This month, applause echoed through the hall of the United Nations General Assembly after the adoption of the so-called New York Declaration on reviving the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

The initiative, launched by France and Saudi Arabia, was adopted by a large majority – 142 countries – and represents a rare ray of hope in one of the most devastating crises of our time, write in an article for the Guardian Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain and President of the Socialist International, Magdalena Andersson, former Prime Minister of Sweden and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Frans Timmermans, leader of the Greens–Left–Labour alliance in the Netherlands, Elly Schlein, leader of the Democratic Party in Italy, and Stefan Löfven, former Prime Minister of Sweden and President of the Party of European Socialists and Democrats.

Separately, the conclusions of the UN Commission of Inquiry echoed warnings by human rights organizations and genocide experts who have for months claimed: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza – reports Danas.

As the ground invasion in Gaza City intensifies, the international community has a legal and moral obligation to react. This includes the urgent imposition of sanctions on the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to halt war crimes.

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This year’s United Nations General Assembly in New York is of key importance not only because of confronting the atrocities unfolding in Gaza, but also for making progress toward the long-delayed recognition of the Palestinian state.

For Europe in particular, given that the EU’s global reputation has been called into question because of its response to the war in Gaza, the gathering of world leaders represents a litmus test.

More than three decades after Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin formalized the “Oslo Accords” with a handshake, peace seems more distant than ever.

Although European countries and institutions formally support the idea of a sustainable two-state solution, the situation on the ground shows that more decisive and principled measures are needed.

As crimes in Gaza continue, the Israeli government is seriously and openly undermining the possibility of Palestinian self-determination.

The Government of Israel is expanding settlements in the West Bank, in complete violation of international law, and allowing settler violence without any consequences. It is also undermining the Palestinian Authority by withholding tax revenues, making it difficult to pay salaries and provide basic services.

EU countries such as Sweden and Spain have already recognized Palestine. After France announced in July that it would recognize Palestine, the United Kingdom, Malta, Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, Canada, and Australia have already done so or expressed their intention to do so soon.

Further recognition by European states would only strengthen this momentum, sending a clear and united message that the EU remains committed to the two-state solution.

There is still much to be done. While we work to put pressure on Israel to stop war crimes and cease undermining the prospects of a Palestinian state, the EU must simultaneously work on strengthening Palestine through concrete measures.

As early as 1997, the EU signed an interim association agreement with the Palestinian Authority. In light of growing settler violence in the occupied West Bank and the Israeli government’s settlement project in the so-called E1 area – which in practice would cut off the West Bank from East Jerusalem and divide the territory in two – the time has come to take a step further.

Upgrading the EU’s relations with Palestine to a full association agreement, which would include increased financial support, expanded trade relations, and a more structured political dialogue, represents a necessary step to strengthen the Palestinian Authority’s state-building efforts and confirm the EU’s commitment to the two-state solution.

According to Netanyahu, the two-state solution is not in line with Israel’s security interests. The truth is exactly the opposite.

Peace and security for Israel require sovereignty and security for both Israel and Palestine. Israel cannot deny Palestine that right while at the same time not undermining the possibility of a conciliatory dialogue. Palestinians, just like Israelis, deserve freedom, security, and dignity, the authors conclude.

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated today that there is currently no conclusive scientific evidence confirming a possible link between autism and the use of paracetamol during pregnancy.

In a statement released by the WHO, reported by Reuters, it is noted that no consistent association has so far been established between autism and the use of paracetamol.

U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier linked autism to childhood vaccinations and the use of the painkiller "Tylenol" by women during pregnancy, bringing claims unsupported by scientific evidence to the forefront of U.S. health policy. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated today that there is currently no conclusive scientific evidence confirming a possible link between autism and the use of paracetamol during pregnancy.

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In a statement released by the WHO, reported by Reuters, it is noted that no consistent association has so far been established between autism and the use of paracetamol.

U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier linked autism to childhood vaccinations and the use of the painkiller "Tylenol" by women during pregnancy, bringing claims unsupported by scientific evidence to the forefront of U.S. health policy.

Tens of thousands of people protested today in Budapest against the public consultations that the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban is holding, which, according to the demonstrators, serve party purposes while using public funds.

The Hungarian government plans to launch public consultations on taxation in October, after a pro-government website claimed that the opposition plans to raise taxes if it wins the parliamentary elections in April 2026.

The TISA party of conservative opposition leader Peter Magyar, which is leading in opinion polls, denied having such plans and accused Orban of “spreading lies” ahead of the elections.

Orban regularly organizes consultations in the form of questionnaires that, according to the opposition, are worded very suggestively and aimed at creating the impression of greater support than he and his Fidesz party actually have – reports Danas.

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The questionnaires are sent by mail, accompanied by advertisements broadcast on television and online platforms.

According to the organizers, around 50,000 people gathered today at Heroes’ Square in Budapest, while the authorities have not yet released their estimates.

The opposition believes that Orban is conducting a massive consultation campaign to divert attention from public debate and avoid addressing important general political issues.

The most recent campaign, aimed at strengthening Orban’s veto on the opening of European Union (EU) accession negotiations with Ukraine, cost 27.7 million euros, according to the Hungarian weekly HVG.

Orban denies that it is propaganda.

During mass protests held today across France at the call of trade unions against the government’s proposal to drastically cut budget spending, 309 people were arrested, and 134 were placed in custody, announced Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau this evening, adding that 26 police officers were injured in the clashes.

Retailleau stated that around 500,000 people took part in all protests, while organizers claim that one million people gathered.

Public transport was disrupted today, with many metro lines in Paris closed, while demonstrators blocked roads and streets in major cities across France.

Students gathered in front of schools and universities, blocking entrances and chanting slogans, joined by a large number of teachers.

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Pharmacists also massively joined the strike, and the president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions, Philippe Besse, stated that 98 percent of about 20,000 pharmacies in France were closed.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said this evening that he will meet again with union representatives in the coming days in an attempt to reach a compromise on the budget.

Lazar and Tara, two students of the University of Belgrade in their early twenties, clearly remember how the protests began for them, writes Bloomberg.

It was in November last year, after the tragedy at the Railway Station in Novi Sad that claimed 16 lives, sparking anger. The police clashed with some of their peers from the drama school who had blocked a boulevard in the Serbian capital.

The protest movement was more spontaneous than organized. Yet, ten months later, demonstrations against President Aleksandar Vučić and the government are still ongoing, with new violent scenes breaking out during the summer and revealing an anger that bodes ill for Europe – reports Danas.

Protesters claim that Aleksandar Vučić is undermining democracy, allowing corruption and cronyism to flourish, and are demanding early elections.

But what they want to happen afterward is far from clear in a country that has received a lot of money from the European Union, whose leadership courts Brussels, yet where polls are only now showing that only a third of people want to join that bloc.

Disillusionment in Serbia contrasts with anti-government movements in Hungary, Slovakia, and other parts of the region, which are led by pro-European opponents of nationalist leaders.

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Student activists in Belgrade, who identify only by their first names and take turns speaking on behalf of the group, say they do not care from which side of the political spectrum they get support. They say they are organizing with one goal – to get rid of the current government in Serbia.

“The primary goal is regime change,” said Lazar, one of the activists, in an interview at a Belgrade café. “If it comes to the point where a liberal student movement has to cooperate with right-wing parties in a coalition, that’s the price our candidates or authorities are willing to pay. It all depends on the outcome of the elections.”

The protests are the largest in Serbia since the time of authoritarian leader Slobodan Milošević, damaging the country’s reputation as a stable and profitable place for business. The central bank warned there is a risk that unrest could affect investments.

Control over much of the executive and legislative powers, and even parts of the judiciary, has been used by Vučić to attract investments, especially from the EU and China, and to launch an unprecedented economic boom. Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has the Serbian government’s blessing to build a $500 million Trump hotel in Belgrade.

Vučić stands firm. He blames what he calls 23,000 unauthorized gatherings for disturbing order in the country, which during his 11 years in power has sought to balance its relations with Brussels, Beijing, and Moscow.

The scale of the protests has declined from a peak of 300,000 people to sometimes just a few hundred. Students who had barricaded themselves at universities and relied on food donations from the public have mostly returned to lectures. There were also counter-protests in front of the presidential palace in Belgrade in support of Vučić.

But anger runs deep, with regular clashes with authorities and accusations of police brutality. Opposing groups clashed in several cities in August and held rival demonstrations this month.

“We are in a situation where neither side, no matter how optimistic they sound in public, has enough strength to turn things in their favor,” said Bojan Klačar, director of the Belgrade-based Center for Free Elections and Democracy. “It’s like two boxers in the 12th round unable to knock each other out.”

For Europe, there is a risk it cannot allow Serbia to slip out of its orbit. Serbia is a key pillar of the Balkans, and EU leaders say that Union membership is crucial to counter Russian and Chinese influence in this unstable region.

Research published by Eurobarometer on September 2 showed that there is general support for EU accession in the region, except in Serbia. Only 33 percent of respondents want membership, compared to 91 percent in Albania and 69 percent in North Macedonia.

“While a good part of Serbian citizens are critical of Vučić’s regime, they also seem equally opposed to Serbia’s European future,” said Tonino Picula, the European Parliament’s special rapporteur for Serbia. “At the moment, there seems to be no consensus on which path Serbia should take, and that’s a serious problem for the country and its neighbors.”

Activists interviewed by Bloomberg see Vučić as a man who facilitates cooperation with Europe, since he has struck business deals on planned lithium supply or defense to gain support.

There is also the seemingly unsolvable issue of Serbia not giving up on Kosovo. Belgrade does not recognize the former province’s statehood, while EU membership requires the two countries to mend relations. While Vučić is criticized abroad for fueling tensions with Kosovo, at home many protesters see him as a leader who has failed to protect the shrinking Serbian population there.

Tara said that the country must respect its own Constitution, which defines Kosovo as part of Serbia. “The student movement would not sacrifice Kosovo,” she added.

“We don’t have EU flags for the same reason we don’t carry Russian, Ukrainian, Israeli, or Palestinian flags,” said Lazar.

“Our demands are focused on domestic issues, to finally see the proper functioning of institutions.”

When elections are announced, Lazar and Tara say the demands regarding economic policy, defense, and relations with Kosovo will be clearer. Key decisions should be made by Serbs in a referendum. The movement may currently resemble the radical left, but that can change, they say.

This makes the activists a difficult political opponent. Vučić said that the students’ initial demands were met: an investigation into the Novi Sad accident was carried out, the prime minister resigned in January taking responsibility, and education funding was increased. But he claims that the protesters are not interested in democratic change.

Many of them, he said at a rally on September 7, are “criminals in masks” who attack the police, dismissing allegations of brutality by individual officers. The demand for early elections is false and aims to stir up more unrest, he said. “They want to come to power without elections and, if possible, to do everything to make Serbia stumble, to weaken Serbia,” Vučić said.

While Vučić refuses to yield, he said that elections will be held before the 2027 deadline. For their part, protesters say they are vetting potential candidates in order to have a list of 250 deputies ready for any early elections.

So far, political influence on Vučić has been minimal, despite apparent impressions. Polls of the main parties show no significant drop in his popularity in Serbia, and he still enjoys the support of EU leaders because he is a known and predictable figure, according to Western officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

“We are now in a stalemate,” said Florian Bieber, professor of Southeast European history and politics at the University of Graz, Austria. “Vučić controls all institutions, protesters control the streets. They are in a deadlock. We have no idea how this will end.”

At least 50,000 people took part today in demonstrations organized by Turkey's main opposition party CHP in Ankara, ahead of a possible court-ordered removal of the party’s leadership, organizers reported.

Wearing T-shirts with the image of the founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, they waved Turkish flags.

The vice president of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Murat Bakan, said that there were 50,000 participants in the demonstrations.

The party leader Özgür Özel stated that this was a rally against a “coup” being prepared against CHP.

“This government does not want democracy. It knows it cannot win elections if democracy exists. It does not want justice because it knows that if justice is served, it will not be able to cover up its crimes,” Özel said.

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A court hearing tomorrow in Ankara aims to annul the results of the CHP congress from November 2023 due to alleged electoral fraud.

Özel was elected as party leader at that congress.

Critics argue that the court case is designed to weaken CHP, the oldest political party in Turkey, which convincingly defeated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party in the 2024 local elections and has been leading in opinion polls.

In the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), journalist Michael Martens published an analysis entitled “False Friends,” dealing with the relationship between the authorities in Serbia and Russia, as well as the cooperation of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

The article by Michael Martens is fully republished by N1:

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić calls Putin an ally. That is why the European People’s Party questions the membership of his party. Should the Konrad Adenauer Foundation still cooperate with it?

Hardly any European head of government has recently spoken so clearly about the Russian dictator as Friedrich Merz. The statement of the German chancellor at the beginning of September, that Vladimir Putin was “perhaps the most serious war criminal of our time,” was not the first of its kind, writes Martens in his article for the German paper.

“Russia does not only threaten Ukraine, Russia threatens the entire peace, the entire political order of our continent,” Merz said before the NATO summit in June. And what the chancellor and CDU president says, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation cannot simply ignore. It is formally independent, but as with every party-affiliated foundation, it still belongs to that family.

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KAS, as it is abbreviated, was founded in 1955 out of the “Society for Christian-Democratic Educational Work”, established by several CDU politicians. Since 2018, it has been led by former Bundestag president Norbert Lammert. The foundation is dedicated to strengthening democracy under a Christian-democratic framework. Like other party foundations, it is financed from taxpayers’ money and has built up a network of offices in Germany and abroad. It has 18 offices in Germany, more than 100 abroad in over 80 countries with about 1,000 employees. Every year, they organize numerous events and seminars with tens of thousands of participants. Thus, KAS also represents an image of Germany abroad.

It has been particularly strong for decades in Southeastern Europe. The work of 15 offices between Athens and Bratislava attracts much attention – and usually high praise. This especially applies to the six Western Balkan countries that are not EU members but aspire to join. Unlike in India or China, where German positions are barely noticed, the word of Germany still matters in the Balkans. The prestige of the EU’s largest economy also reflects on the offices of German foundations. Seminars and publications of KAS in Tirana, Sarajevo, and Belgrade are carefully followed. The scholarship program, which has supported thousands of young people over decades, is particularly popular and has significantly boosted many careers in the region. Montenegro’s president Jakov Milatović was a KAS scholarship holder. There are many other examples.

In Serbia, however – the largest of the six Balkan states with about six and a half million inhabitants – KAS is currently losing some of its reputation. There, it cooperates with SNS, the “Serbian Progressive Party” of the autocratic and anti-EU-oriented president Aleksandar Vučić. This is a dilemma for the foundation. On the one hand, since 2016 SNS has been an associate member of the European People’s Party (EPP), making it a natural partner in Serbia. On the other hand, this cooperation increasingly contradicts the foundation’s mission – strengthening democracy. It irritates those citizens of Serbia who care about the rule of law, separation of powers, and independent media – in short, a functioning democracy.

Vučić hopes that Putin will remain in power for many years. He sees Serbia and Russia as strategic partners fighting threats together.

Vučić and SNS, however, benefit from this cooperation. They systematically use it to suggest they are still highly valued in the West. At the celebration of 25 years of KAS in Belgrade in 2022, then Prime Minister Ana Brnabić praised the foundation as “one of the most important partners of the Serbian government.” Brnabić is a capable technocrat but also a hardliner in Vučić’s system of power. She called students protesting for months against Serbia’s political situation “terrorists,” while the president called his opponents “scum.” The government thereby sends a message to students through cooperation with Western organizations: you have no chance, the West is on our side.

SNS president and former prime minister Miloš Vučević met in May with the head of KAS’s Belgrade office, and pictures were immediately distributed by pro-government media. Vučević said that cooperation with the CDU remains “one of SNS’s foreign policy priorities.”

But Vučić’s real priorities for years have been more in Beijing and Moscow than in Berlin or Brussels. A symbol of this is Aleksandar Vulin, one of Vučić’s most loyal associates. He has been defense minister, police minister, coordinator of intelligence services, and deputy prime minister. At a meeting with Putin in September 2024, he conveyed “personal, cordial, brotherly greetings from President Aleksandar Vučić” and the wish for Putin to lead Russia for many more years. “Serbia and Russia are not only strategic partners, Serbia and Russia are true friends, and the threats facing both countries strengthen our need to fight together – even more organized and united,” Vulin said as police minister on behalf of the government. Recently, he spoke with former KGB chief Nikolai Patrushev about cooperation. “We are allies,” Vulin confirmed in March after Vučić’s conversation with Putin.

F.A.Z. asked KAS how it explains the fact that chancellor Merz calls Putin a war criminal and the greatest threat to peace in Europe, while the foundation of his party in Belgrade nurtures closeness with a government that sees Putin as an ally. A spokesman replied: “Since October 2022, cooperation with the ruling EPP party SNS has focused exclusively on political dialogue, during which different and critical positions are also articulated.”

However, little of these critical positions can be seen in Belgrade. When F.A.Z. asked leading figures in Serbia in writing what they thought of the cooperation between the Adenauer Foundation and SNS, the responses came quickly and in such numbers that only a small part can be mentioned here.

Sonja Biserko, president of the Helsinki Committee in Belgrade and for decades one of the best-known human rights activists, described the cooperation as part of a broader phenomenon: “Berlin has always considered Aleksandar Vučić a ‘stable partner,’ even though his anti-democratic and anti-European policies have been obvious for more than a decade.”

Under Vučić and SNS, Serbia has recorded democratic setbacks, while support for EU membership has dropped to a record low of 40 percent. Vučić and SNS treat the opposition, civil society, and independent media “as enemies to be destroyed – which, unfortunately, many in the EU notice only when Vučić starts using the same methods against their foundations, politicians, or journalists. It is finally high time for KAS to end cooperation with SNS,” said Filip Ejdus, professor of security policy.

Doctoral candidate Nevena Mijatović, a participant in a KAS scholarship event in early September, warned that KAS risks losing precisely the young people in Serbia it seeks to engage. “If KAS wants to remain an ally of Serbian civil society in developing democracy, its educational programs must openly address the authoritarian practices of the SNS regime and value acts of civic resistance,” she said. “Otherwise, the foundation risks losing the trust of young people or, even worse, unconsciously directing their loyalty to a regime that is destroying democracy.”

In the European People’s Party, the situation in Serbia is now being assessed more critically than before. “We are aware of what is happening, we see the pictures, we see what is going on,” said EPP president Manfred Weber on Tuesday. “EPP does not close its eyes to what is happening in Serbia, and that is why, as president, I will initiate proceedings against Vučić and his party’s membership in our family. This will happen in the coming days.”

Many Serbian citizens, who value a democratic future and potential EU membership, hope that KAS will follow this example and end its partnership with SNS.

The Dutch broadcasting company AVROTROS announced today that the Netherlands will boycott the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 if Israel is allowed to participate, citing the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip as the reason.

"AVROTROS can no longer justify Israel's participation in the current situation, given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza," the company's statement said – reports Sombor.info.

AVROTROS stated that it had held talks with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) regarding Israel’s participation in 2026, and also expressed concern over the "serious erosion of press freedom" through the Israeli government’s interference in last year’s edition, claiming that the event was used as a "political instrument," reports NL Times.

The Netherlands is the fifth country to threaten a boycott of Eurovision if Israel participates, following earlier announcements by Iceland, Spain, Slovenia, and Ireland.

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In the past two years, because of Israel’s participation, this music competition has been marked by pro-Palestinian protests, and last year the victory went to the Israeli representative, which raised questions about the way the performance had been promoted beforehand.