Through January 17, 2027, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt is presenting an exhibition dedicated to Mary Magdalene. The exhibition features more than 100 paintings, sculptures, and works of graphic art spanning a period from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era. The exhibition features loans from institutions in London, Berlin, New York, Paris, as well as the Vatican and Washington, D.C. This exceptional collection of works offers a broad overview of the depiction of Mary Magdalene throughout the centuries.

Since September 13, Russia has been escalating hostilities against the European Union with incidents in Poland, Denmark, and Lithuania. On the night of September 13, a train traveling from Kyiv to Warsaw was struck by a Russian drone in Yahodyn, 2 kilometers from the border. The targeted train line had reportedly been used by Western dignitaries shortly before. The next day, a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea fired two flares at a Danish military helicopter conducting a routine reconnaissance mission. Copenhagen described Russia's actions as "irresponsible" and "totally unacceptable." Finally, on September 15, NATO fighter jets shot down a drone flying over Lithuania near Kaunas. According to the National Crisis Management Center, the drone is believed to have come from the east, from Belarus.

On September 17, Thales announced the launch of HexaForce, a new AI-enhanced multi-domain command and control system covering land, air, sea, cyber, space, and the information domain. Built on cortAIx, Thales' AI accelerator (800 engineers and data scientists), HexaForce speeds up decision-making for operators at every stage of their mission: faster planning, better understanding of the terrain, real-time information sharing, and optimized resource allocation. The system is designed to be modular and sovereign: governments can integrate the technology partners of their choice while retaining control over their data.

On September 16, Members of the European Parliament adopted a series of measures aimed at strengthening the European defense industry. In particular, they supported three legislative acts from the Omnibus V package: accelerating the issuance of authorizations for defense preparedness projects, simplifying transfers of military goods between Member States, and facilitating defense procurement and investment.

On September 16, Members of the European Parliament adopted a resolution on hybrid warfare and the protection of the Union's territorial integrity. Against a backdrop of increasing Russian hybrid activities and physical attacks targeting Member States, the resolution identifies Russia as "the most dangerous state actor in terms of the hybrid threat." The Parliament is therefore calling on the Commission and the Council to review existing legal frameworks to combat such threats. It proposes the creation of a "black book on hybrid aggression by Russia, China, and other countries."

On September 20, state elections were held in Berlin and the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In Berlin, the radical left-wing party Die Linke came in first with 25.7%, followed by the CDU with 18.8% and the far-right AfD with 16.3%. The Greens received 14.3%, and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) received 12.1%. In the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AfD came in first with 38.2%. In second place, the SPD secured 35.5%. Die Linke followed with 6.5%, and the Greens with 5.7%. For the first time since 1949, the CDU failed to clear the 5% threshold required for representation and will therefore not hold any seats in the Landtag. Voter turnout increased in both elections: in Berlin, it rose from 63% to 74.2%, and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, from 70.8% to 78.1%.

On 17 September Romanian President Nicușor Dan offered the position of prime minister to Siegfried Mureșan, a member of the European Parliament. He has ten days to form a government while negotiating with Parliament to secure a majority. This is Nicușor Dan's third attempt to appoint a new prime minister since the fall of the Bolojan government in May.

On September 17, the European Commission and South Korea signed an agreement to deepen their cooperation on secure satellite connectivity and to explore South Korea's future integration into the European IRIS² program. To date, Norway and Iceland are the only third countries to have joined the program.

On September 20, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. They called for closer bilateral ties, particularly in the areas of fisheries, security, and energy.

On September 16, MEPs adopted a reform of the EU Customs Code that introduces new rules regarding e-commerce. As a result, a new European customs authority will be established in Lille. Its responsibilities will include coordinating customs cooperation among EU member states and managing the new centralized IT system, the EU Data Hub. The reform also introduces processing fees "for each item purchased from online stores in third countries and shipped directly to EU consumers."

On September 18, the Eurogroup—comprising the finance ministers of the eurozone member countries—met in Dublin. Based on the work of the Commission, the Parliament, and the ECB, they agreed on the resilience of the European economy, with second-quarter growth exceeding initial forecasts and sovereign spreads remaining relatively under control. They agreed on the best strategies to sustain this resilience in light of pressures on energy prices and the rising cost of capital, namely the pursuit of European energy independence and sustainable fiscal paths. The meeting concluded with a discussion on European productivity.

From meteorology to crisis management on the ground, space-based observation helps us better understand Earth and plays a crucial role in crisis response. In this new episode from Station Schuman, Isabelle Duvaux-Béchon takes a closer look at the European Space Agency (ESA): its role, its missions, and the major challenges it addresses. From space exploration to Earth observation, telecommunications, and science, this episode explains why the ESA is a major player in European space programs and how its activities contribute to a better understanding of our planet.