Zero's Briefs

World — Iran, two executions linked to January protests — Iranian authorities have executed two men arrested during the protests of January 2026, according to the Mizan agency (Iranian state agency). Tehran meanwhile reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until its conditions are met. US News & World Report

World — Kyiv hit during visit by German chancellor Merz — The Ukrainian capital was hit by a Russian strike while German chancellor Friedrich Merz was visiting; according to early reports a bridge was damaged. Zelensky stated that the United States wants a trilateral meeting in October. Sky TG24

Europe — Kallas: Russia is putting lives at risk in Europe with hybrid attacks — EU High Representative Kaja Kallas has denounced that Russia is putting lives at risk across Europe through hybrid attacks. The news currently comes from a single source; no independent confirmation available. US News & World Report

Europe — Head of German intelligence warns of risk of conflict with Russia — In a public hearing before the Bundestag, the president of the foreign intelligence service Martin Jäger cited the attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle airport as an example of the Russian threat; the head of domestic intelligence reported espionage and sabotage activity against transport, defense and military infrastructure. The foreign service does not, at present, report indications of a large-scale Russian attack on Nato territory. Tagesschau

News — Fire on ship in the Black Sea, two dead — Two people died and eleven were rescued after a fire broke out aboard a ship off the coast of Romania, according to Romanian authorities. The news currently comes from a single source. US News & World Report

News — Two migrants dead in the Channel — French authorities have reported the deaths of two men aboard a boat heading toward Great Britain. The news currently comes from a single source. US News & World Report

Italy — Former Ilva, shutdown of blast furnaces by October confirmed — The Court of Appeal of Milan has confirmed the shutdown of the hot area of the former Ilva plant in Taranto: the blast furnaces will begin shutting down on October 8, without waiting for the ruling of the Court of Cassation. Il Sole 24 Ore

Tech — Anthropic asks Claude users for their voice to train AI — Anthropic has introduced a voluntary option, off by default, that allows users to share voice recordings to improve its models, separate from the authorization already provided for text conversations. Quotidiano Nazionale