not necessarily be taken to mean the incident in question “was minor or that the Iranian-involvement hypothesis has been rejected”.

What happens next?

British authorities said they are continuing to investigate all aspects of the case, including the possibility of it being a foreign-backed “plot”.

Silke said authorities will likely be thoroughly analysing all suspects’ communications and interactions, looking for information on contacts who may have organised their involvement and for any payment the suspects may have received.

“The authorities can investigate all of these links to establish if they lead back to foreign government sources or agencies,” he said.

Silke added that authorities will also look into any links between the RAF airbase incident and previous plots carried out on British soil.

Phillips said he believes the suspects could have been recruited online by foreign actors to carry out some type of malicious activity, such as “setting fire to something”.

He said both Russia and Iran have allegedly paid “stooges” to carry out such acts in recent years. “At first glance now, it seems that that may be the case, but time will tell,” Phillips added.

Iran and Russia have also previously been accused of orchestrating plots in the UK. Those plots have involved “surveillance, sabotage, arson or physical violence”, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said last year.

Donald Trump has said he may ask European countries to release some of their diesel reserves as he considers banning US exports of the fuel.

The US President’s comment comes after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Europe to get ready to release diesel supplies immediately, arguing that US farmers, truckers, and businesses “should not be left carrying the burden” as prices soar.

The US has threatened to restrict diesel exports after the war in Iran caused sharp price rises for US voters ahead of the midterm elections in November.

On Thursday, the UK held talks with European partners about the potential release of diesel reserves in response to any ban.

Banning exports would flood the US market with diesel, and could bring prices down significantly for American drivers.

But experts warn such a ban would put further pressure on diesel prices in other countries, unless they can access further supplies.

The US is a vital supplier of diesel to the world, exporting between 1.2 and 1.5 million barrels per day.

Over half of the UK’s diesel is imported, with 31% of the imports coming from the US.

On Thursday, Trump was asked whether he would call on European countries to release some of their own diesel reserves.

“We may do that. They have some diesel,” he said.

An earlier post from Bessent on social media said European countries should “make additional supplies immediately available”.

The president is set to travel across the US campaigning for Republicans in the coming weeks in hopes of keeping control of the House and Senate in the November’s elections.

Diesel prices in the UK hit record highs this week and are hovering just under 200p per litre, according to motoring organisation the RAC.

UK Energy Minister Martin McCluskey was on a call with European counterparts on Thursday to discuss the potential ban.

A source familiar with the discussions told the BBC it was prudent to prepare a co-ordinated response with other countries, including those across EU, but added that there were still European reserves left from a coordinated release of strategic fuel stocks earlier in the year.

“We have a diverse and resilient supply. We continue to engage with our international partners and the UK fuel industry,” a government spokesperson said.

The government has stressed that there is no cause for concern about potential diesel shortages, though prices are expected to rise further.

Switzerland’s glaciers are rapidly receding due to a combination of winters with too little snow and record-high temperatures across Europe this summer, scientists say. In all, one of the world’s top ski destinations has lost nearly one-fifth of its glacial ice in just five years.

In a report (PDF) published by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS) and the Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) on Thursday, researchers said Swiss glaciers lost 5.5 percent of their ice volume over the hydrologic year ending September 30, 2026, and nearly 20 percent since 2021.

Why is Switzerland, famed for its Alpine terrain and winter sports, losing its glaciers and what does this mean for the country?

Here’s what we know.

What have scientists discovered?

In September, a GLAMOS team visited 23 glaciers in Switzerland to record end-of-summer measurements of ice melt and snow accumulation.

Visiting one glacier named Scex Rouge in the Western Swiss Alps in early September, GLAMOS chief Matthias Huss, one of the report’s researchers, told the Reuters news agency that a measuring pole, about four metres (13 feet) high, was drilled into the ice in July to provide the team with a point of reference.

“Now when we have come back here, we saw the pole was out by three metres [10ft]. So just in August and September of this year, even excluding the heatwaves of June and July, we have lost three metres of ice at an elevation of almost 3,000 metres [9,843ft],” he explained.

“This clearly indicates these conditions that we had this summer, they are just inconsistent with the survival of these small glaciers in the Alps,” he added.

Why are glaciers in Switzerland losing ice?

According to the report, the total mean thickness of individual glaciers in Switzerland has fallen by between 2.5 and four metres in 2026. At glacier tongues – narrow glacial extensions of a glacier which project from land into a body of water – it had decreased by as much as 10 metres in some places over the summer.

“We can clearly attribute the massive ice loss to the warming, and thus anthropogenic [caused by humans] climate change. The summer has been the hottest on record in Switzerland. In addition, there was little snow in winter, and therefore the glaciers were poorly protected when the heat started,” GLAMOS chief Huss told Al Jazeera.

He noted that while their measurements have indicated that the melting has affected all glaciers in Switzerland equally, the effects were most visible on smaller glaciers.

“Those shrink very quickly and sometimes even completely disappeared. Also, large glaciers lost an enormous quantity of ice, but they remain impressive,” he added.

The report’s scientists warned that the glaciers also lost a total of about 2.2 trillion litres of water (581 billion gallons) between July and September alone.

“This is more than four times the annual drinking water consumption of all Swiss households,” the report’s researchers said and warned this could impact the country’s future water supply.

What does this mean for Switzerland?

Switzerland is a country known for winter sports and Alpine tourism, which depends on the glaciers. About 4 percent of the country’s entire workforce is employed in the tourism sector.

“This affects tourism and also how we perceive the mountains – they are no longer white but increasingly grey and black,” he told Al Jazeera.

He added that the water provided by glaciers is also important for the economy. “It is used to fill up hydropower lakes that produce clean energy, and supplies the biggest streams of Europe,” he said.

“We’re not yet seeing the full consequences as glaciers are still around and they contribute water when we need it. But this potential is soon being lost,” he added.

Harry Zekollari, a glaciologist and associate research professor at the Department of Water and Climate at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, shared a similar view.

He stressed that glaciers are important natural water suppliers, as they provide water when people need it most – in summer, when it is hot and dry.

“With climate change, glaciers initially provide more water during summer as they rapidly melt. However, as glaciers become smaller, there is less ice to be melted, and as such the water supply in summer decreases. This peak in water supply has now been passed for glaciers in the European Alps, meaning that we expect glaciers to provide less and less water in the coming years,” he told Al Jazeera.

“Glacier changes can also cause natural hazards, and since most of the ice lost turns into water that reaches the oceans, the consequences of glacier loss [in Switzerland and elsewhere] will be felt for coastlines all around the globe,” he added.

Is there a solution?

Yes. According to Zekollari, in order to save as much glacier ice as possible in Switzerland, the world needs to stabilise rising temperatures as soon as possible.

“Projections for the European Alps and Swiss glaciers show that if we are able to rapidly stop emissions, we may still be able to save about one-third of their ice mass. However, in a case with strong warming, these glaciers are projected to lose more than 90 percent of their volume by 2100,” he said.

He noted that the situation is less grim globally as some glaciers in other regions are more persistent.

“However, even globally, future emissions play a big role and will decide whether we lose about 25 percent of glacier mass by 2100 – that’s the good case, with limited warming – or rather 50 percent – the bad case, with more warming,” he said.

“The losses in the longer term – past 2100 – are even larger due to the long response of glaciers, but also here it is the future warming that decides how much remains. Every 0.1 degree Celsius warming matters.”

Who: France vs Italy
What: UEFA Nations League 2026-27, Group A1 match
Where: Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France
When: Friday, October 2, at 8:45pm local time (18:45 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 15:45 GMT.

It’s time for Zinedine Zidane’s homecoming.

Two-time world champions France face neighbours Italy in Friday’s Nations League match, with Zidane taking charge for the first time on home soil.

Appointed in late July as successor to Didier Deschamps, ex-captain Zidane has guided France to back-to-back away wins. Now he has the chance to complete a hat-trick of victories in front of Les Bleus faithful.

Despite losing captain Kylian Mbappe to injury, France have maintained their winning start, all thanks to their squad depth and talent across positions.

Like France, four-time World Cup winners Italy are also managed by a former player – Roberto Mancini – who is back in the job for the second time. Mancini’s first game back in charge ended in Roman jeers, but the Azzurri responded in style with an emphatic win in their second game.

Friday’s match is expected to be played in front of what will be a sell-out crowd of close to 80,000 fans at the national stadium north of Paris.

So, can Italy build on their dazzling display or will France give Zidane more reasons to rejoice?

Al Jazeera breaks down everything in this match preview:

What is the UEFA Nations League?

The UEFA Nations League was founded in 2018 to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and give nations competitive matches against top-ranked teams.

In this competition, countries from across Europe participate in a league structure which features promotion and relegation.

How have France and Italy played in the Nations League?

France are on top of this group with six points after identical 1-0 wins over Turkiye and Belgium.

Italy, on the other hand, are second-to-last with three points after losing 2-0 to Belgium and thrashing Turkiye 4-1.

When did France and Italy last meet?

They last met in a Nations League group match in November 2024.

France defeated Italy 3-1 in Milan then, with a double from Adrien Rabiot and a Guglielmo Vicario own goal. Andrea Cambiaso netted the consolation goal for the Italians.

France vs Italy: Head-to-head

• Matches: 41
• France wins: 12
• Italy wins: 20
• Draws: 9

France vs Italy: Form guide

(Last five games, latest results first)

France: W-W-L-L-W

Italy: W-L-W-W-D

Who are the top players to watch?

Michael Olise and Desire Doue (France): Olise’s outrageous finish in Monday’s Belgium game had Zidane going berserk on the sideline. Such is his talent. He has been involved in both goals France scored in this year’s Nations League and is also enjoying a flying start at Bayern Munich this term with eight goals and four assists. Doue, 21, is equally impressive – he assisted Olise in the last game, earning player of the match.

Francesco Pio Esposito and Davide Frattesi (Italy): Pio Esposito not only scored a goal in the last game but also celebrated a sweet bit of history – he and his older brother Sebastiano played against Turkiye, marking the first time two brothers started for Italy in more than a century. Inter Milan striker Pio already has five goals in 10 Azzurri appearances. Italian fans should also watch out for Frattesi, another scorer from the last game who has also netted three times for Lazio in this year’s Serie A.

What have the coaches said?

Zinedine Zidane (France): “It is going to be really emotional,” said Zidane, whose last appearance at the Stade de France came as a player in a friendly against Mexico in 2006.

Roberto Mancini (Italy): “Facing Zidane will be a pleasure, but this isn’t a duel between us,” assured Mancini in his press conference.

“It is going to be a great game between France and Italy, teams who are still trying to figure things out. Whatever happens, I feel that this match will be very useful for the process.”

Team news and predicted line-ups

France

Mbappe is the biggest name missing from the France squad. He picked up a knee injury after scoring the winning goal against Turkiye and has since been sidelined for two weeks.

Elsewhere, central midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery is out with a thigh injury, and Matteo Guendouzi remains suspended.

Probable France XI: Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Jeremy Jacquet, Maxence Lacroix, Adrien Truffert; Rayan Cherki, Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot; Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola

Italy

Italy have a fully fit squad.

Probable Italy XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Michael Kayode, Giorgio Scalvini, Alessandro Bastoni, Matteo Ruggeri; Sandro Tonali; Davide Frattesi, Nicolo Fagioli; Giacomo Raspadori, Francesco Pio Esposito, Sebastiano Esposito

France vs Italy: TV channel, livestreaming

• France: la chaine L’Équipe, TF1+
• Italy: RAI PLAY, Mediaset, Sky Italia
• United Kingdom: Prime Video UK
• United States: FOX Sports, FuboTV, ViX
• India: Sony Sports Network
• Middle East and North Africa: beIN SPORTS
• South Africa: DStv Stream

You can find your regional broadcaster on UEFA’s official broadcaster listing.

When Tyson Fury was asked whether his fight against Anthony Joshua had come too late for both boxers, the Gypsy King responded: “Is it too late?… It’s the icing on the cake of two great careers.”

Former heavyweight world champions Fury and ⁠⁠Joshua came face to face ⁠⁠in London on Wednesday to allay months-long fears and rumours surrounding their long-awaited fight, which has been confirmed for December 11 in Cardiff.

The British boxing stars are 38 and 36 years old, respectively, and have kept the boxing world waiting for years.

For many fans, why it took so long to agree on a fight is almost as big a question as who will win.

Neither boxer wanted to take the hit for delaying the biggest fight in British boxing history when they appeared in front of the media in London. Fury blamed Joshua, despite reports stating Joshua insisted the fight take place in the United Kingdom for the sake of home fans.

“You’ve been crying behind the scenes to get out of this fight,” Fury said. “I’ve checkmated you. You have to fight. I’ve said I’ll fight anywhere.”

But is the Gypsy King right? Can Fury vs Joshua live up to more than 10 years of hype?

Al Jazeera Sport breaks it down:

Ten years of near misses

Joshua and Fury are prizefighters who decide their destiny in the ring, but outside of it, their promoters negotiate contracts, choose venues and make calls on top billing.

The history goes back 10 years and is full of near misses, contractual problems and other fighters entering the fray.

It all started in 2020, when the two camps agreed to a two-fight deal. A year later, contracts were signed for an undisputed heavyweight showdown. However, Deontay Wilder, an American former world heavyweight champion, won an arbitration case that forced Fury into a trilogy fight in 2021.

In 2022, Joshua reportedly accepted a 60-40 purse split in Fury’s favour, but that deal collapsed too. During this period, unbeaten Ukrainian heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk defeated Joshua twice and proceeded to beat Fury twice as well.

All this while, Fury vs Joshua failed to materialise.

Eddie Hearn vs Dana White

Online streaming platform Netflix, which holds global rights to the fight, has billed it as a collaboration between Saudi sports powerbroker Turki Alshikh’s The Ring magazine and Dana White, the owner of mixed martial arts promotion UFC.

Neither Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, nor Fury’s, Frank Warren, was named when talks of the fight resurfaced earlier this year.

Alshikh and White cofounded a boxing promotion, Zuffa Boxing, which was launched earlier this year and became a point of contention in the Joshua-Fury fight. Hearn was of the view that Joshua’s contract barred White and Zuffa’s parent company from any promotional role.

“Dana White cannot be involved with this fight promotion,” Hearn said recently.

However, Fury saw it differently and blamed Hearn for costing “the biggest fight in boxing history” in an Instagram post.

White was not seen at the London news conference, where fans booed his name.

A battle of egos

In boxing, the name that comes first on the poster usually signals the A-side, or the bigger fighter.

Joshua claimed he got a call asking whether he minded Fury’s name going first, because Fury was “unwilling to sign unless he does”.

Fury boasted: “I’m number one.”

There was also the issue of the fight venue and, specifically, the host country.

Joshua insisted he ensured it would happen in the UK, whereas White had pushed for it to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“I know we are going to inspire this generation, and I know for a fact we are going to inspire the next generation,” Joshua said.

The niceties didn’t last long between the opponents as Fury claimed he would knock Joshua out.

“I’m going to catch him and, when I do, it’s going to be curtains,” Fury said.

Joshua welcomed the outburst and said: “This is the energy that we want.”

In the end, money got the deal over the line.

Reports in UK media say the fighters will share a $200m purse and will bag more than “any British fighter has earned in a fight ever”.

Putin warned the West he would deploy nuclear weapons if necessary to defend the Russian Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ruled out a ceasefire on long-range strikes with Ukraine as Moscow steps up its campaign of aerial attacks on Kyiv.

“We are told: ‘Let them stop striking your refineries, and you will stop striking their ships.’ It is simply ridiculous,” Putin said on Thursday at the Valdai political forum in Moscow.

The remarks followed a meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York on September 22, when Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready to cease strikes on Russian oil refineries and other energy facilities if Moscow also stopped its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Speaking at the forum of the Moscow-based think tank, Putin said Ukraine had “partially achieved its objectives” with ⁠these strikes, with attacks on Russian ⁠oil refineries having cost the country 1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), but added that Russia ⁠was now responding in kind.

Russia has ramped up long-range strikes, targeting Ukraine’s steel companies as well as supply chains, notably in the rail sector. Ukraine accuses Moscow of deliberately hitting civilian targets and keeping Kyiv on a near-constant state of alert as it braces for another tough winter.

A Russian drone struck a school in Kyiv on Thursday, according to city officials, as the Ukrainian capital endured relentless aerial attacks. No casualties were reported as children and staff at the school were in shelters when the drone hit.

Putin added that Russia would prefer to end the conflict in Ukraine through talks and wanted it to ⁠be a neutral ⁠country after the end ⁠of hostilities.

The nuclear option

He warned the West not to escalate the standoff over Ukraine by threatening the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which is wedged between Poland and Lithuania, and pledged to defend it with nuclear weapons if necessary.

“If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation – in this case, we are referring to Kaliningrad, and perhaps other territories as well – the question of the Russian Federation deploying all the weapons at our country’s disposal will, of course, inevitably and immediately be on the agenda,” he said.

Putin’s comments followed a diplomatic note which NATO said this week it had received from Russia, warning the Western military alliance it would be ready to resort to nuclear weapons if NATO attempted to cut off Russia’s Baltic exclave.

Putin warned that cycles of escalation in international conflict ⁠could quickly lead to dangerous scenarios. “We must realise that the moment when nothing can be changed any longer may come very quickly and unexpectedly for everyone. The logic of escalating, increasingly harsh retaliatory measures leads to a fatal point of no return,” ⁠he said.

On the contrary, in the event of a “favourable scenario”, Putin said the assets of Western companies that Moscow had seized could potentially be returned. Putin last month ordered the seizure of businesses and assets of Swiss food giant Nestle, French retailer Auchan, the former Leroy Merlin DIY chain and German wholesaler and food retailer Metro.

Police have detained hundreds as students protest overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and crumbling facilities.

French students have set fire to bins and erected blockades outside schools in several cities, protesting overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and crumbling facilities.

Several school principals were injured, harassed or assaulted during blockades at high schools on Thursday, according to reports from regional education authorities, prefectures and union representatives.

Police have already detained hundreds of protesters at the lycees, which students aged 15 to 18 attend for their final three years of secondary education in France.

At Marseille’s Victor Hugo high school, the teachers were inadvertently splashed as a student attempted to throw petrol into a rubbish bin, local authorities said. Earlier, the prosecutor’s office had ⁠said the teachers had been assaulted and “doused in petrol”.

At another school in the city, Saint-Exupery high school, hundreds of young people surrounded a firetruck that had arrived to put out a blaze in the morning, police said. The attackers forced the firefighters to flee the vehicle, then set it alight.

In Nantes, firefighters extinguished a fire at a high school entrance following what regional education officials called a gathering “marked by violence towards staff”. In Strasbourg, trams were halted to “restrict the movements of rioters and demonstrators”, and students burned barriers on tram tracks, authorities said.

“There are 35 of us per classroom. With 35 degrees Celsius [95 degrees Fahrenheit] in summer, it’s unbearable. There aren’t enough toilets, and there are water leaks in some rooms,” Raphael, a 17-year-old who withheld his surname for fear of reprisals, told the AFP news agency outside a protest in Strasbourg.

“The building is falling apart, the cafeteria is too small. There’s zero budget, zero resources, not enough supervisors.”

His frustration echoes a wave of student anger that has spread across France since last week, as high school pupils protest and grievances snowball into nationwide unrest.

Some 340 demonstrations were under way outside high schools by mid-morning on Thursday, with more than 160 schools shut down as a result, police said.

University students joined in, blocking access to about 30 campuses, including in Paris and Marseille, according to a student union.

Authorities have reported many dozens of injuries – some from thrown objects, others reportedly from police riot-control projectiles.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said police have opened internal investigations into brutality allegations involving three students.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu convened a crisis meeting and asked ministers to cancel upcoming official travel so authorities could focus on the demonstrations, his office said.

French Education Minister Edouard Geffray said that he would successively meet representative staff unions and parent and student associations on Friday.

The unrest has become entangled in the race to succeed President Emmanuel Macron next May. The government has accused the far-left France Unbowed party of encouraging the protests. Presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon said Wednesday that his party “called for nonviolent methods of struggle” and criticised the government’s response as repressive.

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Counter-terrorism police also questioned a UK national, days after five others were arrested and released on bail.

A man with dual UK-Iranian citizenship has been arrested in connection with an alleged security incident at an airbase in southwest England over the weekend.

British counter-terrorism police said on Thursday that a “27-year-old man, a dual UK/Iranian national, was arrested” in central London.

He was detained “on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts” as part of an investigation into the events Sunday near RAF Fairford.

A second man, 26 – a UK national – was also “questioned under caution”, the police statement added.

The RAF base 160km west of London has been used by US bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East, including the US and Israel’s war on Iran, which began in February.

On Sunday, five men, all in their 20s and from London, were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and “terrorism” over the incident at RAF Fairford. They have since been released on bail.

“The investigation into circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of enquiry,” Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing for the Metropolitan Police, said in a statement.

“As we’ve made clear, we’re looking at all possible angles – including possible foreign state involvement.”

Earlier, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” that Iran played a role in an alleged security incident.

Iran, however, strongly denied any involvement in the incident and the country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, hit back at Burnham’s allegations.

More to come…

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the UK’s security services have “strong indications” of Iranian involvement in the incident at a British Royal Air Force (RAF) station near Fairford this week in which five men were arrested before they were released on bail.

The five British men were spotted near the airbase and arrested on Sunday on suspicion of “terrorism” and explosives offences, before they were released.

The United States has used the British base to carry out operations in various conflicts, including to deploy bombers in its war against Iran.

Iran has strongly denied any involvement with the airbase incident, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying British authorities are “barking up the wrong tree”.

So, what do we know about the incident, and is there evidence Iran played a role?

What happened at the airbase?

Authorities were alerted to suspicious activity near the base early Sunday morning, including three vans parked oddly and a group of hooded, masked men.

Police responded and arrested five British men in their early 20s in the nearby Whelford area, saying they were suspected of explosives offences. Counter Terrorism police later took over the probe and said the men were suspected of preparing “a terrorist act”.

The suspects were released on bail Monday, but remain subject to “stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others,” according to the United Kingdom’s head of counter terrorism policing, Laurence Taylor.

On Tuesday, after three days of investigations, including using a bomb disposal team, police said they had found no explosives in the vehicles that were parked the near the base, but had retrieved a “quantity of petrol”.

Who is linking the incident to Iran, and have they cited evidence?

Officials in the UK, the US and Israel have all pointed to Iran but offered no details.

Burnham on Wednesday spoke of “strong indications” of Iran’s involvement and said an “ongoing, complex and serious police investigation” is continuing.

However, the prime minister did not give any details on what the suspects were planning or why the UK thinks Iran was involved, saying only that he would “update people more in due course”.

In the US, President Donald Trump said the case “might be” Iran-linked and that the US had been keeping tabs on the suspects “for a long time”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the case “clearly involved the hands of a foreign actor”, without naming a specific state.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had forewarned the UK about a potential “Iranian-sponsored attack”.

How has Iran responded?

Iran has firmly denied involvement.

In a statement on Monday, Iran’s embassy in London said it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns” any attempts to link Iran to the individuals arrested near the airbase.

It said the spread of such “fabricated speculations” fuel “Iranophobia propaganda” and that Iran reserves the right to “take appropriate legal measures”.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the UK was “barking up the wrong tree” by pointing to potential Iranian involvement.

Why has the UK released the suspects on bail?

It is unclear. Under British “counterterrorism law”, police can hold suspects for up to two weeks before charging them. However, if authorities find little evidence to support their initial suspicion of “terrorism”, they would have far less time – usually 24 to 36 hours, said Chris Phillips, a former head of the UK’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office.

“If it’s not an actual terrorist attack, then the police don’t have anywhere near as long to keep them in custody,” said Phillips. “I think the police just need more time to do their enquiries.”

Andrew Silke, professor of criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London, said the suspects could have also been released on bail while under suspicion of “terrorism” if “authorities feel relatively confident that these individuals do not pose an imminent danger of either carrying out or organising a terrorist attack”, such as if they had “peripheral” or “unknowing involvement”.

Afzal Ashraf, a visiting fellow in international relations and security at Loughborough University and a former senior Royal Air Force officer, said the bail release does not necessarily indicate that the “Iranian-involvement hypothesis has been rejected” but it does mean “police have judged that these individuals did not present any immediate danger”.

Taylor, the head of counter terrorism policing, said the men’s release on bail was an “investigative decision” based on “experience and careful considerations of policing powers.” He stressed that the men are bound by “stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others” as the investigation into them continues.

But their release drew backlash in the US from Trump, who said British authorities “should not have done that”.

“How do you give bail to a terrorist?” Trump asked.

Iran’s Araghchi appeared to suggest that the suspects’ release supported Iran’s position that it was not involved.

“I can confirm Iran’s belief that releasing supposed terrorists working for foreign states really says it all,” wrote Araghchi in a post on X.

What questions about the case are still unanswered?

Questions remain about the circumstances in which authorities were initially alerted to suspicious activity near the base, the extent to which they believe the suspects are linked to Iran and what the suspects may have been planning.

According to the BBC, police received two early-morning calls on Sunday regarding suspicious vehicles near the base, the first of which the media understands was made by one of the suspects themselves.

The Times of London reported that police are looking into the suspect’s motives for making such a call, including “whether he got cold feet or whether it was part of the plan”.

Authorities are also probing whether the incident was a form of “surveillance, a ‘dry run’ to test security or a stunt to send a message to the British government”, reported The Times.

Meanwhile, police have suggested they are looking into whether the suspects could have been unwittingly acting on Iran’s behalf.

In an updated briefing on Tuesday, Taylor said officials were examining whether the activity could have been “committed by proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state”.

He also spoke more generally about the “increasing breadth and complexity” of threats facing the UK, saying threats often emerge first as small-scale criminal activity, “committed by individuals whose primary aim is not terrorism but a quick financial gain”.

Phillips told Al Jazeera he believes the suspects could have been recruited online to carry out some type of malicious activity that falls short of a “terrorist attack”.

“It sounds as though these people have been paid online to do some naughty work”, such as “setting fire to something”, said Phillips.

He said both Russia and Iran have allegedly paid “stooges” to carry out such acts in recent years. “At first glance now, it seems that that may be the case, but time will tell,” Phillips added.

Royal Holloway’s Silke also said he believes the evidence suggests “a proxy explanation”.

“Certainly, there have been recent cases in Europe where individuals have been used unwittingly as proxies by foreign governments to carry out activities which have a hostile intent,” he said. “The UK authorities in this case may have assessed that something similar had happened here, and that the individuals involved had no inherent terrorist motivation themselves, but had been caught up unintentionally in a larger plot.”

Has Iran previously been accused of plots in the UK?

Yes. MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said in October 2025 that the agency had tracked “more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots” in the UK within a year.

McCallum alleged that Iran, along with Russia, has resorted to “ugly methods,” such as “surveillance, sabotage, arson or physical violence”.

British Security Minister Dan Jarvis has said Iran often uses criminal proxies to “obfuscate” its involvement in attacks, which have targeted Iranian dissidents and Jewish and Israeli people in the country.

In March this year, British police arrested four people on suspicion of helping Iran spy on the local Jewish community. The month after, police said they were probing possible Iran links to a series of arson attacks on Jewish targets ‌in London.

In June, two Romanian men whom British prosecutors said had acted as proxies for Iran’s government were handed lengthy jail terms for stabbing a British journalist of Iranian origin who wrote for an Iranian media outlet critical of Iran’s government.

Iran’s government has repeatedly denied involvement in any illegal plots or attacks on British.

Brits are continuing to face delays due to the EES system, and queues of five hours were reported just last week at a popular city break destination for those visiting from outside the EU

European Entry/Exit System (EES) continues for Brits with a major European airport confirming that non-EU visitors faced five hour queues last week.

The Brussels Times reports that non-European travellers, including Brits and Americans, were forced to go through staffed control posts leading the the huge queues. In a statement to the Belgian news outlet, the airport confirmed that additional police officers are being trained for the border control posts and they were seeking “structural solutions”.

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson from Brussels Airport said: “Since the introduction of the European Entry/Exit System (EES), border checks for travellers covered by this system have taken longer, as is the case at many other airports. In addition, passengers from certain non-EU countries can no longer use the e-gates. As a result, more passengers need to go through staffed border control points, which has increased waiting times.”

They added: “All parties involved continue to work together on long-term solutions.” The airport spokesperson confirmed the airport had added two extra border control booths for the Federal Police at departures, in addition to two booths that were added at arrivals before the introduction of EES.

They went on to say: “The Federal Police also increased staffing levels on a permanent basis during the summer, and further reinforcements have been planned. More police officers are also being trained to ensure sufficient staffing at border control points, and additional infrastructure needs are being assessed.

“In addition, 60 EES pre-registration kiosks have been installed. These allow non-EU travellers to submit some of their information in advance. The connection between the e-gates and the pre-registration kiosks is still being tested so that, in the future, passengers from certain non-EU countries may be able to use the e-gates again.”

EES launched nearly a year ago, on October 12 2025, before officially becoming operational on April 10 2026. However, over the summer months holidaymakers have reported a myriad of issues with the system.

But no sooner was it launched than countries started to pause, or even shelve the scheme, due to the huge queues snaking through airports. Nine countries have put full EES implementation on hold, despite the fact that the EU said there would be no extension to the deadline. Holiday hotspots such as Greece briefly made an exemption for British holidaymakers over the summer, which has now been reversed, putting them back in the queue.

Over on Reddit, a poster took to the R/Belgium sub with a post titled: “Brussels airport queues should be a national scandal”, asking: “Why are they so bad? EES isn’t new anymore. They hardly have anyone checking passports. Are people in Belgium aware that queuing for 1hr + isn’t normal?”

One poster replied: “If you’ve got a kid under 12 you have to go through a manual check and can’t use the kiosks, and while usually shorter than the all passports line, it can sometimes be long as well. We waited 20-30 minutes last Friday mid morning. The all passport line was all the way along the back of the security screening area. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen more than 3 agents working and an all passport line shorter that didn’t back up into the arrivals corridor. “

Reviews of the airport on Google tell the same story. One visitor said: “The passport control situation at Brussels Airport is completely unacceptable. Every time I arrive and have to use the “All Nationals” queue, I face the same problem: an enormous line and an extremely long wait, sometimes lasting hours.”

They added: “This is an international airport and one of the main gateways to the capital of Europe. Yet the passport control capacity seems completely inadequate for the number of arriving passengers. Hundreds of people are forced to stand in line after long flights because there are simply not enough control points operating to process passengers within a reasonable time.”

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

The Trump administration has warned France and Germany to release emergency diesel reserves to help lower global fuel prices or risk facing a potential US ban on diesel exports, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The warning represents a sharp escalation in Washington’s pressure on European allies as President Donald Trump looks for ways to increase fuel supplies and bring down prices ahead of the November midterm elections.

US officials have become increasingly frustrated with France and Germany, which Washington believes have not fully acted on earlier commitments to release emergency oil and petroleum reserves as global fuel markets face mounting disruptions.

“It is in Europe’s best interest to work with the United States as we pursue multiple pathways to boost the supply of refined products and lower costs for consumers,” a US official told Reuters.

A second source familiar with the discussions said the United States had asked the European Union to release 120 million barrels of diesel over the next six months.

The demand highlights the growing importance of Europe’s fuel reserves at a time when disruptions to major energy-producing regions are tightening global supplies.

Washington Raises Pressure on Europe

The US administration’s warning comes as Trump considers restricting US diesel exports as part of a broader effort to increase domestic supplies and reduce fuel prices for American consumers.

The approach creates a difficult balance for Washington. Limiting exports could increase the amount of diesel available inside the United States, potentially putting downward pressure on domestic prices. But it could simultaneously reduce supplies available to international markets, particularly Europe, which has become increasingly dependent on imported refined fuels.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday that the administration expected European countries to announce additional diesel supplies soon.

“We’ve lost some diesel exports from the Middle East, although we’re restoring those, and we’ve lost diesel exports from China,” Wright told reporters.

The disruptions have exposed the vulnerability of global refined fuel markets to geopolitical conflicts and changes in trade flows.

Germany’s economy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while France’s energy ministry declined to comment.

The White House’s pressure also appears to have become a broader diplomatic issue among Western allies.

An official at the French presidency said Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron did not discuss the issue when they met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last week.

Macron, however, plans to convene a video conference of G7 leaders to address rising fuel prices and the availability of refined petroleum products.

The discussions are expected to include coordination over the release of emergency reserves in cooperation with the International Energy Agency.

Why Europe Matters to the Fuel Market

Europe’s position in the global fuel market has changed substantially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

European countries previously relied heavily on Russian crude oil and refined petroleum products. The subsequent sanctions and restrictions on Russian energy imports forced European governments and companies to find alternative suppliers.

The result has been greater dependence on imports from countries including the United States and suppliers in the Middle East and Asia.

That dependence has become more significant as the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran has disrupted energy flows from the Middle East.

The loss or reduction of refined fuel exports from major suppliers can quickly affect diesel markets because refining capacity cannot always be shifted between regions immediately.

Diesel is particularly important because it powers much of Europe’s commercial transport, heavy industry, agriculture and logistics sectors. Sustained shortages can therefore affect the broader economy rather than simply increasing prices at fuel stations.

The US Faces Its Own Fuel Dilemma

For Trump, the issue also has a strong domestic political dimension.

Fuel prices are highly visible to American consumers, making gasoline and diesel costs politically sensitive ahead of the November midterm elections.

The administration is therefore examining multiple ways to increase available supplies and reduce costs.

But a potential US diesel export ban could have consequences beyond America’s borders.

The United States has become an important supplier of refined petroleum products to international markets. Restricting those exports could tighten supplies elsewhere, potentially pushing international prices higher even if American prices fall.

That creates a difficult policy tradeoff for Washington.

The administration wants to protect US consumers from high fuel costs while maintaining sufficient supply in global markets. European governments, meanwhile, face pressure to use their own emergency reserves even as they seek to maintain energy security following the loss of Russian supplies.

Europe Seeks a Coordinated Response

France appears to be pursuing a broader G7 response rather than treating the issue as a bilateral dispute with Washington.

Macron’s planned meeting would allow the world’s major industrial economies to discuss the availability of refined products and potentially coordinate emergency stock releases through the International Energy Agency.

Such coordination could help prevent individual countries from taking measures that unintentionally worsen shortages elsewhere.

But disagreements over how much fuel should be released, when reserves should be used and who should bear the cost could complicate the process.

Emergency reserves are designed primarily to protect countries against severe supply disruptions. Releasing large quantities can provide temporary relief, but it also reduces the buffer available if another disruption occurs.

That makes Europe’s response particularly consequential at a time when energy markets remain exposed to geopolitical shocks.

A New Test for Transatlantic Energy Relations

The dispute illustrates how the global energy system has become increasingly intertwined with broader geopolitical and trade relationships.

Europe needs reliable fuel supplies after cutting its dependence on Russian energy, while the United States is attempting to use its position as a major energy producer and exporter to address domestic price pressures.

Trump’s warning to France and Germany adds another layer to that relationship by linking European reserve policy to continued access to US diesel exports.

Whether Europe ultimately releases the amount of diesel Washington has requested will depend on national assessments of market conditions, domestic energy security and the risks of further supply disruptions.

For now, the dispute signals that the energy consequences of conflicts in the Middle East are reaching far beyond the region itself.

As the United States and its European allies try to contain fuel prices, they face a common problem but increasingly different pressures over how the burden of stabilising global energy markets should be shared.

With information from Reuters.