Athens Explosion Kills Six as Saudi Arabia Intercepts Houthi Attack and Fighting Escalates in Tigray
Weekly Rapport 39 | 2026
WEEKLY REPORTS
9/27/2026
Six Killed After Explosion in Central Athens
Six people have been killed after an explosion caused a residential building to collapse in the historic centre of Athens, close to some of the Greek capital’s most heavily visited tourist sites.
The explosion occurred shortly after 7:30 a.m. on Friday in the Plaka district, near the Acropolis and Temple of Olympian Zeus. Four American tourists staying on the first floor were among those killed, alongside a 78-year-old British man and a 77-year-old Greek woman who lived on the second floor.
Firefighters spent hours searching through the rubble using rescue dogs, cameras and specialised listening equipment. Two women were rescued from an adjacent building and taken to hospital, while another person suffered minor injuries from debris.
Investigators are examining whether a gas leak caused the explosion. Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said preliminary information indicated that the blast was probably connected to gas infrastructure, although authorities had not established a definitive cause by Saturday. The explosion damaged neighbouring buildings, shops and vehicles and scattered debris across surrounding streets.
The incident occurred in one of Athens’ best-known neighbourhoods, characterised by narrow streets and older buildings beneath the Acropolis, and prompted an extensive emergency operation in the centre of the city.
Pope Leo Draws Hundreds of Thousands to Central Paris
An estimated 800,000 people gathered in central Paris on Saturday as Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air Mass during his first official papal visit to France.
Crowds stretched from Place de la Concorde along the Champs-Élysées towards the Arc de Triomphe, with French and Vatican flags lining the route as Leo travelled through the area in the popemobile.
The Vatican cited local authorities in putting attendance at approximately 800,000, substantially above the 600,000 people who had registered beforehand. The gathering was among the largest public events in Paris in recent years.
Leo’s four-day visit comes as the Catholic Church in France confronts both declining regular participation and the continuing consequences of clerical sexual abuse. A major independent investigation published in 2021 estimated that hundreds of thousands of children had suffered abuse within French Catholic institutions over seven decades. Leo’s itinerary includes a meeting with survivors in Lourdes.
France is officially secular and Catholic observance has declined considerably over recent decades, although the country has recently recorded increased adult baptisms. The scale of Saturday’s gathering nevertheless demonstrated the continuing capacity of major Catholic events to attract large crowds.
Leo is scheduled to continue to Lourdes before travelling to Metz and returning to Rome.
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Missiles and Drones as Houthi Conflict Continues
Saudi-led forces said they intercepted another wave of Houthi missiles and drones on Saturday, continuing a confrontation that has expanded considerably during September.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said two drones launched towards Riyadh were destroyed, while two ballistic missiles targeting Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia were also intercepted.
The attacks followed earlier Houthi strikes against Saudi military installations and energy infrastructure, including damage to the East-West Pipeline, as well as an attack directed towards Riyadh the previous weekend.
Saudi Arabia has responded with strikes against Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. The Houthis said Saudi forces carried out 14 air and missile strikes against Taiz, Amran, Marib and Saada during 24 hours.
The confrontation has intensified since Houthi forces made substantial territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and seized islands around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The United Nations says more than 122,000 people have been displaced during the latest escalation, while hundreds have been killed.
Britain has separately agreed to provide aerial-refuelling assistance to Saudi forces while describing its involvement as defensive. The United States has ruled out directly joining the latest fighting.
The renewed attacks come as Saudi Arabia is already managing the consequences of the wider Iran conflict, disruption to regional energy infrastructure and continuing security concerns surrounding both the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.
Russia and Ukraine Exchange Deadly Strikes
At least 10 people were killed in Russian and Ukrainian attacks on Saturday as long-range strikes continued on both sides of the war.
Russian attacks killed four people in Ukraine, including two women whose bodies were recovered from a destroyed home in Zaporizhzhia. Another two people were reported killed in Sumy.
Ukrainian attacks killed six people in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, according to officials cited by international news agencies.
The attacks followed a period of particularly intense Ukrainian drone operations against Russian territory, including strikes targeting oil refineries and other energy infrastructure. Russia has simultaneously continued large-scale missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking during the UN General Assembly in New York, reiterated Moscow’s intention to continue the war and accused European governments of obstructing diplomatic efforts.
The latest strikes come as the United States continues attempting to establish another negotiating process. Fundamental differences remain over territory, security guarantees and the terms under which fighting would stop.
European Governments Prepare for Further Russian Hybrid Activity
European security officials are also preparing for increased Russian activity beyond the conventional battlefield in Ukraine.
Recent incidents involving drones, airspace violations, sabotage and suspected arson have increased concern in several European countries. Poland, Romania and Moldova have repeatedly reported incursions or incidents linked to Russian attacks against neighbouring Ukraine.
The term hybrid warfare encompasses activities that remain below the threshold of conventional military conflict, including sabotage, cyberattacks, disinformation, interference with infrastructure and covert operations.
European authorities have investigated numerous incidents since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Governments differ over the attribution of individual cases, and not every unexplained incident has been established as Russian-directed.
The issue has nevertheless become more prominent as Russian drones and missiles have crossed or approached NATO airspace during attacks on Ukraine. European governments have consequently strengthened surveillance and protection around military installations, energy infrastructure, telecommunications networks and transport systems.
Renewed Fighting Threatens Ethiopia’s Tigray Peace Agreement
Fighting between Ethiopian federal forces and armed groups in Tigray has intensified, increasing concerns that the 2022 agreement that ended one of Africa’s deadliest recent conflicts could collapse.
Tigrayan forces have launched operations in several areas while both sides accuse the other of initiating the latest hostilities.
The escalation follows the formation of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, bringing together seven opposition and armed groups. They include the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, Oromo Liberation Army and Amhara Fano National Movement. The coalition says it seeks to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
The development is particularly significant because some of the organisations involved have previously fought one another.
Ethiopia’s 2020-22 Tigray war caused widespread displacement, hunger and destruction before the Pretoria peace agreement ended most direct fighting between federal and Tigrayan forces.
Major disagreements remained after the agreement, however, including over territorial control, disarmament and political authority. Tigrayan representatives now say the peace settlement is no longer functioning, while the federal government disputes their account of responsibility for the renewed fighting.
Bangkok Declared Disaster Zone After Days of Heavy Rain
All 50 districts of Bangkok were declared a disaster zone after persistent rainfall flooded roads, homes and businesses across the Thai capital.
Almost 300 millimetres of rain fell from Thursday afternoon into the weekend, according to Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt. Unlike the shorter downpours frequently experienced during Thailand’s monsoon season, continuous rainfall left drainage canals full and prevented water from clearing normally.
Eastern Bangkok was among the areas most severely affected. Images showed residents moving through deep floodwater and vehicles abandoned on submerged roads.
Authorities opened parking facilities at parts of Bangkok’s metro network so residents could move vehicles to higher ground. Officials said conditions had begun stabilising but warned that removing the accumulated water could take several days if further heavy rain did not fall.
The flooding has revived memories of Thailand’s catastrophic 2011 floods, which killed more than 500 people and affected millions of homes.
Authorities have also warned about flash flooding, landslides and overflowing rivers elsewhere in central, eastern and northeastern Thailand.
Switzerland Votes on Definition of Neutrality
Swiss voters are deciding whether to place a stricter definition of the country’s longstanding neutrality directly into the constitution.
The proposal would establish Switzerland’s neutrality as “perpetual and armed” and substantially restrict the government’s ability to participate in economic sanctions imposed by other countries. It would also limit military cooperation with organisations such as NATO except in circumstances involving a direct attack on Switzerland.
The debate has intensified since Russia invaded Ukraine. Switzerland adopted European Union sanctions against Russia while maintaining that doing so was compatible with its neutral status.
Supporters of the initiative argue that neutrality needs clearer constitutional protection and that Switzerland should avoid involvement in international sanctions regimes. Opponents argue that the proposal would unnecessarily constrain foreign policy and Switzerland’s ability to respond to violations of international law.
The referendum therefore concerns the legal definition and practical application of neutrality rather than whether Switzerland should abandon neutrality altogether.
Eviction of 87-Year-Old Woman Focuses Attention on Madrid Housing
The eviction of an 87-year-old disabled woman from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for more than seven decades has triggered protests and renewed attention on Spain’s housing pressures.
Maricarmen had lived in the property in Madrid’s Retiro district for 71 years before the building was purchased by a property developer. Housing activists attempted to prevent the eviction, leading to clashes with riot police, who used tear gas against demonstrators.
The case has become a focal point for Madrid’s tenants’ movement amid rising rents and concerns about the availability of affordable housing.
Spain has experienced strong increases in property and rental prices in major cities and tourist areas. Campaigners have increasingly focused on the role of short-term tourist accommodation, investment properties and the acquisition of residential buildings by developers.
Maricarmen’s eviction has consequently moved beyond an individual property dispute and into Spain’s wider public debate over housing availability and tenant protections.
German Town Stops New Holocaust Memorial Stones
The eastern German town of Heidenau has voted to prevent the installation of additional Stolpersteine, the small brass plaques placed in pavements to commemorate individual victims of Nazi persecution.
The council approved the proposal by 13 votes to six, with one abstention. Members of the CDU, AfD and local Oberelbe group supported the motion.
Supporters argued that embedding victims’ names in pavements where people walk over them was an inappropriate form of remembrance and favoured concentrating commemoration at a central memorial.
The city administration had opposed a blanket prohibition, saying a central memorial did not require ending the existing programme.
Created by German artist Gunter Demnig in the 1990s, the Stolpersteine project places individual plaques outside the last freely chosen homes or workplaces of people persecuted by the Nazi regime. More than 100,000 have been installed across Europe, making the project one of the continent’s largest decentralised memorials.
Existing stones in Heidenau are not being removed.
NAZA Directors Bring Gaza Documentary to New York
Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor brought their documentary NAZA to the New York Film Festival this weekend after receiving threats and intense political criticism in Israel.
The documentary examines Israeli military decision-making during the Gaza war and includes testimony from Israeli military and intelligence personnel. It received the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month and a lengthy standing ovation.
Its directors have subsequently faced accusations of treason and threats of violence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he intends to pursue legislation allowing citizenship to be revoked from people he says defame Israeli soldiers, while other political figures have condemned the documentary. More than 1,500 Israeli filmmakers and dozens of human-rights organisations have publicly supported Abraham and Szor.
The filmmakers dispute the accusations against them and say threats will not prevent the film’s release.
Following its North American premiere in New York, NAZA is scheduled for theatrical distribution in dozens of countries before becoming available online.
The weekend’s developments ranged from the deadly collapse of a building in central Athens and severe flooding across Bangkok to renewed military escalation in Yemen, Ukraine and Ethiopia. Pope Leo XIV drew hundreds of thousands of people to central Paris, while Switzerland voted on how neutrality should be defined and an eviction in Madrid intensified debate over Spain’s housing pressures. Elsewhere, European governments prepared for further hybrid activity linked to Russia, a German town halted new Stolpersteine memorials, and the directors of NAZA brought their contested Gaza documentary to New York.
The full source material for the developments covered in this report is available through the references below. Readers can follow the links to access the original reporting and read each story in full.
References:
Greece
• Al Jazeera — Four American tourists among 6 killed in suspected gas leak blast in Athens
• The New York Times — Six Dead After Explosion in Athens Tourist District
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/world/europe/athens-tourists-explosion.html
France & the Catholic Church
• Associated Press — Pope Leo draws 800,000 people to central Paris for open-air Mass on iconic square
https://apnews.com/article/france-pope-concorde-catholics-mass-5fc1201a104e6f5a1b044a7ceb39fb1a
Saudi Arabia & Yemen
• Reuters — Saudi coalition says it intercepts Houthi missiles, drones
Russia, Ukraine & European Security
• DW — Russia expected to intensify hybrid war on Europe
https://www.dw.com/en/russia-expected-to-intensify-hybrid-war-on-europe/a-79444596
• NBC News — Europe frets as the Kremlin pushes the limits of its hybrid warfare
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/europe/europe-frets-kremlin-pushes-limits-hybrid-warfare-rcna599351
• The New York Times — Russian Foreign Minister Vows Russia Will See Ukraine War Through
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/world/europe/russia-germany-lavrov-ukraine-war.html
• Yahoo News — Russia rains death on Ukraine as Zelensky demands tougher sanctions
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/russia-rains-death-ukraine-zelensky-161836363.html
• ABC News — Russian and Ukrainian strikes leave 10 dead as Trump calls on Zelenskyy to ‘settle with Putin’
Ethiopia & Tigray
• Al Jazeera — Is Ethiopia on the verge of another civil war as fighting erupts in Tigray?
Thailand
• Al Jazeera — Disaster zone declared across Bangkok as heavy rain triggers flooding
• CNN — Thai capital Bangkok declared disaster zone amid widespread flooding
https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/26/asia/bangkok-flooding-disaster-zone-thailand-intl
Switzerland
• Financial Times — Swiss voters to decide fate of centuries-old neutrality
https://www.ft.com/content/aaf4c7d7-b4bc-4b5c-83b7-7f761d315b63
Spain
• Fortune — 87-year-old woman’s eviction from Madrid apartment sparks protest against Spain’s housing crisis
• The Guardian — Eviction of 87-year-old puts Spain’s deepening housing crisis in the spotlight
Germany & Remembrance
• BBC News — German town bans ‘stumbling stone’ memorials to Nazi victims
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqm2mm4y5dkko
Film & Gaza
• The Guardian — NAZA film-makers address threats at documentary’s New York City premiere
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/27/naza-film-new-york-city-premiere
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