Zero's Briefs

Europe — Madrid takes control of the port of Ceuta — The Spanish government ordered control of the port of Ceuta to be taken over in order to set up a temporary tent settlement for more than a thousand migrants; the decision was announced on September 5. The port authority’s board had voted against that location, Cadena SER reports. According to El País, the government has approved up to 309 million euros for the autonomous city.

Europe — Cernobbio discusses joint defense and competitiveness — Saturday at the Villa d’Este Forum was devoted to the “Agenda for Europe”: the architecture of defense and security in the new geopolitical context, the European path to growth and competitiveness, relations with the Mediterranean and the Balkans, and energy sources for the Union’s policies. The same session addressed the role of the United States and the geopolitics of energy, according to the official program. Among the studies presented, one concerns technology strategy and industrial policy for European sovereignty.

Foreign Affairs and Geopolitics — Milei announces sanctions on British companies in the Falklands — Argentine President Javier Milei has announced sanctions against British companies operating in the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, administered by the United Kingdom since the 1833 occupation. The announcement marks a shift from his previous positions, which included praise for Margaret Thatcher. The matter appears in the EFE agency’s September 5 agenda and in a pickup by El Comercio: both trace back to the same agency.

Foreign Affairs and Geopolitics — Camilo Escalona, leader of Chilean socialism, dies — The death of Camilo Escalona, 71, was announced on September 4. T13 notes that he served three times as president of Chile’s Socialist Party and as president of the Senate in 2012. Cooperativa reports the family’s announcement and the party’s statements.

Culture — Festivaletteratura turns thirty with more than three hundred guests — The thirtieth edition is being held in Mantua from Wednesday, September 9 to Sunday, September 13, with over 300 authors taking part in talks, readings, performances, workshops and concerts throughout the historic center. Among the names announced are Niccolò Ammaniti, Emmanuel Carrère, Alessandro Barbero, Daniel Pennac, Amitav Ghosh, Irvine Welsh, Lea Ypi and Tim Berners-Lee, according to the organizers. More than 80 events are free of charge, and online ticket sales opened to the public at 9 a.m. on September 4, ilLibraio.it reports.

Culture — The Kennedy Center dismantles the sculpture “Blue” — The work titled “Blue,” on display at Washington’s Kennedy Center for seven years, has been taken down and removed: the news dates to September 5 and was reported by the US public broadcaster NPR. The story currently comes from a single source; no independent confirmation is available, and neither the reasons for the removal nor the work’s destination are known.

Health — PAHO updates alerts on southern-hemisphere influenza — The Pan American Health Organization published an epidemiological alert on July 1, 2026 concerning seasonal influenza and other respiratory viruses in the southern hemisphere, following an initial alert on April 27 about the start of the season. The same archive includes the March 13 alert on yellow fever and the February 27 alert on the misuse of GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs. The regional alerts run alongside the WHO’s Disease Outbreak News.

Tech & AI — A proposal for a pause on artificial intelligence in Congress — On September 3, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar introduced the “Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act,” which calls for a pause on domestic artificial intelligence development and a push for international reciprocity. In the week before August 18, Sanders had called for a pause in a letter to Sam Altman, Dario Amodei and Mark Zuckerberg. The story currently comes from a single source (a Washington Post article from September 3, picked up in this entry); no independent confirmation is available.

Film & Entertainment — Toronto opens its first film market — The 51st edition of the Canadian festival runs from September 10 to 20 and debuts with TIFF: The Market, from September 10 to 16 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, separate from the event open to the public. It opens with Siân Heder’s “Being Heumann,” premiering worldwide on September 10 at Roy Thomson Hall, IndieWire announces; it closes with Yan Lanouette Turgeon’s “Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend.” Among the added previews, Zack Snyder’s “The Last Photograph” on September 13, Deadline reports.

The Number of the Day — 1.69 million voters in Saxony-Anhalt — That is the estimated number of eligible voters for the renewal of the Landtag, which votes today from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with fifteen regional lists in the running. The estimate comes from the Landeswahlleiterin and is based on population data as of December 31, 2024.

On This Day — “Col cuore in gola” from 1967 revived at the Lido — Tinto Brass’s 1967 film was chosen as the pre-opening screening of the 83rd Venice Film Festival and was shown on Tuesday, September 1 in the Sala Darsena, according to the Venice Biennale. The same edition is awarding two Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement, to George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn.