Mladić Is Dead. The Balkans Are Already Fighting Over His Funeral.

Snap election set for October, as regulator clears sale of independent media

President Aleksandar Vučić confirmed Serbia's early parliamentary election will fall on 18 or 25 October, capping more than a year of student-led protests. Days earlier, Serbia's competition commission approved the sale of N1, Nova S and other outlets in the Adria News Network to a Luxembourg fund tied to Euronews's owners.

Why it matters: The outlets are among the last carrying reporting critical of Vučić's government; press-freedom groups warn the sale, coming just before the vote, could reshape coverage of the campaign.

Sources: European Western Balkans, Balkan Insight, N1

Russian strike kills 27 in Kyiv region as drone barrages continue

A missile and drone strike hit warehouses in the Kyiv region this week, killing 27 people and wounding more than 40, part of a renewed wave of attacks on the capital's outskirts. Ukraine says Russia is massing for fresh offensives toward Kyiv and Chernihiv.

Sources: Ukrinform, United24 Media

Gaza's US-backed envoy warns ceasefire is at a "point of no return"

The lead US official overseeing the October truce says continued violations by both sides risk collapsing it entirely. Gaza's health ministry says nearly 1,300 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began, while aid deliveries remain well below agreed levels.

Why it matters: It is the clearest warning yet that the deal underpinning the post-war plan for Gaza is fraying, even as Hamas has agreed in principle to disarm.

Source: Al Jazeera

Wall Street closes the week higher on a Nvidia-led tech rally

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 7,730.99 and the Nasdaq jumped 1.6% to 26,541.35 on Thursday, the Dow adding a smaller 0.2% to 53,569.44, after Nvidia's robust revenue forecast reassured investors on AI demand; chip and software stocks led gains. European benchmarks stayed near their own records, with the STOXX 600, DAX and CAC 40 all up more than 10% for the year. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to about 4.66% on stronger US economic data, gold held near $4,631 an ounce ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole remarks, Brent crude traded around $88 a barrel, and bitcoin surged roughly 23% over the week to near $78,000.

Sources: The Motley Fool, Fortune, CNBC

Anthropic wins first round against the Pentagon over "supply chain risk" label

A federal judge ruled the Defense Department's designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk was unlawful retaliation, ordering it removed. The dispute began after Anthropic refused to lift safety limits that would have let the military use Claude for autonomous weapons or mass surveillance.

Why it matters: It's a rare legal check on the government's use of national-security labels against a company, and a signal on how far AI firms can go in refusing military use cases.

Sources: CNN, TechCrunch

NASA's Roman Space Telescope reaches the pad for tomorrow's launch

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has been enclosed in its SpaceX Falcon Heavy fairing and rolled to the pad at Kennedy Space Center, on track to launch nine months ahead of schedule.

Why it matters: Roman's wide-field infrared camera will survey the sky roughly 100 times faster than Hubble, aimed at mapping dark energy and finding thousands of new exoplanets.

Sources: SpaceNews, NASA

Another wave of recalls hits Stellantis, BMW and Mercedes-Benz

Stellantis has notified regulators of a nearly one-million-vehicle recall over a faulty rear-view camera, its third major safety action this year. BMW is recalling 5 and 7 Series, i5, i7 and M5 models over a cable-harness fire risk, while Mercedes-Benz is fixing corroded door-lock switches on more than 310,000 cars that can stop the parking brake engaging.

Sources: Euronews, Autoevolution

Lando Norris wins as Zandvoort bids farewell to F1; Verstappen crashes out at home

Norris took his second straight victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell completing the podium after a late team-order swap at Mercedes. Home favourite Max Verstappen crashed out on the opening lap in wet conditions, in what was Zandvoort's last race on the current calendar.

Sources: PlanetF1, Formula 1