Eurotopics.net

Demographic and social trends are fuelling debate in Europe. The proportion of older people in the total population is increasing while the working-age population decreases, putting a severe strain on pension systems. Birth rates are also falling, and the option of using immigration to rebalance the social security systems is highly contentious.

The early hours of Thursday morning saw a new barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks on the Kyiv metropolitan area in which 16 people were killed. President Volodmyr Zelensky has urged Western partners to provide swift assistance with air defence. Meanwhile, Ukraine is sending salvoes of drones into Russia. According to the mayor of Moscow, as many as 620 drones hit the capital region on Tuesday night.

A Romanian F-16 fighter jet has destroyed an explosive maritime drone in the Black Sea. According to the Ministry of Defence, the sea drone was near a production platform in Romania's Neptun Deep gas field, where hundreds of people are working. Romania's President Nicusor Dan has blamed Russia for the incident.

With the two-month negotiation period between Iran and the US now over, there is still no sign of a deal. Trump has threatened to wage an economic war against Iran, adding that the US will punish any country that supports Iran. The president directed particularly harsh words at Oman, saying the US would "bomb the shit" out of it if it gets in its way. Tehran has threatened to launch attacks on US allies in retaliation.

France's Constitutional Council has blocked the social media ban for under-15s which was passed by parliament in July, ruling that it constitutes a "disproportionate infringement" on freedom of expression and communication. French President Emmanuel Macron has now asked his government to rewrite the legislation to make it "legally viable". The European press draws its own conclusions.