Volkswagen to cut 50,000 more jobs to counter tariffs and Chinese competition


Volkswagen announced Thursday that it will cut another 50,000 jobs worldwide, marking the biggest restructuring in the company's 89-year history, as the German carmaker faces pressure from US tariffs, overcapacity and fierce competition from Chinese rivals.

Issued on: 04/09/2026 
By: FRANCE 24

Volkswagen's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, on November 21, 2025. © Ronny Hartmann, AFP


Volkswagen's supervisory board on Thursday approved a transformation plan that will include cutting another 50,000 jobs in its attempt to counter painful tariffs, overcapacity and aggressive Chinese rivals.

The plan, the most extensive restructuring in Volkswagen's 89-year history, includes exploring alternatives for four German plants that will eventually run out of models during the next decade.

It also averts a major clash with unions by putting the scenario of an extraordinary general meeting on the back burner, a scenario that was considered by management to push through its plans against workers and Volkswagen's second-largest shareholder, Lower Saxony.

The deal will result in a simplification of Volkswagen's conglomerate structure and limit the influence of the group's supervisory board – on which unions and Lower Saxony hold a majority – on key decisions.

"This is a strong signal for the future of the Volkswagen Group. We are taking responsibility for our entire workforce, for our partners and for industrial jobs worldwide," CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement.

Frankfurt-listed Volkswagen shares closed 7.9 percent higher following the news, reflecting relief over what sources said could have escalated into an unprecedented crisis at Europe's largest automaker.

Cover image: Volkswagen says situation critical REUTERS - Lisi Niesner
01:12

Industry analyst Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer said the next 10 months would see discussions over the future of Volkswagen's plants in Emden, Zwickau, Neckarsulm and Hannover, which all face a staggered phase-out from 2031 onwards.

The deal follows weeks of tense negotiations that pitted the board and majority owner Porsche SE against unions and Lower Saxony, with the idea of a spinoff of Volkswagen's passenger car and components businesses no longer being mentioned.

"A certain sense of calm is returning, but it is far from 'peace'. In politics, one would call it a 'ceasefire'. That's a good thing, because now the focus can be on the business," Dudenhoeffer said.

The "Future Plan" comes as Volkswagen faces pressure from all sides, squeezed between US import tariffs and a weak Chinese market, the world's biggest car market and once the group's cash cow.

Volkswagen said "a further fundamental adjustment of the global workforce capacity" was needed, saying this would include a reduction of around 50,000 positions worldwide – in addition to a 50,000-job reduction already under way.

The company did not provide further details on the timing of the workforce reduction or how the cuts would be distributed across its brands and regions.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)

Wildfires, heatwaves threaten global air quality and health, UN warns

Wildfires and heatwaves are threatening global efforts to improve air quality and protect human health, the World Meteorological Organisation said on Monday. The UN agency warned that increasingly severe fires are raising exposure to toxic PM2.5 pollution, even as regulations have reduced industrial and transport emissions in Europe and North America.

Issued on: 07/09/2026 
By: FRANCE 24

A man rides a scooter beneath a smoke-filled sky as a wildfire burns in Deliblatska Pescara, some 70 kilometres northeast of Belgrade, Serbia, on August 20, 2026. © Uros Arsic, AFP

Wildfires and heatwaves, which generate microscopic airborne pollutants, risk undermining international efforts to improve air quality, protect human health and safeguard nature, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Monday.

The United Nations' weather and climate agency underlined the links between air pollution and climate change, which scientists say is leading to more frequent and more intense heatwaves and wildfires.

"Extreme wildfires are increasing, leading to big health consequences because of the high toxicity of smoke," the WMO said in a statement accompanying its latest annual Air Quality and Climate Bulletin.

"Whilst regulations in Europe and North America have reduced industrial and transport PM2.5 emissions, exposure to fire-related PM2.5 has increased."

Particulate matter PM2.5 is composed of microscopic particles and droplets of less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, which is a health hazard because it can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream.

It is emitted by fossil fuel-driven industrial activities, farming, domestic heating and transport, as well as by wildfires and dust storms.

The report said the world needs to better monitor air pollutants such as aerosol – including black carbon and microplastics –, fine particles and ground-level ozone.

These pollutants "are not sufficiently monitored even though they are widespread and are potentially harmful to ecosystems", the WMO said.

"(We need) complementary and coordinated policies on air quality and climate because they cannot be dealt with in isolation."

Toxic wildfire smoke

"Air quality and climate change can't be dealt with separately. If one worsens, the other does too," Lorenzo Labrador, from the WMO's Global Atmosphere Watch network of scientists, told AFP.

"In places where there are relatively powerful forest fires, we find a lot of fine particle pollution," he said.

Microparticles generated by burning vegetation are "much more toxic" than those emitted by other sources, even car exhaust, he stressed.

They damage the health of people and wildlife living far from the fire itself because they are carried by the wind, but their poisonous effect is not sufficiently taken into account in air quality assessments, Labrador said.

"Conventional risks models based on total PM2.5 concentrations may underestimate wildfire-attributable mortality by up to 93 percent," the WMO said.

One study cited in the WMO Bulletin says extreme fire-smoke events have tripled globally since the 1990s, contributing to nearly 100,000 additional deaths per year between 2010 and 2018, although this may be an underestimate.

Ozone, microplastics

Another source of air pollution that carries major health risks is ground-level ozone, which accumulates when temperatures rise, atmospheric conditions stagnate and solar radiation is intense, as seen during recent heatwaves in China, Europe and the southeastern United States.

"This increased exposure to ozone pollution has the potential to lead to tens of thousands of additional premature deaths," particularly due to respiratory diseases, the WMO warned.

Another growing concern is aerosol particles, which can also travel to oceans and continents far from their source.

They can alter the way the atmosphere reflects sunlight, change the chemical properties of land and water, and pollute otherwise clean environments.

"One example is the deposition of black carbon – or soot – on snow and ice, which reduces the amount of sunlight reflected by these surfaces and in turn can hasten the melting process," the WMO explained.

Another example is microplastics, formed when plastics break down because of sunlight or other factors, and found virtually everywhere – in the air, the soil and the oceans.

One simulation in the WMO Bulletin estimates there are "51 million tonnes for land and 22 million tonnes for the ocean – which are in turn a source of microplastics for the atmosphere".

"As plastic production and, critically, mismanaged plastic waste, continues to increase," monitoring the airborne paths that carry microplastics from their source and dump them in remote environments will be "crucial", the report said.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

‘More toxic than car exhaust’: What’s the solution to Europe’s wildfire air pollution problem?

Copyright AP PhotoAP Photo/Caroline Blumberg

By Angela Symons with AFP
Published on 08/09/2026 - EURONEWS

Tackling air pollution and climate change together could save lives and boost economies, UN reports show.

Climate change-driven wildfires and heatwaves are worsening air pollution, with damaging consequences for nature and human health, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Global warming is making these events worse as they release microscopic airborne pollutants that risk undermining international efforts to improve air quality, the United Nations' weather and climate agency warned on Monday (7 September).

"Extreme wildfires are increasing, leading to big health consequences because of the high toxicity of smoke," the WMO said in a statement accompanying its latest annual Air Quality and Climate Bulletin.

"Whilst regulations in Europe and North America have reduced industrial and transport PM2.5 emissions, exposure to fire-related PM2.5 has increased."

Particulate matter PM2.5 is composed of microscopic particles and droplets of less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, which is a health hazard because it can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream. It is emitted by fossil fuel-driven industrial activities, farming, domestic heating and transport, as well as by wildfires and dust storms.

The report said the world needs to better monitor air pollutants such as aerosol – including black carbon and microplastics – fine particles and ground-level ozone.

These pollutants "are not sufficiently monitored even though they are widespread and are potentially harmful to ecosystems", the WMO said.

"[We need] complementary and coordinated policies on air quality and climate because they cannot be dealt with in isolation."

Powerful wildfires are releasing toxic smoke

"Air quality and climate change can't be dealt with separately. If one worsens, the other does too," says Lorenzo Labrador, from the WMO's Global Atmosphere Watch network of scientists.

"In places where there are relatively powerful forest fires, we find a lot of fine particle pollution," he says.

Microparticles generated by burning vegetation are "much more toxic" than those emitted by other sources, even car exhaust, he stresses.

They damage the health of people and wildlife living far from the fire itself because they are carried by the wind, but their poisonous effect is not sufficiently taken into account in air quality assessments, Labrador says.

"Conventional risk models based on total PM2.5 concentrations may underestimate wildfire-attributable mortality by up to 93 per cent," the WMO says.

One study cited in the WMO Bulletin says extreme fire-smoke events have tripled globally since the 1990s, contributing to nearly 100,000 additional deaths per year between 2010 and 2018, although this may be an underestimate.

Ozone and microplastics worsen air pollution

Another source of air pollution that carries major health risks is ground-level ozone, which accumulates when temperatures rise, atmospheric conditions stagnate and solar radiation is intense, as seen during recent heatwaves in China, Europe and the southeastern United States.

"This increased exposure to ozone pollution has the potential to lead to tens of thousands of additional premature deaths," particularly due to respiratory diseases, the WMO warned.

Another growing concern is aerosol particles, which can also travel to oceans and continents far from their source.

They can alter the way the atmosphere reflects sunlight, change the chemical properties of land and water, and pollute otherwise clean environments.

"One example is the deposition of black carbon – or soot – on snow and ice, which reduces the amount of sunlight reflected by these surfaces and in turn can hasten the melting process," the WMO explained.

Another example is microplastics, formed when plastics break down because of sunlight or other factors, and found virtually everywhere – in the air, the soil and the oceans.

One simulation in the WMO Bulletin estimates there are "51 million tonnes for land and 22 million tonnes for the ocean – which are in turn a source of microplastics for the atmosphere".

"As plastic production and, critically, mismanaged plastic waste, continues to increase," monitoring the airborne paths that carry microplastics from their source and dump them in remote environments will be "crucial", the report said.
Economic benefit of tackling climate change and air pollution together

A separate report released on 7 September by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) highlighted the economic benefits of tackling climate change and air pollution as a joint problem.

It found that every $1 (€0.86) invested in climate and clean air action can return $15 (€12.92). This is higher than tackling climate and clean air separately, and it includes both market and non-market economic gains, split across health systems, productivity and avoided climate damage.

“For too long, we have treated climate action as a cost to be managed and air pollution as the unfortunate outcome of development," says Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “This report shows the opposite: clean air is a key driver of development, health, food and energy security, and climate stability – an asset we must invest in.”

Targeting emissions in six sectors – energy and fossil fuel systems, industry, transport, agriculture and food systems, residential cooking and heating, and waste management – the report lays out measures that, by 2050, could halve global carbon dioxide emissions and prevent 144 million air pollution related premature deaths.

Renewable power, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, low-sulfur shipping fuels, more efficient fertiliser use, better wastewater management, and phasing down HFCs are among the 25 measures proposed.

 

Driverless race cars compete in Italy in Europe’s first autonomous multi-car race

By Roselyne Min

Updated 09/09/2026 - EURONEWS

The competition is fought largely through programming, simulator sessions and the constant search for a balance between speed and risk.

Italy’s Formula 1 city of Imola has hosted Europe’s first multi-car race for fully autonomous cars.

Five teams from the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) competed at the historic Imola circuit, with cars racing without steering wheels, pedals or even drivers.

The teams represented Germany, Italy and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Even if the cars drive themselves, making them competitive still requires a team of humans capable of developing the best AI-driven racer.

“The teams that come here are all about winning,” said Stephane Timpano, CEO of ASPIRE, the organisation behind the event.

"They are scientists. They look like scientists, and they behave like scientists, but once the competition starts, it’s about showing that they have the best software, the best code in the car, and what they want is to win".

All teams used the same SF23 single-seaters developed by Dallara for Japan’s Super Formula series, regarded as one of the fastest racing championships outside Formula 1.

But the human controls have been taken out. Instead, the cars use cameras, radar and lidar sensors to perceive their surroundings, while an onboard computer controls the car.

Just like in any other motorsport competition, mechanics work on the cars, engines roar and engineers closely monitor streams of telemetry data.

Organisers also hope putting autonomous cars on a familiar racing stage can help build public trust in AI.

“Create trust. I think this is the biggest issue we will have with AI going forward,” Timpano said.

“A lot of people are reluctant to engage with AI, are worried about what is going to happen with their jobs, their life and what AI is able to do,” he added.

Relate

Pushing autonomous driving to its limits

For autonomous driving experts, however, the competition is fought largely through programming, simulator sessions and the constant search for a balance between speed and risk.

“The league addresses one of the biggest challenges in developing autonomous vehicles, which is testing risky scenarios in a controlled environment, at high speeds,” said Alexander Winkler, A2RL’s head of sporting.

He said racing against other vehicles travelling at similarly high or different speeds creates situations and data that would be difficult to reproduce in ordinary road testing.

“To me, as a professor, this is probably one of the most difficult engineering problems you have today. It is not just autonomous driving, but autonomous driving at the very, very limit of handling,” explained Marko Bertogna, a professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.

And once the race starts, the engineers have to let their code do the driving.

“When the race starts, it’s hands off,” said Sascha Buettner, team lead of TUM, the participating team from the Technical University of Munich in Germany.

“And so this is basically just letting a child do its thing and just looking at them and, you know, wishing them all the best, essentially hoping to be proud. But, of course, that can go wrong. Our AI driver can stumble, it is all possible.”

Despite the cars now approaching professional drivers in outright performance, organisers say AI still cannot reproduce everything a human brings to racing.

“Still today, this car is not able to reproduce the fantasy of a driver. You don’t see that in the car,” Timpano continued.

“With time, it may get there. But I see it the other way around. Our human pilot can use AI to have a better performance in the safest way.”

The winner of Saturday's 12-lap autonomous race was Kinetiz from the UAE.

Founded in 2023, A2RL is based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

Pakistan: Tormenting Baloch Women – Analysis



September 8, 2026
SATP
By Tushar Ranjan Mohanty

Key Takeaways:

On 27 August 2026 Balochistan put 1–1.5 million-rupee bounties on nine named women from Gwadar, Jiwani, and Turbat, alleged to be linked to Baloch insurgents (“Fitna al Hindustan”). The SATP piece treats the posters as a distraction from a rise in alleged enforced disappearances of women.

Cited cases: 

Safia Baloch, 20, taken in Quetta on 23 August; Aqsa, 17, taken with her father in Khuzdar on 5 August; Rafia Bibi, Tania, and Javeria held at Lak Pass on 30 July and then unaccounted for.

 HRCB: 23 women disappeared January–July 2026; BYC listed at least 12 in 2025. Groups say women are held without charge, then sometimes shown in “confession” videos (Mahal Baloch, 2023, is the template cited). Wider tallies: BYC 1,223 disappearances/killings in 2025; PAANK 556 disappeared and 227 killings in H1 2026; VBMP 6,207 days of protest and 7,000+ missing since the insurgency began.
The state points to women in BLA Majeed Brigade suicide attacks (Karachi Confucius Institute 2022; Turbat 2023; Mastung 2024; Kalat and Nokundi 2025).

 Rights groups say most women are in non-violent protest—Mahrang Baloch’s BYC, the Turbat-to-Islamabad march—and that treating that as a security problem widens repression instead of answering the grievance.

On August 27, 2026, the Balochistan Government announced bounties, ranging from 1 million to 1.5 million rupees, on nine Baloch women, for their alleged linkages to Fitna al Hindustan (A state term for Baloch insurgents. These women hail from Gwadar, Jiwani and Turbat. The announcement was made by Babar Yousafzai, Adviser on Media Affairs to the Balochistan Interior Minister, who said the Government considered the women highly wanted and urged members of the public to provide information to the authorities. Officials added that the identities of informants would be kept confidential. A poster published by the Government identified the suspects as Hanifa Bibi, daughter of Sher Muhammad; Ayesha, daughter of Abdul Rasheed; Iqra, daughter of Ali; Ruqayya, daughter of Waleed; Hafsa, daughter of Iqbal; Zahra, daughter of Malik Muhammad; Amina, daughter of Abdul Rashid; Zareena, daughter of Wahid Baksh; and Aziza, daughter of Ibrahim.

This announcement came at the heels of recent cases of “enforced disappearances” of Baloch women, and appeared to be intended to distract attention from these state atrocities.


On August 23, 2026, a 20-year-old woman, Safia Baloch, the daughter of Abdul Khaliq, a student and resident of the Killi Zayak area of Basima in the Washuk District of Balochistan, was “forcibly disappeared” by personnel of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from provincial capital Quetta at approximately 1:00 a.m.

On August 5, 2026, a 17-year-old woman, Aqsa, was “forcibly disappeared” along with her father, Abdul Qudoos Zarakzai, by Security Forces (SFs) during a raid on a residential quarter in the Civil Colony of Khuzdar District in Balochistan. At approximately 10 p.m. in the night, personnel from CTD and plainclothes officials carried out a joint raid and took away Abdul Qudoos Zarakzai and Aqsa.

On July 30, 2026, three Baloch women, identified as Rafia Bibi, Tania and Javeria, who belong to the Nechari tribe, were reportedly detained at the Lak Pass FC checkpoint near Quetta and later “forcibly disappeared”. Their family said no information had been provided about their whereabouts and that they had not been informed of the reasons for their detention.

In a statement citing the “enforced disappearance” of Safia Baloch, Dr. Shalee Baloch, an organizer of the Baloch Women’s Forum (BWF), stated on August 26, 2026, that the continued abduction and enforced disappearance of Baloch women had reached an “alarming and intolerable” level. In her statement, Dr. Shalee named several women, Habiba, Mahjabeen, Nasreena, Humaira, Najma and now Safia Baloch, who represented a growing pattern of Baloch women being forcibly disappeared. Dr Shalee added that the targeting of Baloch women reflected a “colonial logic of domination”, alleging that militarisation, arbitrary detention, surveillance, collective punishment and intimidation have historically been used to subjugate colonized peoples.


Organisations including the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) and the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) have repeatedly raised concerns over women who they say were detained by SFs and intelligence agencies and subsequently remained unaccounted for, with some later being presented before the media as suicide bombers after months of detention. In recent years, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) and other Baloch human-rights groups have documented what they described as an increase in enforced disappearances involving women, and have repeatedly called for detainees to be produced before courts if there are criminal charges against them.

According to an HRCB report released on August 27, 2026, 23 women have been “forcibly disappeared” by SFs between January and July 2026. According to rights organizations, these incidents mark a critical and dangerous escalation in the region, where enforced disappearances historically targeted men, but have increasingly targeted women directly. HRCB and other human rights organizations have raised an alarm over these abductions, which targeted women from diverse backgrounds, including human rights activists, healthcare workers, students, and housewives.

Earlier, on January 13, 2026, BYC released a report highlighting the pattern of enforced disappearances of Baloch women and girls across Balochistan during 2025, emphasising the use of collective punishment and gender-based human rights violations. Titled Enforced Disappearances of Baloch Women in 2025: Collective Punishment and Gender-Based Human Rights Violations in Balochistan, the report noted that at least 12 women and girls were forcibly disappeared across different Districts of Balochistan over the course of the year. BYC underlined that these cases did not represent isolated incidents but pointed to a systematic practice in which enforced disappearance is used as a tool of repression. The report states that the victims included female students, woman health workers, minor girls, and an eight-month pregnant woman. In several instances, multiple members of the same family were targeted during single operations, causing long-term psychological, social, and economic harm to entire families and communities.


Over the years, enforced disappearances in Balochistan have predominantly targeted men, leaving women to bear the social, economic, and psychological consequences within their families and communities. Since 2025, however, the pattern appears to have shifted, with women increasingly emerging as direct targets of state action. This development marks a significant expansion in the nature and scope of alleged State repression in Balochistan.

Forced confessions have become a recurring practice used by the state in Pakistan to shape public narratives around dissent in Balochistan. Women are first subjected to enforced disappearance, held in custody for prolonged periods without due process, and exposed to coercion and abuse. After weeks or months in detention, they are suddenly brought before the public, often through staged appearances or recorded videos, to “confess” to acts they have consistently denied. The case of Mahal Baloch was one of the earliest examples of this pattern. In February 2023, Mahal Baloch was taken into custody by CTD during a late-night raid on her home in the Satellite Town of Quetta, without a warrant. Authorities later claimed she had been arrested with explosives and accused her of links to militant activity, including involvement in a suicide attack, allegations her family strongly denied. Despite being kept on physical remand for fifty-five days, authorities failed to present any substantial evidence against her. Instead, a video later surfaced in which she appeared to “confess” to militant involvement. This statement was made while she remained in police custody, not before a court of law.


The participation of some Baloch women in insurgent groups, including female fidayeen (suicide) attacks on SFs and state establishments, has forced to government to resort to its ‘regular’ method of disappearances targeting women, which it has been following with Baloch men since decades. The first use of female suicide bombers by the Baloch insurgent groups was reported in April 26, 2022, when the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carried out a suicide attack at the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi, which resulted in the deaths of five persons, including three Chinese nationals, their Pakistani driver and a security guard. While claiming responsibility for the attack, BLA released the image and name of the attacker, female suicide bomber Shaari Baloch aka Bramsh, who was a member of BLA’s Majeed Brigade, a suicide squad. She had joined Majeed Brigade two earlier ago.

The second woman suicide attack came on June 24, 2023, when a BLA-Majeed Brigade bomber, Sumaiya Qalandrani Baloch, attacked a VIP Army convoy that was going from Turbat Airport to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters in the Turbat city of Kech District. The attack resulted in the death of one FC trooper and injuries to another five.

On August 26, 2024, a third female suicide attack was reported when BLA-Majeed Brigade suicide bomber Mahal Baloch carried out a car-bomb attack at the gate of an FC camp in the Bela area of Mastung District.

The fourth female suicide attack was reported on March 3, 2025, when Majeed Brigade suicide bomber Mihikan Baloch attacked a military convoy on the national highway near the Mughalzai area of Kalat District, resulting in the death of FC trooper Attaullah, and injuries to four others.


The last female suicide attack in this series was on November 30, 2025, when Majeed Brigade suicide bomber Zareena Rafiq aka Tarang Maho attacked the FC Headquarters in the Nokundi area of Panjgur District, resulting in the death of one FC trooper and injuries to another seven.

While the participation of a small number of Baloch women in insurgent attacks has drawn attention, women in Balochistan have also become increasingly visible in non-violent political activism over the past decade, particularly around the issue of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killing. They have led prolonged protests over “missing family members,” relatives they accuse security agencies of forcibly disappearing. Hundreds of women and family members undertook a massive march covering roughly 1,000 miles from Turbat town (Kech District) in Balochistan to Islamabad, and staged sit-ins outside the Islamabad Press Club, demanding the recovery of missing persons, drawing national attention. BYC, a civil rights movement founded by Dr. Mahrang Baloch, was led the effort. Protesters faced Police blockades, tear gas, water cannons, and temporary detentions upon reaching the capital. Despite of state atrocities, Dr. Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Deen Baloch organized and spearheaded these non-violent demonstrations.

Mahrang Baloch founded BYC in July 2018, as a grassroots movement advocating the rights of the Baloch community, with a particular emphasis on mobilising women and the families of individuals allegedly subjected to forcible disappearances. In its annual report released on February 3, 2026, BYC documented 1,223 cases of forcible disappearances and extrajudicial killings across Balochistan and adjoining regions during 2025, including affected areas in Sindh and Punjab. On August 26, 2026, the Baloch National Movement’s (BNM) human rights wing, PAANK (Tr: Shield or Protection), reported at least 556 people were forcibly disappeared and 227 others were subjected to extrajudicial or custodial killings across Balochistan between January and June 2026. A PAANK statement added that a further 171 individuals were released during the same six-month period, describing the figures as amounting to an average of roughly 93 enforced disappearances and 38 killings every month. The Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) recorded 1,455 disappearances, with 1,052 persons remaining missing. The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) estimates that more than 7,000 persons have disappeared since the insurgency began, even as its continuous protest against enforced disappearances in Quetta had reached 6,207 consecutive days by June 26, 2026.

While describing the growing involvement of Baloch women in the Baloch resistance movement, BYC leader Sammi Deen Baloch told Arab News in an interview on February 25, 2025: “We see that our men, our brothers and sons, were systematically taken from their homes, from educational institutions, dragged away while they slept at night. In such circumstances, the only option left for Baloch women was to take this fight into their own hands, to step forward and lead the battle for justice themselves.”

This shift among Baloch women, from the quiet grief to active resistance, has significantly altered the nature of the state’s response. Rather than addressing the underlying drivers of Baloch resentment, the SFs have increasingly sought to suppress dissenting voices among women, treating their growing mobilisation as a security challenge rather than a manifestation of longstanding political and social grievances.

About the author: Tushar Ranjan Mohanty, Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

Source: This article was published by SATP


About SATP
SATP, or the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) publishes the South Asia Intelligence Review, and is a product of The Institute for Conflict Management, a non-Profit Society set up in 1997 in New Delhi, and which is committed to the continuous evaluation and resolution of problems of internal security in South Asia. The Institute was set up on the initiative of, and is presently headed by, its President, Mr. K.P.S. Gill, IPS (Retd).
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Jaguar Land Rover cuts 4,000 jobs worldwide in effort to save costs

Copyright AP Photo/Frank Austin, File

By Doloresz Katanich

Published on 08/09/2026 - EURONEWS

JLR said it would cut around 4,000 roles worldwide over the next two years as part of its plan to simplify its organisation and generate £1.7 billion (€2bn) in savings.

Britain's biggest automaker plans to cut almost one in 10 jobs worldwide over the next two years.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is to cut around 4,000 jobs globally as part of a plan to reduce costs and strengthen its finances, the company said on Monday.

The company, which employs around 43,000 people worldwide, said the voluntary redundancy programme would focus on salaried and management roles rather than direct manufacturing jobs.

“The automotive industry faces significant challenges, with technological change amidst intense competition and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty,” chief executive PB Balaji said in a statement.

JLR said the savings would help lower the number of vehicles it needs to sell to break even to around 300,000 a year.

The company plans to invest between £15 billion and £18 billion (€17.3bn to €20.8bn) over the next five years in electrification, digital technologies, advanced manufacturing and customer experience.

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It also plans to launch five new products over the next 12 months and renew its focus on North America as it targets double-digit revenue growth.

“These actions will help build a stronger, more competitive JLR for all our stakeholders,” Balaji said.

Profits and sales under pressure

JLR, which makes Range Rover, Discovery and Jaguar vehicles, has been hit by weaker sales, supply problems, US tariffs and disruption from last year’s cyberattack.

Revenue fell by 9.6% year on year to £6 billion (€6.9bn) in the three months to the end of June, while wholesale volumes declined by 9.2%.

Pre-tax profit excluding exceptional items fell by 68.9% to £109 million (€126m), according to the company’s latest financial results.

JLR attributed the decline partly to supply constraints, disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East and the planned withdrawal of older Jaguar models.

The company is also facing growing competition from Chinese manufacturers as the global car industry shifts towards electric vehicles. However, JLR’s statement did not identify Chinese rivals as a direct reason for the job cuts, referring instead to “intense competition” more broadly.

Relat

Under a trade agreement between Britain and the United States, the first 100,000 UK-made cars exported to the US each year face a 10% tariff. Vehicles above that quota are subject to the higher US tariff rate.

JLR’s operations were also disrupted by a major cyberattack in 2025, which forced it to suspend production at its UK factories for several weeks.

The company, owned by India's Tata Motors, makes most of its cars in factories across the UK. It employs around 34,000 people in the country, and the majority of the job cuts are expected to affect its UK operations, although the firm has not disclosed how the planned cuts will be divided between countries.

UK government rules out bailout

The announcement comes as the UK Chancellor John Healey set out plans to boost Britain’s sluggish economy and help companies cope with rising business costs.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham's office said on Monday that while market conditions are challenging for the automotive sector globally, Britain's government will not consider a bailout for Jaguar Land Rover.

The cuts come amid a broader shake-up of Europe’s car industry, as manufacturers contend with weaker demand, higher costs, US tariffs and growing competition from Chinese rivals.

Last week, Volkswagen agreed with unions to cut a further 50,000 jobs by the end of the decade, bringing its total planned workforce reduction to around 100,000. The German group also plans to halve its model range by 2035 and is considering alternative uses for four German plants under its Future Plan 2030.

 

Germany seeks to quash 'facilitating genocide' in Gaza case brought by Nicaragua at top UN court

By Gavin Blackburn

Published on 07/09/2026 -  EURONEWS

The court could either side with Germany and throw out the case completely or rule against Berlin, meaning the case would then be considered "on the merits" in more detail.

Germany will ask the top United Nations court to toss out a case brought against it by Nicaragua on Monday, which accuses Berlin of "facilitating genocide" with its support of Israel.

Lawyers for Germany will kick off four days of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the court based in The Hague that rules on disputes between countries.

The case dates back to 2024, following the start of Israel's offensive in Gaza. Nicaragua urged ICJ judges to impose emergency measures to force Berlin to halt all aid to Israel, in particular military equipment.

The court threw out Nicaragua's request in April of that year, saying "the circumstances, as they now present themselves" did not justify emergency orders.

The case is nevertheless ongoing and Germany is now seeking to have it removed, either by persuading judges they do not have the power to rule in the case or that Nicaragua's argument does not stack up.

Palestinians gather and inspect the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, 24 August, 2026 AP Photo

Berlin has filed so-called "preliminary objections to the jurisdiction of the Court and to the admissibility of certain claims" presented by Nicaragua, according to an ICJ statement.

The detail of Berlin's case has not yet been made public.

Genocide claim

After Germany presents its case on Monday, Nicaragua will respond before both countries get another chance to address the court on Wednesday and Thursday.

It takes on average six months for the court to hand down a ruling in such cases.

The court could either side with Germany and throw out the case completely or rule against Berlin, meaning the case would then be considered "on the merits" in more detail.

During hearings at the court in April 2024, Nicaragua said Germany was "pathetic" to provide aid to Gaza while also simultaneously furnishing Israel with weapons.

Palestinians gather around the burning wreckage of a car after an Israeli army strike in Gaza City, 31 August, 2026 AP Photo

Nicaragua's ambassador to the Netherlands, Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, told the court: "Germany seems not to be able to differentiate between self-defence and genocide."

Germany retorted that Nicaragua's case was "grossly biased," strongly denying the accusations that it was in breach of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to the deadly 7 October 2023 attacks against it by Hamas-led militants.

Due to its Nazi past, Germany has placed Israel's security "at the core" of its foreign policy, its representative told the court in the 2024 hearings.

Germany said its arms trade with Israel was subject to "detailed scrutiny...that far exceeds the requirements of international law."

Rela

This procedure is separate from a high-profile case also before the ICJ, in which South Africa has accused Israel of perpetrating genocide in Gaza, which Israel denies.

The ICJ's rulings are binding but it has no power to enforce them.

For example, it ordered Russia to stop its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a demand that has been ignored by Moscow.

IFA 2026: Xiaomi wants its smart-home cars on European roads by 2027

By Sonja Issel & Donogh McCabe

Published on 06/09/2026 - EURONEWS

Xiaomi is done being just a phone brand. At IFA 2026, it laid out plans to launch electric cars in Europe by 2027, all wired into a smart-home ecosystem it calls Human x Car x Home.

Xiaomi may still be best known for its smartphones. But at IFA 2026, the Chinese technology company presented plans for a future that no longer fits inside people's pockets.

Home appliances and connected devices have become an increasingly important part of its business. Now, Xiaomi is putting greater emphasis on four wheels — and the shift is hard to miss at IFA.

Inside the company's exhibition space in Berlin, one of the first things visitors encounter is a futuristic-looking car carrying the familiar Xiaomi logo, but on a very different scale.

Xiaomi cars are already a familiar sight for consumers in China. Now the company wants to bring them to European roads too.

In that spirit, Xiaomi announced at IFA 2026 that it plans to launch its electric vehicles in Europe in 2027, marking the next stage of its expansion beyond smartphones and consumer electronics.

Xiaomi has also expanded its range of home appliances and connected devices. Euronews

But simply selling cars is not the company's ultimate goal. Like many of the technology companies exhibiting in Berlin, Xiaomi is increasingly focused on connecting different parts of everyday life.

It calls its approach "Human x Car x Home", an ecosystem designed to link personal devices, the car and technology around the home. In practice, the idea is to let you steer your home from behind the wheel of your car.

Euronews took a closer look at Xiaomi's vision at IFA 2026 to see how that ecosystem is supposed to work.

'Human x Car x Home': The vision

Rather than treating the car as a separate product, Xiaomi wants to integrate it into the same connected system that already links devices around the home. The aim is for users to move between different environments while staying connected to the devices they rely on every day.

Euronews At IFA, Xiaomi presented its "Human × Car × Home" ecosystem, connecting cars, smartphones and home devices.

At IFA, Xiaomi demonstrated what that could look like in practice. From inside the car, users could control devices back at home, including opening and closing connected curtains and switching the air conditioning on or off.

This means the car could effectively become another control point for the smart home. Someone leaving work, for example, could adjust the air conditioning before arriving home, while other connected devices could be controlled directly from the vehicle.

Xiaomi says AI and its HyperOS operating system are intended to provide the technological link between these devices. Its longer-term vision goes beyond users manually controlling individual appliances, with AI eventually using contextual information to coordinate devices across the car, smartphone and home.

Relate

For Xiaomi, the car is therefore not only a new product category, but another part of a wider connected ecosystem — extending its technology beyond smartphones and the home and onto the road.

Alongside its more concrete plans, Xiaomi has also left room for imagination, exploring what could become possible further down the road.

Xiaomi's Vision Gran Turismo Euronews

Among the concepts presented at IFA is the Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo. The electric hypercar concept was developed for the Gran Turismo racing game series and explores ideas around design, aerodynamics and digital interaction.

For now, however, this vehicle remains firmly a concept rather than a preview of a production model expected to hit the road any time soon.

Local partners

But despite leaving room for experimentation, Xiaomi also made clear that its European ambitions go beyond concepts. At its IFA press conference on 3 September, the company took concrete steps towards its planned market entry.

During a signing ceremony, the company signed letters of intent with eight German automotive retail groups: Emil Frey Germany, the Ernst Dello Group, Autohaus Dinnebier, Hahn Automobile, the LUEG Mobility Group, Fett & Wirtz, SPT Avior and Penske-Jacobs.

Germany, however, is only intended to be the starting point, with Xiaomi planning similar partnerships in other European markets.

"Europe is a key market for our global strategy," Xiaomi Chief Marketing Officer Xu Fei said during the press conference.

The company is also planning significant investment to support this broader strategy. Between 2026 and 2030, Xiaomi says it intends to invest more than €24 billion globally in research and development, with a focus on areas including AI, operating systems, semiconductors, intelligent vehicles, robotics and smart manufacturing.

EAST GERMANY; FROM STALINISM TO FASCISM

Could an AfD victory put Germany’s economic recovery at risk?

Copyright Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

By Piero Cingari

Published on 07/09/2026 - EURONEWS

AfD’s historic Saxony-Anhalt victory adds a potential new political risk to Germany’s fragile recovery, raising fears that fragmentation in Berlin could delay reforms needed to sustain growth.

Germany crossed a line on Sunday that had held since the Federal Republic was founded in 1949.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) took 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, the first outright win for a far-right party in a German state since the war.

It secured 39 of the 83 seats in the Magdeburg parliament, three short of a majority.

The result was equally striking for what happened to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Its vote share collapsed to 17.2% from 37.1% in 2021.

The Social Democrats, Greens and Left Party each secured eight seats.

The immediate economic consequences should be small. Saxony-Anhalt accounts for less than 2% of German output.

The bigger risk lies in what happens next in Berlin.

The real political risk is in Berlin

The AfD more than doubled its 2021 vote and became the first far-right party to win a German state election since the Second World War.

At the national level, the result reinforces an already dramatic erosion of support for Merz.

Only 13% of Germans are satisfied with the chancellor’s performance, matching the lowest reading for any incumbent chancellor in the history of the ARD-DeutschlandTrend survey.

The AfD leads nationally on 27%, six points ahead of the CDU/CSU at 21%, according to the latest polling average compiled by DAWUM.

That matters because Germany’s economic strategy increasingly depends on a federal government capable of implementing politically difficult reforms.

“We see an increasing risk of a political stalemate at the national level that would derail necessary reforms and could prompt us to revise Germany’s potential growth downwards,” Oxford Economics economist Alexander Valentin said.

The direct economic impact of the eastern state elections should remain limited.

Oxford Economics estimate that Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the three states voting this autumn, account for only around 8% of German GDP.

Together, they hold just 11 of the 69 votes in the Bundesrat, Germany’s upper house.

Valentin said none of the likely election outcomes would alter the national balance of power, assuming the federal coalition survives.

The risk is therefore less about an immediate economic shock and more about political contagion.

Heavy losses for mainstream parties could intensify internal pressure on the CDU and Social Democrats.

That could make compromises over pensions, labour markets and energy policy harder.

Corporate Germany now needs reform, not just spending

Germany’s industrial difficulties were never simply caused by insufficient government spending.

Slow permitting, high energy costs, labour shortages, ageing infrastructure and weakening competitiveness have all complicated long-term investment decisions.

Intel’s abandoned semiconductor project in Saxony-Anhalt became a symbol of that problem.

The US chipmaker was going to spend €30 billion on a chip complex, backed by roughly €10 billion of federal subsidy and promising 3,000 direct jobs. Intel cancelled the project in July 2025.

The challenge is even clearer in Germany’s most important industrial sector.

Volkswagen AG is implementing the biggest restructuring in its 89-year history.

On 3 September the supervisory board approved Future Plan 2030, adding 50,000 job cuts to the 50,000 already under way.

That is close to 100,000 positions by the end of the decade, around 15% of the group's workforce.

Four German plants, at Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and Neckarsulm, have no secured car production beyond 2031.

Shares of Volkswagen AG have fallen by 78% since their 2020 highs.

The broader German car industry tells a similar story.

Germany produced 2.65 million passenger cars during the first eight months of 2026, 4% fewer than a year earlier and 16% below 2019 levels.

Political fragmentation make fixing these problems harder.

Markets are cautious, not panicking yet

The market reaction to Sunday’s regional election was relatively muted.

The DAX index traded 0.3% lower.

The 10-year Bund yield rose by just 1 basis point to around 3.35% on Monday, close to levels not seen in 15 years.

The rise from June’s 2.8% Bund yield has been driven mainly by higher energy prices, renewed inflation concerns and expectations of tighter European Central Bank policy, rather than by Germany’s political turmoil itself.

Still, persistently higher borrowing costs increase the price of policy mistakes.

There is light, and there is a deadline

The irony is that Germany’s underlying economic data are beginning to strengthen.

The S&P Global manufacturing PMI jumped from 52.2 in July to 54.3 in August, its highest in 51 months.

New orders increased at the fastest pace since February 2022, helped by defence spending, data-centre construction and stockpiling.

“The recovery in the German manufacturing sector kicked up a gear in August,” S&P Global Market Intelligence economics associate director Phil Smith said.

That leaves Germany at an economic crossroads.

Sunday’s election does not kill the recovery. Defence spending, infrastructure investment and improving factory orders could keep growth moving higher.

Germany no longer lacks fiscal firepower.

What Sunday put in doubt is whether it still has the political cohesion to spend it well, and the two years in which that question gets answered have already begun.