Eurotopics.net

After nearly three years of industrial action, the Swedish trade union IF Metall has ended its strike at Tesla. The US car manufacturer had refused to sign a collective agreement, as is customary in Sweden. According to reports, it "bought out" around 80 remaining striking employees with severance packages.

For the past five years the Taliban have again been in power in Afghanistan. The leadership held a ceremony to mark the occasion outside the former US embassy, but the majority of the population has no reason to celebrate: millions are starving and women are being systematically excluded from public life and education. Now they are not even allowed to sing. Meanwhile, several EU countries have begun deporting refugees back to Afghanistan again.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has stalled on the ground – and the war is taking an ever bigger toll on the Russian economy. Meanwhile, Kyiv claims to have recaptured 745 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory since the start of the year. Against this backdrop, talk of a new mobilisation is growing louder in Moscow – although this is unlikely to happen before the Duma elections in mid-September. What would the impact be?

The US is apparently now relying on economic pressure rather than military action to force Iran to make concessions. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital connection for the global economy, remains blocked. US Vice-President JD Vance has said that lowering oil prices is now the main objective in the war with Iran. Commentators discuss the US's weakened position.