Comment: Spain is certainly struggling to deal with the influx of illegal migrants, with the following selection of footage mostly from just the last few months:

Comment: The above is particularly notable because there was a suspicious spate of incidents at military sites back in April, elsewhere in the West: Explosion rocks UK's only munitions filling factory, day after US shell plant bursts into flames

However, of late, Germany in particular has seen a spike in fires and incidents at industrial sites:

26th August:

Fire breaks out in chemical park in eastern Germany

A fire broke out in the Leuna Chemical Park in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt on Monday morning.

The plant's fire brigade is currently engaged, and external forces have not yet been requested, a spokesman for the operating company Infraleuna said.

Residents reported on social media that there had been a loud bang beforehand.

According to Infraleuna, the fire brigade's operation is under way in the area of the company Linde in the chemical park.

Linde AG operates the company's largest gas centre in Leuna, producing hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and other speciality gases.

29th July:

Fire at BASF chemicals plant in Germany extinguished; 14 hurt

A fire that broke out at German chemicals giant BASF's plant in Ludwigshafen has been extinguished, a company spokesperson and police said on Monday.

Fourteen workers sustained minor injuries in the incident, which occurred when an explosion set off a blaze in a southern section of the company's headquarters, a BASF statement said.

The company did not provide details on whether there was any impact on production.

BASF said its environmental control vehicles measured slightly elevated levels of hydrocarbons in the area but that there was no threat to the public.

A column of smoke was visible from outside the premises.

Shares in the company were down 2% at midday, after falling by as much as 2.8% earlier on news of the fire.

Whether these incidents are related remains to be seen. However it is notable that Germany recently declared a moratorium on supplying arms to the NATO-Kiev junta for the war on Russia in Ukraine. Although, soon after, it then 'reaffirmed' its support via various other means, including billions stolen Russian assets, as well as troop training.

Defense News reported on the 20th of August:

Following the leak of a letter by German Finance Minister Christian Lindner over the weekend, media have been speculating about whether the country will be able to keep up its high level of support for Ukraine in 2025. In the missive dated Aug. 5, Lindner wrote that "new measures" should only be taken once funding is secured under a new budget - a longstanding contentious issue within the coalition government.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper first reported on the letter, which was also seen by the German press agency dpa.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Saturday about a supposed moratorium declared by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on new weapons deliveries to Ukraine beyond what has already been authorized, citing internal documents. This aligns with Lindner's internal request to respect spending caps, which also cover defense.

Germany is Europe's most significant backer of Kyiv's defensive fight against Russian invaders, providing over €14 billion ($15.5 billion) in support - mostly military - between when the invasion started in February 2022 and the end of June 2024, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy's public tracker.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, government spokesperson Wolfgang Büchner countered journalists' questions on the FAZ reporting, saying that "absolutely nothing will change in our commitment and decisiveness in supporting Ukraine." Suggesting otherwise would be "almost defamatory," he said.

It is true, however, that Berlin is clamoring to balance a new federal budget that has been hotly contested for months. Currently, €4 billion are slated for supporting Ukraine next year, down from €7.5 billion in 2024. This year's number was raised from an original value of €4 billion by the Bundestag, the German parliament.

Instead of taking Ukraine aid money from Germany's budget, it would in the future come from dividends on frozen Russian assets, the German finance minister said in his internal letter. The G7 countries have vowed to use the vast frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine's survival, including furnishing a $50 billion loan to the country.

Meanwhile, already-authorized German weapons deliveries will continue in 2025, Büchner confirmed on Monday. In the next calendar year, "more than 20 PzH 2000, Zuzana and RCH 155 howitzers, 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 37 Leopard 1A5s, five Gepards, three IRIS-T SLM systems and also three IRIS-T SLS systems, as well as two Skynex air defense systems and thousands of rounds of ammunition" will be transferred to Ukraine, he said.

Comment:
1) The French paper Liberation had an article which translated reads:
What does the judicial control of Pavel Durov, boss of Telegram, banned from leaving France consist of?
Some translated excerpts from the official message and quoted in the article read:

"was placed under judicial supervision with in particular the obligation to provide a deposit of 5 million euros, the obligation to report to the police station twice a week, and the ban on leaving French territory".

"is free and must pay bail, failing which his judicial control may be revoked. He must reside at the address fixed by the judge, with hours to be respected, and the police station will always be the same (unless a change of declared address is granted by the judge)."

"the ban on leaving the territory actually goes hand in hand with the surrender of all passports."

"a judicial review is distinct from a house arrest under electronic surveillance. It is indeed a judicial review which was decided by the judge, without a bracelet therefore".

2) From the same outlet as the article, there was a comment from Nassim Taleb on his view of what Macron has said about the case:

28 Aug, 2024 15:07
Black Swan author slams 'Orwellian' Macron
Nassim Taleb says the French president's words about the arrest of the Telegram founder should be interpreted "in reverse"

© Getty Images / Mohd Zakir; Hindustan TimesLebanese-American essayist, author of 'Black Swan', Nassim Nicholas Taleb

French President Emmanuel Macron's statements about the arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov should be interpreted as the opposite of what he actually says, economist and 'Black Swan' author Nassim Taleb has said.

The French leader posted a message on X on Monday insisting that the detention of Durov was "in no way a political decision" and was part of an ongoing "judicial investigation." Macron claimed that France is, and will be, "deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship."

However, the president pointed out that "in a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within a legal framework" and that "it is up to the judiciary, in full independence, to enforce the law."

Nassim responded to the president's message by writing that "every word he wrote must be interpreted in reverse" and described Macron's statement as "Orwellian."

"Expecting a Hegelian state to safeguard liberty is akin to trusting a bordello owner to promote chastity," the author wrote.
[...]

3) The EU rules stipulate that if a platform has more than 45 million users they have to register and comply with their social media legislation. Telegram used, according to Telegram to have 41 million users. With the publicity given to the case this number might well go up, bringing Telegram monthly users undeniably above the 45 million. How this will affect the platform is to be seen.

4) From the same source there was also:

28 Aug, 2024 16:25
West using 'mafia tactics' on Durov - Serbian MP
France is after Telegram's encryption codes, Aleksandar Pavic has claimed in an interview with RT
[...]
With Macron due in Belgrade later this week, Pavic said he hopes Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will back his criticism of Durov's arrest with a practical step, such as suspending talks to buy Rafale fighter jets from France.

Note: According to French media, Macron began a two day visit to Serbia on August 29.

5) An alternative to Telegram encryption codes is for France is to implement or request a country blocking like it has done with Rumble and Odysee.

For now only some channels are blocked as requested by European Governments. Politico had this headline in 2022:

Telegram bans Russian state media after pressure from Europe
Major tech firms have also banned RT from their platforms.

6) From TASS there was:

1 Mar 2022, 16:34
RT France's Telegram channel is unavailable in France — RT
The channel has over 50,000 subscribers

7) See also:

• Best of the Web: US government-funded censorship arm 'Atlantic Council' targeted Telegram just two months before Durov's arrest
• Fyodor Lukyanov: The arrest of Telegram's billionaire boss shows that big changes are coming
• Durov released on €5 million bail
• How the EU tightened the noose on Telegram

8) Simultaneous with the steps in France, will other Governments move in a similar direction? From Jakarta, there was on August 29, 2024 | 10:40 am
Indonesia Mulls Blocking Bigo Live and Telegram Over Porn and Gambling Allegations

Comment: So much for crypto as a safe haven.

• A top ECB official is urging a global crackdown on the crypto market to prevent a 'lawless frenzy'
• Crypto CIA spy op revelations makes us see US' Huawei objections in a new light
• US regulators want the 'crypto' out of cryptocurrency - because that will help them use it to control your every move