Closing summary

And, on that note, we will be closing the blog for today.

  • Two Latvian men were arrested in the early hours of Thursday after they were discovered inside the perimeter of RAF Molesworth, a Cambridgeshire base used by the US military and Nato for intelligence operations (16:52, 17:26, 17:42).

  • RAF Molesworth is a non-flying base that hosts critical US and Nato intelligence operations (17:02, 17:22).

Related: Two Latvian men arrested at RAF base in Cambridgeshire used by US military

In other news,

  • Thousands of people gathered at the Place de la Bastille in Paris this afternoon on another day of students protests across France (16:29).

  • Police briefly clashed with protesters near the square, with batons and teargas seen on video footage from the demonstration.

  • Several other demonstrations took place across the country, with students calling for another day of protests on Tuesday next week (15:41, 16:11).

  • The overall number of school blockades was gradually decreasing, officials numbers suggested (13:55, 15:14).

Related: French students vow to continue protests, saying ministers’ pledges not enough

Elsewhere,

  • A Russian missile strike on a bus in the eastern city of Kramatorsk has killed at least 30 people, officials have said, in one of the worst attacks by Moscow on Ukrainian civilians this year (11:49).

  • Hours after the attack, US secretary of state Marco Rubio warned about the risk of an escalation in Russia’s war with Ukraine, saying it could “could quickly turn what is a war between two countries into a much broader and far more dangerous regional conflict” (16:15).

Related: Russian attack on bus kills at least 30 people near Ukraine frontline

If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.

I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.

The police reference to section 4 of the National Security Act 2023 can give us a bit more idea as to what happened.

The section covers anyone who:

(i) accesses, enters, inspects, passes over or under, approaches or is in the vicinity of a prohibited place, or
(ii) causes an unmanned vehicle or device to access, enter, inspect, pass over or under, approach or be in the vicinity of a prohibited place, and

In the context of the act, “inspecting” includes “taking, or procuring the taking of, photographs, videos or other recordings of the prohibited place.”

The act goes on to say that:

“A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years or a fine (or both).”

Updated

The police statement is also likely to prompt some questions about the response to the incident.

The abandoned vehicle found at 10pm, and the two men only arrested at 2am. What happened in the meantime? And where were they found?

The statement points out that “a small breach of the perimeter fence was subsequently identified.”

The police said the vehicle was “recovered by police,” with further precautionary checks for a potential explosives – but “nothing of concern was found.”

On the two suspects – aged 32 and 36 – it said:

“They were initially arrested on suspicion of trespass on a prohibited site and criminal damage and taken to a Cambridgeshire police station.

The pair have since been further arrested on suspicion of an offence under section 4 of the National Security Act 2023 – namely entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.

Both men currently remain in police custody at this time.”

Updated

RAF Molesworth is located some 30 miles northwest of Cambridge and 70 miles from London.

Unlike RAF Fairford, it’s a non-flying base, but it hosts a number of other functions, including the previously mentioned intelligence centre.

There’s no point in speculating about the nature of this incident until we know more.

But it will undoubtedly raise further concerns about and scrutiny of the security of UK airbases after last week’s Fairford incident.

RAF Molesworth hosts some US troops and the Joint Intelligence Operations Center Europe Analytic Center (JAC), as well as Nato’s 24/7 intelligence fusion centre.

Updated

Two Latvian men arrested for trespass offences near RAF airbase

Meanwhile, we are getting a line from the UK that two Latvian nationals resident in the UK have been arrested on suspicion of trespass offences at an RAF airbase in Cambridgeshire.

The two men where found last night as security patrols near RAF Molesworth found an abandoned vehicle and a small breach in the perimeter fence. The two men were located and arrested at 2am.

In a statement, the police said the matter is being investigated by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing.

The incident comes just over a week after a widely reported security issue near RAF Fairford, and will raise concerns about security of UK airbases.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London team, Helen Flanagan, said:

“We’re very aware of the recent heightened interest and concern around military sites, but at this stage there is nothing to suggest this incident is connected to the events at RAF Fairford last week.

Our investigation into this incident is at its very early stages. A big part of this is looking at any potential motivation as to why the men were present at the site, but I must stress we are keeping an open mind at this stage and enquiries are very much ongoing.

As ever, I would ask the public to remain vigilant and if you see anything of concern, then to contact police.”

Updated

French student protests in Place de la Bastille - in pictures

EU, Canada to announce plans to work on 'an alliance for the future'

in Brussels

Elsewhere, UK’s prime minister Andy Burnham, who pledged to rebuild the country’s post-Brexit relationship with its European neighbours, has a little bit of friendly competition to be the EU’s best friend (13:35).

At a summit in Montreal later this month (29-30 October), the EU and Canada will pledge to launch “an alliance for the future”, with a host of agreements on digital trade and the economy, and plans to intensify ties on raw materials, the Arctic and people-to-people contacts.

The nine-page draft summit text seen by the Guardian does not mention the phrase “associate membership”, reflecting scepticism about the term European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen surprised EU diplomats with last month. Canada’s government also appeared to distance themselves from the term, which has no legal basis in EU treaties.

Semantics aside, the two sides will pledge to deepen ties on a long list of areas to build “a deeper and more integrated relationship”. The text, likely to be closely read by the UK and others, states:

“Our partnership may become a model for other countries seeking friendship in a challenging world.”

According to the draft, the EU and Canada will:

  • sign an agreement on the joint purchase of 50 waterbombers made by Canada’s DeHavilland to be ready by 2030 to fight wildfires in Canada and the EU.

  • negotiate Canada’s entry into flagship EU programmes, such as Horizon (research) and Erasmus+ (student exchanges and education) and the Galileo satellite programme.

  • assess options to export Canadian liquefied natural gas and critical minerals to the EU

  • deepen cooperation on AI safety and carry out feasibility studies on new subsea infrastructure to connect Europe, Canada and Asia

  • increase labour mobility to reduce barriers to young people and skilled professionals working on both jurisdictions

Not in the text… any mention of the 10 EU member states yet to ratify the EU-Canada trade agreement that was signed ten years ago.

Ukraine war stalemate could 'quickly turn ... into a much broader ... regional conflict,' Rubio warns

Meanwhile, let’s bring you comments from the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who was in Lisbon this afternoon and warned that the continuing stalemate between Russia and Ukraine was “very dangerous.”

Speaking alongside the Portuguese foreign minister Paulo Rangel, Rubio warned that any escalation “could quickly turn what is a war between two countries into a much broader and far more dangerous regional conflict.”

Rubio said there have been attempts to reach a negotiated settlement, and “we will keep trying”.

Here are a few more images showing the scale of the demonstration currently gathered at Place de la Bastille in Paris…

Left-wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon – whose party, France Unbowed (LFI), has long been supportive of the protests – is set to address the crowds shortly.

Main Paris protest gets under way amid anger at 'empty promises' on education

Today’s main student demonstration in Paris is just getting under way, and there are lots of people attending.

Protest leaders are criticising “empty promises” from the government, calling for “concrete measures” and saying their protest action will continue until their demands are met.

Number of school blockades gradually decreasing, French government data show

Back in France, there are initial signs that the student protests may be starting to subside a bit – despite sometimes dramatic images continuing to emerge from across the country.

Thousands still turned out to support the movement – including a new march in Marseille this afternoon – but the education ministry’s figures showed the number of school blockades was gradually ‌decreasing.

It said 224 were closed in the morning, ‌down to 157 by lunchtime, meaning that 96% of schools were open, Reuters reported.

However, the student groups are calling for another day of mobilisation on Tuesday, 13 October, so we are likely to see the protests continue for some time, even if in a slightly different form.

Updated

AFP has a quick snap that the EU is confident it is capable of meeting demand for gas this winter but its reserves are at a “historically low” level.

The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas association said “Europe is entering the winter with historically low storage levels while observing higher and more volatile global gas prices,” while adding “gas infrastructure remains sufficiently flexible to meet demand.”

Updated

UK announces further sanctions on Russia

While the British prime minister Andy Burnham has been in Berlin meeting chancellor Friedrich Merz, his foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, has been in Ukraine, where he has announced further sanctions on Russia.

AFP reports that, visiting the site of a Russian missile strike which hit a residential area in Pryluky with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Miliband said:

There can be no clearer sign of Putin’s evil, evil intent and strategy in this conflict. Putin once said that he was going to win on the battlefield. He is trying to win by terrorising civilians.

Miliband said the UK government was announcing fresh sanctions on Russia, which he said would apply “on the shadow fleet, on the oil companies, on the crypto, on the financing of the war”.

More on the details of the sanctions are here.

Updated

Strike on Kramatorsk buses 'will not go unanswered,' Zelenskyy says

In a post to social media, Ukraine’s president, who included graphic footage from the scene, has said that a Russian strike on public transport in Kramatorsk which has left at least 30 dead “will not go unanswered”.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted to say:

Doctors are now fighting to save the lives of people injured in the Russian strike on Kramatorsk. As of now, 30 people have been confirmed killed, and sadly, that number may rise. The Russian bomb effectively hit two city minibuses. Some of those killed have still not been identified because of the severity of their injuries. My condolences to all their families and loved ones. Another 18 people were injured in the strike. Residential buildings and cars were also damaged.

This strike will not go unanswered. Russia is trying to destroy all life in Donbas, and a response from the world is a must. A forceful response – exactly as the Russians deserve for all the deaths they have brought. May all those killed rest in peace.

Updated

French education minister to draft proposals on teachers' absences in response to protests

Back to France, education minister Édouard Geffray said his ministry would prepare a plan to address on of the key demands of the students’ movement on providing cover for absent teachers “in a few hours or a few days,” Le Figaro reported.

He is expected to meet with the three main student groups later today to discuss details (10:10).

In the meantime, protests continue across the country, and AFP notes that while they have been largely peaceful, some demonstrators resort to acts of violence or clash with police officers.

Burnham 'committed to securing deeper cooperation' with EU at looming summit

Burnham also talks about rebuilding the UK’s relationship with the EU after Brexit.

He says their meeting in Berlin comes ahead of the UK-EU summit later this year – expected in late November – as he says he is “very committed to securing deeper cooperation” with the EU at the summit.

He wants to see “if we can bring the UK closer to Europe, particularly in the interest of economic growth and collaboration on irregular migration,” he says.

In terms of more symbolic gestures, he says he will take part in talks with German business leaders later today, and hopes to host them in the UK next year – alongside the full German cabinet to show that “this treaty is not just words on a page, left on a shelf,” but a meaningful document.

He then turns to students standing somewhat awkwardly behind the pair throughout their exchange, and they briefly chat about their experiences with the UK, with someone mentioning their visited Scotland.

Aaaaaand that’s it.

Burnham hails Germany as a partner for 'challenging times'

In his response, Burnham focuses on broader cooperation with Germany.

He says that in these “challenging times, we need the highest quality collaboration with our closest partners.”

He says their talks also looked at defence and security issues, including their preparedness and ability to counter hybrid threats.

He also says the UK is open to Germany joining GCap programme of work on the next generation fighter jet, together with Italy and Japan.

Related: Europe’s fighter jet plans are in disarray. What happens next?

He also flags cooperation on quantum, AI, and tech more broadly.

Merz welcomes new treaty as new opening after UK's 'regrettable' decision to leave EU

Merz is speaking now.

His remark focus exclusively on the bilateral British-German Kensington Treaty, as the pair exchange the documents and formally complete its implementation.

Related: Starmer and Merz to sign UK–Germany treaty targeting smuggling gangs and boosting defence ties

He says the treaty “opens up new opportunities” between the two countries, following Britain’s “regrettable” exit from the European Union.

He focuses on a particular element of the treaty that gives better access to both countries, with no visas required – even for extended stays by school pupils and university students – and for student exchanges between the two countries.

“That is precisely why we are doing this: so that the younger generation, within the context of bilateral relations between Germany and Great Britain, can simply see just how well we Europeans work together and how closely we belong together,” he says.

Updated

Merz and Burnham expected to deliver statements in Berlin shortly

Back to Berlin, Germany’s Merz and UK’s Burnham are about to speak after their talks.

Annoyingly, it’ll be just statements, with no questions from the press.

You can watch along below, and I will bring you the key lines here:

Rubio gets pushed on allegations of misconduct by US ambassador to Greece

in Athens

Over in Athens, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has been forced, yet again, to address allegations of misconduct by Kimberly Guilfoyle, America’s ambassador to Greece.

At the end of an action-packed trip, topped by what US diplomats called an historic policy speech before the Acropolis, Marco Rubio was brought face-to-face, once again, with the grubby allegations of improper behaviour by his top diplomat in Athens.

For the second time in the space of 12 days the Wall Street Journal had run a report detailing misconduct by Guilfoyle – the former fiance of the US president’s oldest son Donald Trump Jr.

The report was published late Wednesday as Rubio was holding talks with Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

It alleged the former Fox News channel host had asked Eric Deters, a Republican donor and supporter of president Trump, to pay off a $100,000 American Express credit card bill ahead of her confirmation hearing on 9 July 2025. In exchange, Guilfoyle reportedly promised direct access to the White House and high profile officials in the Trump administration.

Early Thursday as he was about to board a plane for Portugal – the last stop in his three-day tour of Europe – Rubio was asked to comment.

Acknowledging he was aware of the report – and as Guilfoyle looked on – he told reporters:

“You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things.”

It was not the first time the foreign policy chief has been forced to address reports of misconduct swirling around Guilfoyle – or alluded to fake news in debunking them.

On Wednesday, at a press conference with Greece’s foreign minister, he was asked if he remained confident in the envoy amid mounting congressional scrutiny of Guilfoyle’s tenure following earlier allegations detailed by Journal.

Visibly irritated, Rubio shot back saying: “This is not the forum to address this, as simple as that. Suffice it to say, our embassy here is doing a great job. Our ambassador here has been a strong ambassador here.”

Late last month the Wall Street Journal ran a report accusing the high-profile ambassador of improper behaviour around the sale of US natural gas exports to the region via Greece.

The paper reported an incident in which Guilfoyle was also said to have boasted about America’s ability to undermine governments, including the Greek government, if they didn’t comply with US wishes.

Germany's Merz hosts UK's Burnham for talks in Berlin

Meanwhile, UK’s prime minister Andy Burnham has now arrived in Berlin, and is taking part in a formal welcome with German chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The pair have a long list of issues to talk about, including defence, foreign policy, business, the EU, trade defences against China and the implementation of the bilateral Kensington Treaty.

Some parts of the German media claim it as Burnham’s first stand-alone overseas visit, arguing that both his trips to Ukraine and the UN were part of a broader group. Not sure that really works, but either way his early trip to Berlin shows the importance he attaches to this relationship.

Curiously, there will be no press conference – Politico reported that it was a decision made upon the UK’s request – but the two leaders will deliver some press statements.

I will bring you the key lines when they step up to the microphones.

Updated

French high school protests spill over to Belgium with concerns about violence

The French protests are also spilling over the border to Belgium, particularly Brussels and Liège, Reuters and broadcaster RTBF reported.

In Liege, local media have reported more than 200 arrests in connection with student protests this month, and authorities have imposed a ban on public gatherings of more than three people until 16 October, Reuters reported.

But Belgium’s foreign minister, Bernard Quintin, said hard-left activists had infiltrated the Liège school protests and were causing damage to property.

Julien Doeche, a member of the Liège Antifascist Front, told RTBF Quintin’s claims were “fantasies“.

30 people killed after Russian strike on public transport in eastern Ukraine

Meanwhile, we are getting sad news from Ukraine, where at least 30 people were killed in a Russian attack in the proximity of a bus stop in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine.

At least 18 people were also injured.

Responding to the strike, the region’s governor Vadym Filashkin suspended the operation of public transport, warning it was “an attractive target” for Russia given “a single strike can kill the highest number of people.”

“Russia consciously disregards all conceivable rules of warfare and norms of international humanitarian law. It selects targets where it can inflict the greatest suffering on civilians,” he warned.

“Under these circumstances, we have no right to risk the lives of passengers and drivers. The safety of the residents of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk is paramount,” he added.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier that the strike targeted “an ordinary public transport stop.”

More high school protests take place across France - in pictures

Back to France, let me bring you more pictures from this morning’s high school protests, which are taking place not just in Paris, but also in other cities, including Nantes and Bordeaux.

One dead, two injured in another knife attack at Polish school

We are getting reports of another knife attack at a school in Poland.

The incident took place in Leszczydół-Nowiny, east-central Poland, leaving one person dead and two injured. A 15-year-old boy was apprehended at the scene.

It comes just a day after a 17-year-old boy injured nine people in a separate school stabbing attack (Europe Live, yesterday). An improvised explosive device was discovered in his backpack.

Elsewhere in the country, another 17-year-old has been detained on suspicion of planning a similar knife attack.

In response to the wave of incidents, Polish police said they will step up spot checks near schools to scan for knives and identify suspicious behaviour.

EU drops sponsorship of disinformation conference at Trump officials’ request

Aisha Down in London, Joseph Gedeon in Washington and Jennifer Rankin in Brussels

In other news, the Trump administration pressured multiple countries to withdraw their sponsorship of a leading European conference on disinformation, with Canada, Lithuania and the EU’s diplomatic service subsequently agreeing to do so, the Guardian understands.

The conference, #Disinfo2026, taking place Wednesday and Thursday, is the annual meetup of Europe’s counter-disinformation community and has drawn hundreds of researchers, journalists, technologists and policymakers to a hotel in Vilnius, Lithuania. It is run by an independent Brussels non-profit, EU Disinfo Lab.

Days before the conference, the logos of its main supporters – the Lithuanian ministry of foreign affairs, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry – were wiped off its website.

Photos of the event shared with the Guardian also show white stickers affixed over the logos of these organisations printed on official conference materials, appearing to indicate they were struck from the program in haste.

Three persons familiar with the matter, including European officials, confirmed that the US state department had been in touch with multiple governments over their support for the conference.

Internal state department documents seen by the Guardian also show US officials thanking Lithuania for “taking US concerns seriously”. The document says Washington was “grateful” Lithuania supposedly found a panel framing the US as a foreign information threat “reprehensible and surprising” and welcomed its decision to limit involvement in the conference.

Related: EU drops sponsorship of disinformation conference at Trump officials’ request

French high school protests this morning - in pictures

French education minister to hold talks with high school students later today

French education minister Édouard Geffray has invited the three leading high school students associations for further talks at the ministry later this afternoon.

This comes as a recent opinion poll showed that the French public broadly supports the protest – with three-thirds agreeing with the students’ demands, and 55% backing the demonstrations – but is divided on whether they should continue (Europe Live, yesterday).

Morning opening: French high school protests continue despite PM's promise of action

High school protests across France show no sign of slowing down, with nearly 400 educational establishments facing disruptions this morning.

Demonstrators have rejected a promise by prime minister Sébastien Lecornu to present a plan to fix the country’s education system by the end of the month, demanding he fully engages with their demands sooner than that.

In a televised address last night, Lecornu said the country could not be “indifferent” to their concerns, and acknowledged that their anger “does not come from nowhere,” but did not make any immediate headline-grabbing announcements.

“We want real action, and until we get it, we’ll keep mobilising,” a high school student named Marilou in Fontainebleau told AFP.

I will keep an eye on today’s events in France as they unfold.

Over in Spain, I will look at reactions after last night’s death of María del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old whose eviction set off a nationwide wave of protests against Spain’s housing crisis.

Related: María del Carmen Abascal, symbol of Spain’s housing protests, dies aged 87

Elsewhere, Britain’s prime minister Andy Burnham will meet with Germany’s Friedrich Merz in Berlin for political talks. Unusually, however, the pair will not hold a joint press conference.

Lots to cover.

It’s Thursday, 8 October 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.