Eastern Germany could be on the brink of a tectonic shift in the upcoming state elections, with the far-right AfD and the left-populist BSW predicted to make unprecedented gains, fuelling fears of future ungovernability in large parts of the country.

The EU reacted "extremely" quickly to Greece's request for EU aid to fight wildfires that reached the outskirts of Athens, an EU Commission spokesman said on Tuesday, describing a response that began 12 hours after the government had asked for help.

Intense fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces near a pipeline Russia uses to supply European countries with gas has not disrupted supplies, network operators and gas companies said on Tuesday (13 August).

More than two weeks after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claimed reelection victory, the US and other Western countries are showing little sign of swift tough action over what many of them have condemned as voting fraud.

A far-right Israeli minister drew international condemnation Tuesday (13 August) by praying with thousands of Jews at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem, defying a ban on Jewish prayer at the flashpoint site.

Greece's worst wildfire of the year eased on the outskirts of the capital Athens on Tuesday (13 August) thanks to weaker winds, pausing progress of a destructive blaze that killed one person and torched cars, buildings, fields and forests.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he will step down in September, ending a three-year term marred by political scandals and paving the way for a new premier to address the impact of rising prices.

Ukraine kept pounding the Russian border region of Kursk with missiles and drones on Wednesday (14 August), as Kyiv said it had made further territorial gains in an incursion that US President Joe Biden called a "real dilemma" for the Kremlin's leader.

Bluetongue virus cases have shot up in several European countries, data gathered by AFP on Tuesday (13 August) showed, as farmers are worrying about consequences for sheep and cattle.

On Monday (12 August), the World Health Organisation (WHO) published a report revealing a significant surge in mpox cases, albeit with significant gaps in reporting.

MEP Alvise Pérez, the controversial leader of Spain's new far-right formation Se Acabó la Fiesta, began his weekend “raffling” his MEP salary in exchange for participants handing over a large amount of personal data, which experts say could violate national and European data protection rules. 

Iran's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that calls for restraint regarding Israel from France, Germany and Britain "lack political logic and contradict principles of international law".

Polish billionaire Rafal Brzoska and his wife plan to sue Meta over fake advertisements on Facebook and Instagram that feature his face and false information regarding her circulating on the social media platforms.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump sat Monday (12 August) for a friendly two-hour interview with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk on Musk's social media platform X, after technical problems delayed the start of the event for more than 40 minutes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday (12 August) that Russia had to be forced to make peace as President Vladimir Putin wanted to fight, and that war was coming back to Russia after Moscow had taken it to other countries.

The Paris Olympics delivered a dazzling summertime success that charmed the world and reaffirmed French national pride. But the hangover will be tough.

Israeli forces pressed on with operations near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Monday (12 August) amid an international push for a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and prevent a slide into a wider regional conflict.

The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner on Monday (12 August) said he was "deeply concerned" by an LGBTQ "promotion" ban passed by Bulgaria's parliament, urging President Rumen Radev "not to sign it".

The EU's aims for rail often fall far short of the reality on the ground, says Jon Worth, a cross-border rail enthusiast and campaigner, in an interview with Euractiv.

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for Central Asia to position itself as a link between Asia and Europe and as a separate regional actor in international relations.