In today's edition of Capitals, find out more about the surge in irregular migration in Spain this August, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni interrupting her holiday to discuss the country's future Commissioner with Salvini, and much more.

Germany's far-left Linke party said Sunday (18 August) it would replace its leadership duo later this year as it battles to overcome an "existential" crisis following a series of setbacks.

Russia on Sunday (18 August) denied a report that Ukraine's attack on the Kursk region had derailed indirect talks with Kyiv on halting strikes on energy and power targets, and launched another series of air attacks, including on Kyiv.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev did not veto the new anti-LGBTI law banning any kind of educational programmes on 'non-traditional sexual orientation' in Bulgarian schools, ignoring calls from the Council of Europe and civil society activists to veto it.

The City of Prague has cancelled plans to award a contract to PORR for the construction of the Nová Palmovka building, which is to become the new headquarters of the EU's space agency.

Polish mercenaries fought arm-in-arm with Ukrainian forces in the Kursk offensive, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told Russian state television, misquoting Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak.

On World Humanitarian Day, the EU and its member states should consider addressing the double standards that put humanitarian workers at increased risk, writes Jean-Yves Terlinden.

Irregular migrant arrivals from Africa reached record levels in Spain in the first two weeks of August with increases of 126% in the Canary Islands and 143% in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, leaving regions crying out for help.

The Philippines and China accused each other on Monday (19 August) of ramming vessels and performing dangerous manoeuvres in the South China Sea.

By only focusing on firefighting without a prevention-focused holistic approach, it will be hard for the EU countries to face future wildfires, an expert from Greece, where thousands of hectares of forest were again burned in a couple of days, told Euractiv.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni briefly interrupted her summer holiday to meet Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini at the Masseria in Puglia to discuss the Italian candidate for EU commissioner,

Norway is becoming increasingly concerned about Swedish criminal gangs, already known for their crimes in Denmark, where they operate throughout the country and are linked to a number of serious violent crimes. 

Leaders of the leftist France insoumise (LFI) party have threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Emmanuel Macron for what they describe as an “institutional coup against democracy” in the appointment of the next prime minister.

Due to budgetary constraints, Germany will not give Ukraine any fresh cash, as, according to the government, support should primarily be financed from interest on frozen Russian assets.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday (18 August) on another Middle East tour to push for a ceasefire in Gaza but Hamas raised doubts about the mission just hours after he landed by accusing Israel of undermining his efforts.

In this episode, host Giada Santana and Bram Vranken, a researcher at the Corporate Europe Observatory, dive into the murky waters of lobbying politics.

Panic spread quickly among local Russian residents in the early hours of Ukraine ‘s 6 August assault in the Russian Kursk region, despite repeated attempts by authorities to assure them that everything was under control.

Safety at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is deteriorating following a drone strike that hit a perimeter access road on Saturday (17 August), according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Mariano Grossi.

Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Friday (16 August) that Kyiv's forces were advancing between one and three kilometres in some areas in the Kursk region, 11 days since beginning an incursion into Russia.

Detectives in Ireland on Friday (16 August) probed a possible terrorism link after a teenager allegedly stabbed an army chaplain outside a barracks in the western city of Galway.