Aug 5, 2026, 01:30 AM UTC

Spanish authorities continue to respond to a major migration crisis in Ceuta, where conflicting reports surround the scale of arrivals and casualties. Moroccan officials stated that approximately 40,000 individuals entered Ceuta and 1,135 reached Melilla, acknowledging 11 fatalities on Moroccan territory. Conversely, Ceuta’s local government estimated that up to 80,000 people crossed the border, with fatalities reaching 88 as morgue identifications proceed.

In response, the Guardia Civil established a specialized missing persons office to locate unaccounted individuals, while Spanish military units assist with border deportations. The crisis has also caused domestic fallout in Madrid. Tensions have emerged between Spain's Interior and Defense ministries over the response, and Spain's central government dismissed a National Security Department communications official for publishing unauthorized figures stating 49,000 individuals had crossed into Ceuta.

Sources: Canarias7, El Día, El Mundo, La Vanguardia

Severe drought across the Netherlands continues to trigger major wildfires and disrupt key freight waterways. Emergency services are battling a 100-hectare blaze in the Boschhuizerbergen nature reserve near Oostrum, which forced campsite evacuations, while a separate fire in North Brabant was brought under control.

Simultaneously, falling water levels forced authorities to close critical shipping infrastructure, including Rotterdam’s Park Locks and the Eefde lock. The shutdowns have halted freight transport carrying industrial goods along key routes like the Twentekanaal and Delftse Schie. Water management officials noted that while early buffer preparations mitigated initial impacts, "the garage with measures is now empty," leaving ecosystems and shipping vulnerable to prolonged dry weather.

Sources: NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting), NRC, NU, ORF

Firefighters in France and Greece continue to confront widespread wildfires across Southern Europe. In France’s Drôme department, around 300 firefighters, backed by water-bomber aircraft, were mobilized near Bellegarde-en-Diois, forcing the preventive evacuation of about 50 residents.

In Gironde, evacuees in Le Porge have started returning to burnt properties, while community groups in affected areas prepare legal actions and discuss the future management of damaged forests. Meanwhile, Greek authorities announced that conditions west of Athens have substantially improved after a five-day wildfire burned thousands of hectares of land, though scattered blazes remain under surveillance.

Sources: Le Figaro, Le Soir, Le Monde, Libération

European Union interior ministers held an emergency videoconference on Tuesday to address the sudden migration influx into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. An estimated 60,000 to 72,000 people crossed into the territory from Morocco in late July, testing European border coordination.

Following initial political spats among member states, ministers displayed a renewed sense of calm and cooperation. European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner stated that there was "entire solidarity with Spain" among participants. Despite the display of unity, the ministers deferred substantive debates on proposed new European migration measures until autumn. Officials reported that the vast majority of migrants have already returned to Morocco, leaving only a few hundred in Ceuta.

Sources: Le Figaro, Libération, Le Monde, RTBF Info, Le Soir.

Norwegian authorities have announced major developments across several criminal investigations. Prosecutors in Norway charged three Stavanger teenagers for assisting in a British murder plot, following a guilty verdict against a 19-year-old in a UK court. In Ullensaker, forensic evaluators determined that a 45-year-old man was legally sane when he fatally stabbed his 72-year-old father at Kløfta in June.

Separately, police in the Øst district remanded a local schoolteacher with church ties in custody over allegations of sexually abusing minors aged 14 to 16, with investigators searching for potential additional victims. Meanwhile, media outlets covered the trial of Lindsay Clancy in the United States, where her husband testified regarding the deaths of their three children as defense attorneys cite postpartum psychosis against prosecution allegations of premeditation.

Sources: Aftenposten, NRK, TV 2 Nyheter, VG