EUROPE - It’s ironic that the Ceuta surge came as illegal crossings into Europe were falling. Schengen members want it to stay that way. The sharp response from Spain’s EU neighbours to the influx of about 60,000 migrants into Ceuta has highlighted long-simmering tensions over migration and the Schengen agreement, which allows passport-free travel between 29 European nations. Europe’s leaders seem worried that pictures and videos of the dramatic scenes in Ceuta, a small Spanish territory in north Africa, will stir memories of the 2015 migrant crisis that upended the continent’s politics, fuelling greater support for right-wing populist parties in multiple countries. Mindful of this legacy, many EU countries have united in their criticism of Spain and left Pedro Sánchez, the country’s Socialist prime minister, increasingly isolated on the left.

SOUTH KOREA - According to a report from 24/7 Wall St, South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index plunged 10.84 percent overnight, delivering a sharp jolt to global semiconductor investors and sending shockwaves through US premarket trading. Memory chip giants led the collapse. Samsung Electronics sank 13.39 percent while SK Hynix tumbled 14.65 percent. The sell-off quickly crossed the Pacific. As of 6:30am Eastern time, Nasdaq futures were down 0.84 percent and semiconductor names were falling even harder, even as Dow futures edged up 0.21 percent.

UK - BP is putting its North Sea business up for sale as it seeks to end six decades of oil and gas production in the basin. Ministers were told the bombshell announcement this morning should serve as a 'deadly serious wake up call' over the future of Britain's huge natural resource. The move has been blamed on the impact of punitive taxes and the Government's Net Zero drive, which has been spearheaded by Labour's Ed Miliband. It comes just a day after Prime Minister Andy Burnham admitted that North Sea oil revenues could ease the cost of living crisis. Experts have predicted that lifting the ban imposed by Mr Miliband when he was energy secretary could generate £25 billion in extra tax revenues for the UK over the next decade and support thousands of jobs.

IRAN - Iran has warned that it stands fully prepared to target key Israeli infrastructure and American energy installations throughout the region should it come under attack, following reports that Washington and Tel Aviv may be coordinating new military operations against the Islamic Republic. A senior Iranian security official told Tasnim News Agency on Friday that Western media reports regarding prospective strikes on Iranian infrastructure represented “a kind of madness”. According to Tasnim, the official stated that Tehran has formulated comprehensive retaliatory strategies encompassing strikes on critical installations in Israel and US energy assets across the Middle East, asserting that Iran maintains complete readiness to execute these measures if provoked.

MIDDLE EAST - To the ears of those who have been brought up with Western values, it may sound natural to separate Islam from Sharia. But the two are inseparable. Islam is a complete system of belief, worship, law, morality, family life and public order. The word “Islam” means submission or surrender to the will of Allah. Sharia is the practical embodiment of that surrender, Mohamad Faridi explains. A Muslim is “one who has surrendered.” The will of Allah is not primarily a matter of inner spirituality or personal interpretation. It is explicitly and comprehensively revealed in the Quran – regarded as the literal, verbatim words of Allah – and in the Sunnah, the example of Muhammad preserved in Hadith literature. Sharia is not limited to prayer, fasting, and charity (the Five Pillars, which are themselves part of Sharia). It is a total system regulating family law, diet, dress code, inheritance, criminal justice (hudud punishments), finance, governance, warfare, and social relations with non-Muslims.

IRAN - President Trump has repeatedly said that China's President Xi Jinping has directly assured him that Beijing will not supply Iran with weaponry or military support. But this week these 'assurances' have been called into question by an Reuters investigation. "Iran is expected to receive within weeks a first shipment out of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers, three sources familiar with the deal told ​Reuters, as it rebuilds its defenses amid war with the United States," the fresh report says. As for Reuters' findings, Beijing as expected has blasted them as lies. China's Foreign Ministry said in response: "The relevant reports are completely groundless. China has consistently played a role ⁠in promoting peace and ending the conflict."

YEMEN - The Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Iran are reportedly considering a plan to extort “fees” for safe passage of international shipping vessels in the Red Sea, modeled on Iran’s plans to collect ransoms for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters on Wednesday quoted “regional sources with knowledge of the matter” who said the Houthis are contemplating a plan to impose “fees” on ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

USA - The US has launched a review of its military presence in Europe weeks after Pete Hegseth criticised NATO allies for prioritising welfare over defence spending. “This will be a real review, designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe taking primary responsibility for its conventional defence,” Elbridge Colby, the US undersecretary of war, said. “The outcome of this review will be an acceleration of NATO’s transition to a stronger, more equitable and sustainable alliance.” The six-month review was first announced by Hegseth, the war secretary, in June during a tense NATO ministerial meeting, during which he lashed out at countries that “have yet to show a credible path” to meeting their commitments for higher defence spending.

UK - Drought has been declared across half of England after a spell of record-breaking heat. The Environment Agency (EA) said seven areas of central, eastern and southern England were in drought following record low rainfall and high temperatures. The affected areas are Hertfordshire and the whole of London, East Anglia, Thames Valley, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, the West Midlands and Wessex, which covers Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, and south Gloucestershire. Amber health warnings for heat are in place for the East Midlands, the East of England, the South East and London from Tuesday to Thursday, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 35C on Wednesday. The current drought means there have been three droughts in the past five years – 2022, 2025 and now 2026.

UK - Hundreds of people have been evacuated overnight after a large wildfire broke out on heathland in Suffolk during Britain’s fourth heatwave of the summer. A major incident was declared after 90 firefighters were deployed to tackle the blaze at Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, which broke out about 5.30 pm on Wednesday evening and has continued into Thursday morning. It began near the Coastguard Cottages, which are National Trust properties on the Suffolk coastline, and is “spreading rapidly” south-west. Suffolk county council announced that it was evacuating about 200 caravans at the Cliff House Holiday Park. This was carried out successfully.