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Russian invasion  The fighting
Polish missile likely hit house in eastern Poland

The house hit in eastern Poland when Russian drones were shot down over the country was likely hit by a missile fired by a Polish fighter jet, Tomasz Siemoniak, Minister of Poland's Special Security Services, said in an interview with TVN24.

- Everything indicates that it was a missile fired by our own aircraft, in defense of Poland, the homeland and our citizens, he said in the interview. He added that the military will cover all costs and that an investigation is underway.

On Tuesday, Rzeczpospolita reported, citing sources, that the house had been hit by a Polish missile, Reuters reports.

According to the newspaper, it was fired from an F-16 fighter jet whose navigation system stopped working during the operation to shoot down the Russian drones.

Ukrainian deported after drone flight in Poland

A 21-year-old Ukrainian man has been deported after flying the drone that was forced down over sensitive government buildings in Poland earlier this week, several media outlets report.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk initially stated that two Belarusians had been arrested for flying the drone. However, it turned out to be the 21-year-old man from Ukraine and a 17-year-old woman from Belarus. The woman was only heard as a witness and was released shortly afterwards.

According to the Polish security service, the drone flight cannot be linked to espionage, writes Kyiv Independent.

Political situation in France
Budget negotiations begin in France – seeking compromise

Following the collapse of the government in France, the new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is now beginning budget negotiations with the opposition. This is reported by Euractiv.

The goal of the meetings that Lecornu held with the leaders of the opposition parties on Wednesday is to try to find room for compromise. For his government to survive the process, he will need to secure 210 votes from the center and right. In addition, he needs to convince 66 members of the Socialist Party (PS) to abstain.

PS leader Olivier Faure demanded, among other things, that Lecornu scrap former Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's 44 billion euro austerity package. Instead of the savings, the Socialists want to introduce a new form of wealth tax, the so-called Zucman tax.

Political situation in Iran
Analysis: Iran is being drawn deeper into China's sphere

China could become a lifeline for Iran, writes Afshon Ostovar in an analysis in Foreign Affairs.

Since the war in Gaza, several of Iran's most important proxy groups in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, have been greatly weakened. In addition, large parts of Iran's air defenses have been knocked out in Israeli attacks.

According to Ostovar, China can help Iran rebuild its defenses with HQ-9 air defenses and modernize its air force with J-10 fighter jets. Deeper cooperation can also give China strategic advantages globally, including by tying up American resources in the Middle East in the event of a war with Taiwan.

At the same time, Iran is being forced closer to economic dependence on China, writes Fatemeh Aman in an analysis in the National Interest. This is because India's investments in the Iranian port of Chabahar are at risk of decreasing due to sanctions threats from both the US and the EU.

The project has long been financed by India and is seen as the country's response to China's giant investment in Gwadar in Pakistan.

For Iran, the development is frustrating, as the country had hoped that Indian investments would create greater room for maneuver to reduce dependence on China and at the same time counteract the effects of US sanctions.

Millions in gold stolen in Paris museum heist

Thieves have stolen gold worth 6.6 million kronor from the Natural History Museum in Paris. The break-in was discovered on Tuesday morning and the intruders are believed to have used an angle grinder and a blowtorch to get in, AFP reports.

The building's alarm has been off since a hacker attack during the summer and police suspect that this made it easier for the thieves to strike.

The museum's press department tells AFP that the gold had an "immeasurable cultural heritage value" and the museum director says that it must be about "extremely professional" thieves who knew exactly what they were going to steal.

Over a thousand tourists evacuated near Machu Picchu

Around 1,400 tourists were evacuated from a train station near the Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru on Tuesday, after demonstrations blocked the railway tracks. This was announced by local authorities according to AFP. Around 900 tourists were stranded.

The protesters demanded that their interests be represented in a tender process for a new bus operator, writes TT.

Around 4,500 people visit the world heritage site daily, according to authorities.