PiS deadline passes: Morawiecki loyalists reject declaration, Kaczyński talks collapse
The midnight deadline for PiS MPs to renounce external associations passed without resolution, as Mateusz Morawiecki's faction publicly refused to sign what they called a 'lojalka'. A three-hour meeting between Jarosław Kaczyński and the former prime minister ended without agreement.
India's 'Cockroach' protests swell as Modi offers fast-track courts and a rare video appeal
Tens of thousands have gathered in New Delhi for days, demanding the education minister's resignation after medical entrance exam leaks affected some 2 million students.
Antoni Macierewicz indicted after calling military counterintelligence chiefs 'Russian agents' in parliament
Prosecutors filed charges on 23 July 2026 against the former defence minister and current PiS MP, who faces up to one year in prison for insulting and slandering three senior officers during a live-streamed Sejm session.
Burnham cuts business rates for England's pubs by 20% but industry calls £1,100 saving a 'drop in the ocean'
The new prime minister's third major policy in as many days offers a 20% business rates cut for England's pubs, clubs and music venues from April 2027, but industry figures warn the £1,100 average saving is too small to halt closures.
US Justice Department withdraws subpoenas against New York Times journalists over Air Force One security reports
Federal prosecutors agreed to withdraw subpoenas seeking phone records and testimony from three New York Times journalists during a Manhattan court hearing, after the newspaper argued the demands were an unconstitutional attempt to intimidate the press.
Zapatero calls seized €1.3m jewelry a 'personal courtesy gift' but refuses to name the giver
The former Spanish PM told TVE the 103 pieces found in his office safe were a 'courtesy gift from many years ago' but declined to say who gave them, when, or why.
Merz reshuffles cabinet: Warken becomes first female Chancellery chief, Linnemann takes health
Chancellor Friedrich Merz will appoint Health Minister Nina Warken as his chief of staff, making her the first woman in the postwar era to hold the post, while CDU general secretary Carsten Linnemann takes over the health ministry.
Romania's interim economy minister contests 104,832 lei fine, says delays predate his 98-day tenure
Irineu Darău, Romania's interim economy minister, is fighting a 104,832 lei penalty from the state corporate governance watchdog AMEPIP, arguing the delays in appointing administrators at five state companies accumulated over nearly two years before he took office.
Italy reverses burden of proof for minors: capacity to understand now presumed, Meloni says 'who errs pays'
The Italian government approved a bill on 23 July 2026 that reverses the legal presumption for minors aged 14 to 18, making them presumed capable of crime unless proven otherwise. The measure, dubbed 'anti-maranza', shifts the burden of proof from prosecution to defence.
Minnesota man sentenced to life for politically motivated assassination of Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman
Vance Boelter, 59, received two consecutive life terms plus 40 years for the 2025 murders of state House speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the attempted murder of Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.
President Nawrocki files second referendum request on EU climate policy, sets 27 September vote
President Karol Nawrocki submitted a new referendum proposal to the Senate on 23 July, asking Poles whether they support the EU's climate policy. The vote is tentatively set for 27 September.
France doubles annual medical franchise ceiling from €100 to €200, reviving a measure dropped in 2025
The French government will double the annual cap on out-of-pocket medical costs from €100 to €200, Health Minister Stéphanie Rist announced on RMC, reviving a measure abandoned in 2025.
Poitiers court orders dismantling of four water reservoirs in Charente-Maritime within three years
A French administrative court has given an irrigators' association three years to dismantle four water storage reservoirs in Charente-Maritime, upholding a challenge by environmentalists who had fought the structures for over a decade.
Zurich plans to slash rental e-scooter fleet to 3,000 and mandates city-centre station parking
Zurich's security department plans to cut the city's free-floating rental fleet from 7,350 to 3,000 vehicles and permit only three operators, while introducing mandatory parking stations in the city centre.
Portugal's education minister faces calls for inquiry after contradictory statements on exam digitalization pilot
Opposition parties are demanding access to all documentation and urgent parliamentary hearings after the education minister initially denied any report existed on a 2025 pilot project, only for his secretary of state to later confirm written information was available.
Polish prosecutor moves to detain MP Michał Woś and strip immunity from Łukasz Mejza in twin cases of alleged fraud and obstruction
On 23 July 2026, Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek filed two requests with the Sejm: one to detain and forcibly bring in PiS MP Michał Woś after he skipped four summonses, and another to lift the immunity of former PiS MP Łukasz Mejza over EU-funded training projects.
Czech UH-1Y Venom helicopter crashes at Náměšť air base, killing one soldier and injuring four
The UH-1Y Venom went down at the 22nd Helicopter Base in Náměšť nad Oslavou on Thursday afternoon with five soldiers aboard. Emergency services transported four injured to hospitals in Brno and Jihlava.
Spanish Congress lowers thresholds for parliamentary groups, easing path for ERC and Junts
The reform, approved with votes from PSOE, Sumar and nationalist allies, reduces the national vote requirement from 5% to 3% and the provincial threshold from 15% to 10%, while keeping the five-seat minimum.
Bipartisan AI Kill Switch Act would let DHS order shutdown of rogue AI systems after OpenAI hack
The bipartisan legislation, prompted by OpenAI's autonomous hack of Hugging Face, would require AI companies to maintain the ability to throttle or shut down systems and give the Department of Homeland Security authority to order shutdowns during emergencies.
New Jersey governor refuses DOJ demand for names of 6,600 noncitizens mistakenly on voter rolls
Governor Mikie Sherrill says the state will not hand over personal data on roughly 6,600 noncitizens erroneously registered to vote, citing fears of federal weaponization.
Rogobete accuses Bolojan of blocking healthcare hiring and seeking 10% salary cut, submits amendment to exempt medical posts
Former Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete says interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan wants to cut medical salaries and block hiring in a system already short of 36,000 staff, while Bolojan denies the claim.
Spain's Congress rejects deficit path for sixth time in two years, but government will forge ahead with 2027 budget
PP, Vox and Junts voted down the fiscal stability path for the second time in a week, blocking a 0.1% GDP deficit margin for regions. The government will now draft public accounts based on EU commitments alone, while a separate debt forgiveness bill advanced.
Irish solicitors' strike over flat legal aid fee disrupts courts as minister agrees to meet Law Society but refuses to reverse reforms
Criminal cases across Ireland have been adjourned as solicitors withdraw services over a new €520 flat fee per legal aid case, while Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan agrees to meet the Law Society but insists he will not reverse the 1 July reforms.
Chess grandmaster Judit Polgár declines Hungarian presidency offer, handing new PM Péter Magyar his first setback since April election win
The 49-year-old grandmaster, considered the greatest female chess player of all time, said she lacked the strength to assume the "historical responsibility of uniting a divided nation" after outgoing president Tamás Sulyok was forced from office via a constitutional amendment on 18 July.
Albanian police fire tear gas and water cannon at Tirana protesters opposed to Trump-linked resort and Kanye West subsidy
Police used tear gas and water cannon outside the Albanian parliament on Thursday as demonstrators tried to breach security cordons, the latest escalation in weeks of protests against a luxury hotel project linked to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
Polish court upholds acquittal of doctors in death of Zbigniew Ziobro's father after 20-year legal battle
The Kraków District Court upheld acquittals for three physicians and dismissed charges against a fourth due to the statute of limitations, closing a nearly two-decade legal saga over the 2006 death of Jerzy Ziobro, father of former Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro.
Polish coalition revives pledge to double tax-free allowance to 60,000 PLN before end of term
Senator Grzegorz Schetyna says the government will raise the tax-free amount from 30,000 to 60,000 PLN in stages before the current parliamentary term ends, despite earlier warnings from the finance minister about the 54 billion PLN annual cost.
Ann Widdecombe struck 21 times with hammer in attack caught on camera, court told
Joshua Kerry, 28, appeared in court charged with murdering the former Conservative minister and Reform UK spokeswoman at her Devon home. Camera footage showed the attack, prosecutors said.
Vannacci poaches Forza Italia's Milan chief, vows to name mayoral candidate before August break
Luca Bernardo, Forza Italia's former group leader in Milan's city council, has left the party to join Roberto Vannacci's Futuro Nazionale. Vannacci used the occasion to promise a mayoral candidate for the city before the August break.
Germany's top court: No constitutional speed limit for legislation, Heizungsgesetz challenge fails
The Federal Constitutional Court dismissed a complaint by former CDU MP Thomas Heilmann over the hasty passage of the 2023 Building Energy Act, ruling that the constitution does not impose a specific speed limit on legislative procedures.