Zero's Briefs

Italy — Interior Ministry extends Schengen suspension with Spain — The Ministry of the Interior has ordered a further 15-day extension of the suspension of free movement rules with Spain, as part of internal border control measures. Source: ANSA.

Italy — Italian October opens with two general strikes — The month includes mobilizations on October 2 and October 30, affecting transport, schools and healthcare; a national sector-wide mobilization for schools is added on October 16. Source: Leggo.

Europe — Burnham revives prospect of UK return to the EU — In his first speech to the Labour Party conference, Andy Burnham reopened debate on London-Brussels relations, including a possible full re-accession. The UK-EU summit remains scheduled for November 20. Source: AmeVe.

Europe — Madrid cuts fuel prices by 20 cents — The Spanish government is applying a reduction of 20 euro cents per liter on unleaded petrol and diesel in October, which will fall to 13 cents in November and 6 cents in December. Source: La Moncloa, Boletín Oficial del Estado.

Foreign Affairs and Geopolitics — Seoul accuses Pyongyang of violating armistice in demilitarized zone — After a mine exploded in the demilitarized zone, Seoul demanded that Pyongyang halt fortification works at the border and issue formal apologies. The United Nations Command stated that North Korea had violated the armistice agreement. Source: SBS News.

Foreign Affairs and Geopolitics — Trump announces $200 billion in South Korean energy investments in the US — The US president pointed to three energy projects, including eight nuclear reactors and the Alaska LNG pipeline; Seoul considers its participation in the Alaska project still under review. Sources: Yonhap News Agency, Newsis.

Economy and Markets — Office Depot France files for court-supervised administration — The chain, controlled by the Alkor cooperative and with 27 stores and 185 employees, declared a cessation of payments and requested the opening of the procedure. Source: Le Monde.

Culture — Five discoveries in the running for the 2026 Palmyra Award — The international prize for the year’s archaeological discovery will be awarded on October 30 in Paestum; finalists include a Roman hypogeum-mausoleum in Albania and the submerged port of Taposiris Magna in Egypt. Source: Artribune.

Culture — Three archaeological digs resume in Polesine — After a year-long halt, excavation campaigns at Villamarzana, Frattesina and San Basilio have resumed and will run until October 2, led by the universities of Padua, Sapienza Rome and Ca’ Foscari Venice. Source: Archeologia Voci dal Passato.

Health — Covid cases rise again in Italy and worldwide — The World Health Organization’s dashboard records 69,575 new global cases between August 10 and September 6, up from 47,506 in the previous period, driven by new Omicron sub-variants. Source: Pazienti.it.

Health — Study redefines radiotherapy’s role in breast cancer — The research, coordinated by Milan’s National Cancer Institute and published in eClinicalMedicine (a Lancet group journal), examines the role of radiotherapy in high-risk HER2-positive cases in the era of advanced biologic drugs. The available source does not specify sample size, method or research phase, nor does it disclose any potential conflicts of interest among the authors. Source: InSaluteNews.

Tech & AI — Hubble discovers ten-sided atmospheric wave on Saturn — Observations from the space telescope have for the first time revealed a regular ten-sided pattern around the planet’s south pole, similar to but distinct from the famous north-pole hexagon. Source: ESA/Hubble.

Tech & AI — WHO calls for stronger ethical oversight of AI in medicine — A World Health Organization report identifies ethical issues in the use of artificial intelligence in health research and calls for shared responsibility among funders, scientific journals and ethics committees. Source: Sanità Informazione.

Cinema & Entertainment — Chiikawa stays atop Japanese box office — The animated film has surpassed 165 billion yen in cumulative earnings as of September 23 and leads the 2026 annual ranking with around 139 billion yen; in Malaysia it reportedly set, according to reports circulating on social media, a record for a Japanese animated work. Source: Kogyo Tsushin, Pixiin.

Today’s Number — €547 billion for European defense by 2029 — The first annual defense readiness report from the European agency, led by Kaja Kallas, estimates spending of up to this figure; the data will be discussed at the European Council meeting on October 15-16. Source: Quotidiano Nazionale.

On This Day — 2003, US intervention in Iraq begins — The US military occupation that began that year officially ended yesterday, after 23 years, with the completion of the troop withdrawal announced by the Pentagon. Source: Armées.com.