More than a million people have fled their homes in the short time since Israel began its assault on Lebanon. Several hundred thousand have sought refuge in Syria and Iraq and it can't be long before Lebanese civilians appeal to the European Union for help.

Can this help be provided without repeating the mistakes of the 2015 migration crisis? Much has been learnt since then but EU nations are still not ready for what might be about to happen if the situation in the Middle East gets worse.

The situation in Ukraine, meanwhile, is already worse. And the EU is woefully unprepared here, too. Viktoriia Lapa from Bocconi University is warning that there doesn't appear to be a plan in place for how to engage with Russia after the war ends, whatever the outcome, which she sees as a dangerous and unrealistic approach. And in the interests of re-energising the dwindling hopes for a Ukrainian victory, she believes it's time to have a serious conversation about putting boots on the ground.

As it's Halloween, we're taking a historical look at the supernatrual by asking a deceptively simple question: why do we imagine ghosts as wearing white sheets rather than appearing before us in the buff? The answer is one part sociology and two parts philosophy.

And in the Halloweens yet to come, we may find ourselves talking to a AI ghosts. We might think that if tech companies can reproduce versions of our loved ones, we won't miss them so much when they're gone. But what if simulating a person who has passed just ends up making our grief worse?

Laura Hood

Senior Politics Editor, London

Europe is not prepared for the looming Lebanese refugee crisis

Barah Mikaïl, IE University

Refugees bring irrefutable economic benefits, but political will for accepting them in Europe is very weak.

Why Europe should consider putting boots on the ground in Ukraine

Viktoriia Lapa, Bocconi University

The European Union needs a plan to support Ukraine to victory – and the beginnings of a plan to re-engage Russia after the war.

How does REACH, the EU regulation governing chemical substances, work?

Johanna Berneron, Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail (Anses)

Europe’s regulation on chemicals is imperfect but essential for public health. A reform may streamline processes and increase penalties, but there is concern that lobbying could undermine it.

Do we need a European DARPA to cope with technological challenges in Europe?

David W. Versailles, PSB Paris School of Business; Valérie Mérindol, PSB Paris School of Business

A European DARPA might answer the challenges listed in the 2024 Draghi Report, provided that the governance and management of European innovation programmes are drastically modified.

Talking to dead people through AI: the business of ‘digital resurrection’ might not be helpful, ethical… or even legal

Damián Tuset Varela, UOC - Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

By producing AI simulations of deceased people, private companies can leverage grief for profit.

Why ghosts wear clothes or white sheets instead of appearing in the nude

Shane McCorristine, Newcastle University

The issue of ghost clothes is interesting for historians of the supernatural because, like a loose thread, pulling at it starts to unravel some of the assumptions about matter in spiritualism.