September 8: Texas 9/11 Curriculum and France’s Channel Crossing Trial

Russia and North Korea North Korea says its first road bridge to Russia marks closer ties with Moscow. The opening comes as the countries deepen military and economic cooperation following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, making the transport link another visible sign of an increasingly consequential partnership. Repairing appliances in Europe Fewer than one in five broken household appliances are repaired in major EU economies, as cost and inconvenience push consumers toward replacement. Repairs still cost households roughly €12 billion a year, increasing pressure on EU policymakers to make spare parts, service and repair access more practical. English Channel crossing trial A trial has begun in France over the deadliest migrant crossing in the English Channel. Survivors are expected to give evidence, while a separate investigation examines the French naval response and wider questions over how these heavily monitored waters were policed. West Bank school safety Children at a Palestinian school in al-Mughayyir face growing fears after six people, including three pupils, were killed this year amid increased Israeli settler-related violence. The school has become a focal point for the daily insecurity facing Palestinian communities in the area. Texas social studies standards Texas’s Republican-majority State Board of Education has approved new high-school social studies standards describing “radical Islam” as the motive for the September 11 attacks and requiring lessons on early Islam that critics, including board-appointed experts, say are historically unreliable. Muslim groups and students opposed the changes, which are expected to enter classrooms in the 2030–31 school year.