Pekinas ir Maskva sekmadienį pranešė, kad prie Kinijos krantų surengs kasmetines bendras karinių jūrų pajėgų pratybas, o Rusija nurodė, kad jos prasidės pirmadienį.

Nauji vėjai. Šią savaitę vėjas ir lietus nuplovė karščius, o politiniai skersvėjai praretino Ministrų kabinetą. Paskirtasis premjeras Mindaugas Sinkevičius atskleidė keletą savaičių kurtą intrigą – kas išsaugos portfelius, o kam bus padėkota už gerą darbą. Jau aišku, kad įpusėjus kadencijai pusėje ministerijų darbuosis naujos šluotos. Kuo neįtiko senosios, atsakymų ne visuomet turi nei patys valdantieji, nei politologai.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen is appealing against a verdict which found her guilty of misusing EU funds.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the target is key infrastructure "that generates revenue for Russia's war".

Employers are being urged to use their "common sense" to allow staff to work flexibly where they can.

An announcement is expected imminently on Sky buying ITV's TV and streaming channels.

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin urged Americans to keep in perspective the nation’s problems. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired Sunday, Goodwin said that no matter how troubled Americans see their country as being now, history can provide examples of times when it was as troubled or worse. “History can give us perspective, it can give us solace. I really think it can give us hope,” Goodwin said. She added: “Just imagine what it was like to live through the Civil War; more than 600,000 people were dead. Or live through the Great Depression; one out of four people out of work, the banking system collapsed. Or to live through the early days of World War II when it was unclear that Hitler might conquer the rest of the world. And the important thing to know is that in each one of those times, the people who lived then, they didn’t know the end of their story. They were like us. They were anxious. They were fearful.” Goodwin, best known for her presidential biographies, appeared on a special episode of the long-running NBC news show focused on the nation’s 250th birthday, as did documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie Bunch. Like Goodwin, Burns — known for, among other things, his documentaries on the American Revolution, the Civil War and the Vietnam War — saw the need for looking at history. “History is our best teacher, and it can be a helpful guide for everybody, no matter your disposition, political orientation, age, whatever it is. History can be an incredibly important way to digest the present and then figure out what your response is and — and to imagine a future together,” Burns said. Burns said history proves that whatever divisions we are experiencing now, we’ve seen worse, including during the Revolutionary War itself. “We are really divided,” he said, “but we were way more divided then, way more divided during the Civil War, way more divided during the Vietnam period. And so I see that division as sort of a mile wide but an inch thick.” Like Goodwin, Bunch also spoke of hope. “I think that’s one of the most powerful things about hope,” he told host Kristen Welker, “is that no matter the challenge, America has an opportunity to sort of come together, find hope, find common ground. At least that’s what I believe.” Goodwin said whatever the issues, it is important for Americans to feel are part of something bigger than themselves. “When I think about these movements for social justice,” she told Welker, “it always starts with individuals feeling that they can make a difference. That’s what the inauguration of John Kennedy was. That’s what the Civil Rights Movement was all about. I remember being at that March on Washington in August of 1963, when I was 20 years old — showing that I’m 83 years old today — and there was a sense in that feeling of being there that you were something larger than yourself.”

VIENNA — The top brass of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe huddled in the Austrian capital this weekend to celebrate ALDE’s 50th anniversary — and debate how to face the far-right surge. The gathering in Vienna served as an opportunity for national parties — including Austria’s NEOS, the Netherlands’ D66, Belgium’s Reformist Movement, Romania’s USR and Germany’s FDP — to schmooze and scheme in the grand ballrooms of the Habsburg’s Hofburg Imperial Palace while debating current topics like social media restrictions, EU institutional reform, and the single market’s competitiveness. So who’s up in the liberals’ world, and who’s down? POLITICO reads the runes. WINNERS — Valérie Hayer Renew Europe leader Valérie Hayer was one of the biggest winners of the congress, quietly launching her campaign for reelection this autumn — despite not even belonging to ALDE. French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance has always refused to join the European liberal party, yet it has led the European Parliament’s liberal group for years. Every leadership race revives the same question inside ALDE: Should the French lose the job? This year was no different. But despite the grumbling, few expect change. French MEP Valérie Hayer speaks at the congress of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) on July 3, 2026 in Vienna. | Hans Klaus Techt/APA/AFP via Getty Images “She is doing a good job, there’s no appetite for change, and there’s also no real challenger,” said one MEP granted anonymity to speak freely. The only name mentioned was Sophie Wilmès, Belgium’s former prime minister and current European Parliament vice president. But neither she nor her party leader, Georges-Louis Bouchez, attended the congress. — Rob Jetten’s ego Rob Jetten may not have made it to the congress because of political turmoil back home, but he was still its biggest talking point. Still riding high off D66’s sweeping election victory in October, the Dutch prime minister embodied the optimism Europe’s liberals had been searching for after years of electoral setbacks — earning him ALDE’s Liberal of the Year award. His campaign against the far right, built around positive messaging and broad promises of a better future, became the dominant theme in Vienna. “We’re liberals because we believe change is possible,” Jetten said in a video message. “Authoritarians can sell fear, populists can sell anger, but we liberals, we can offer progress … the kind that makes people’s lives safer, freer and more prosperous.” Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten speaks to the media during the weekly press conference following the Council of Ministers, in The Hague on July 3, 2026. | Bart Maat/ANP/AFP via Getty Images Jetten’s victory also strengthened the socially liberal camp, which sees liberalism as about more than free markets, placing equal emphasis on civil rights, climate action and progressive social policies. D66, the U.K. Liberal Democrats and Progressive Slovakia all won vice presidencies, while Belgium’s liberals, backed by the party’s more classic market-oriented wing, lost out. MEP Svenja Hahn was reelected ALDE president, but none of the adopted resolutions reflected the German FDP-led camp’s push for sweeping deregulation. — The party’s donors Amid dozens of side events at the congress, only a few were held behind closed doors and by invitation only, including two “stakeholder roundtables” bringing together senior party officials and liberal MEPs with executives from companies that also happen to be ALDE’s biggest corporate donors. One session on Friday — “strengthening Europe’s pharmaceutical attractiveness” — included top executives of the EU-wide pharma association (EFPIA), Eli Lilly, Amgen and Bristol Myers Squibb, according to a guest list seen by POLITICO. A second session the following day — “made in Europe” — featured executives from the same three companies, joined by Vodafone. So far in 2026, Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb and Amgen have each donated €18,000 to ALDE. Eli Lilly logo on modern glass office building facade with partly cloudy sky, South San Francisco, California, October 16, 2025. | Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images “Our relationships with corporate stakeholders are governed by fully transparent agreements and comply with the EU rules applicable to all European political parties,” said Elena Linczenyiova, ALDE’s head of communications. “Dialogue between policymakers and stakeholders is a normal and legitimate part of the democratic process.” LOSERS — Kristen Michal and social media Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristen Michal was left with egg on his face after a majority of delegates backed a resolution calling for a minimum age for access to social media. The vote exposed one of the deepest divides within Europe’s liberal family, with 59 percent of delegates supporting the proposal and 38 percent opposing it. The issue dominated closed-door discussions throughout the congress. The split was on full display during a joint press conference with Michal and Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, who also leads NEOS. “People need the skills to cope and also the most important is to retain the critical thinking,” said Michal, whose Reform Party opposes a ban and instead focuses on educating minors. Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristen Michal attends the 50th congress of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party on July 4, 2026 in Vienna. | Max Slovencik/APA/AFP via Getty Images Meinl-Reisinger’s party disagrees, and Austria’s government is preparing to introduce a ban while seeking to protect users’ privacy. “We have to make sure that this doesn’t lead to the end of anonymity in social media,” she said. — The Lib Dems Every ALDE congress is another reminder for the staunchly pro-EU U.K. Liberal Democrats that, after Brexit, they are no longer fully part of the club. “For them, every congress is a therapy session,” quipped one participant from an EU party. This year’s congress delivered another blow. Delegates approved reforms cutting the voting rights of non-EU parties and barring them from ALDE’s top leadership, implementing a new EU law designed to curb the risk of foreign interference in European parties that influence Brussels politics and policy. — Real debate This was a feel-good congress, with largely consensual resolutions on issues the party has long agreed on: backing Ukraine, defending the rule of law, reforming the EU, and boosting competitiveness and European technological sovereignty. Speeches were heavy on vague rhetoric — “reform,” “renewal” and “the future” — but light on hard debates, leaving some delegates frustrated as Europe’s far right continues to surge, topping the polls in countries including Germany, Austria, Romania and the Netherlands. “We need more tactical strategy planning, to talk about what we disagree on, what works and what doesn’t with voters — I already know the broad slogans,” said a senior attendee from a national party.

‘This is the last time you'll see me.’

Separatist Tuareg-led group and regional al-Qaeda affiliate have claimed responsibility for attacks on army positions.

France’s richest man and billionaire owner of luxury group LVMH will appeal against ruling

Transatlantic military alliance will be key to the continent’s future security

Iranian leaders joined prayers Sunday over the casket of late supreme leader Ali Khamenei during a second day of funeral ceremonies. Arash Azizi, contribuing writer at the Atlantic, said Iran needs to "normalise relations with the US somehow" as he pointed to the economy which is in tatters following months of conflict with the US and Israel.

Chinese tech giant Alibaba has ordered staff to stop using Anthropic's Claude Code, after it was found to be flagging users connecting from China. But Anthropic is already trying its best to stop Chinese firms from using Claude at all, and accuses Alibaba of running large "distillation" campaigns against it, saying it deployed around 25,000 fake accounts to train its own models on Claude.

It said one of the men was allegedly killed by police officers in Pretoria and the other by unidentified attackers in Mpumalanga province.

President Donald Trump's speech included soaring rhetoric on American exceptionalism and warnings about the threat of communism.