EU leaders have been holding a two-day summit in Brussels at which a spat with Poland over its rejection of the EU's legal order was high on the agenda. This after the Constitutional Court in Warsaw ruled earlier this month that EU law applies only in specific, limited areas and that Polish law prevails in all other circumstances. Before the summit started, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both held one-on-one talks with the Polish prime minister.

Thursday saw the worst gunfire endured by Beirut in more than a decade: four hours of sustained exchanges between rooftop snipers and pro-Hezbollah demonstrators below. The protesters were rallying against a magistrate's efforts to follow criminal negligence cases against officials responsible for last year's port explosion that shook Lebanon's capital to its core. If the Lebanese are spooked, that’s because it happened on what was a frontline during the civil war between Christian and Shia militias.

Punditry is a safe sport when played in the air-conditioned comfort of a Paris studio; less so for the two intrepid winners of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize: Russia's Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which has seen seven of its journalists killed because of their reporting; and Maria Ressa, co-founder of the news website Rappler, which, despite threats and two arrests, continues to call out human rights abuses under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

The first of October means Britain is taking back control. As of this Friday, European travellers to post-Brexit Great Britain can no longer bring a simple ID card – they will have to show a passport. However, as petrol shortages continue, tempers are running short as lines get long. This Friday, around one quarter of British service stations ran dry, leading to scenes of shouting, fist fights and motorists hoarding fuel in water bottles.

This week at United Nations headquarters in New York, Joe Biden sat down with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The meeting came at a time when France, Washington's oldest ally, had recalled ambassadors to both countries – an unprecedented reaction to the blindside of a dropped submarine contract with Canberra and a surprise military alliance that brings in the UK and shuts out Paris.

A "stab in the back", a "breach of trust". France's foreign minister is fuming after Australia's surprise dumping of a deal for 12 French diesel-power battle-ready submarines in favour of a new three-way defence partnership with the US and the UK, along with Washington providing the technology for eight nuclear-powered subs. The Pacific is becoming a more volatile place.

We are discussing 9/11, the terror attacks that changed the world and all our lives. We head to New York, where François Picard describes the mood on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the atrocities that claimed some 3,000 lives.

They were chased out two decades ago, but now they're back. On Tuesday at Kabul airport, the Taliban celebrated their return to power in Afghanistan, at times with seized US-built military hardware. This after the last US soldiers hopped aboard the last flight, one day earlier than announced. After 20 years, more than 2,300 US casualties US and $2 trillion spent, the US president took stock in a speech that capped the day.

Hundreds of people are still awaiting evacuation – and that's only inside the perimeter of Kabul airport. On the day after twin attacks targeting the US-led evacuation operation, flights out are resuming ahead of an August 31 deadline. The death toll from the blasts continues to rise. As well as dozens of Afghans, 13 US military personnel have been killed: the highest US casualty toll since an attack in Mosul, Iraq in 2004.

"It's Coming Home" is a pop song written for England's hosting of the Euros back in 1996. There is a petition up before parliament to make next Monday a bank holiday if England win the tournament. It must be tempting to get carried away, especially when there is political mileage to be gained. There is that minor technicality of having to beat Italy – a rejuvenated Italy with a savvy mix of youth and experience, like 36-year-old captain Giorgio Chiellini.