The European Union is expected to welcome 758 million tourists this year, a number equivalent to about 70% of the entire European population, according to the European Travel Commission.

Protesters took to the streets across Venezuela on Tuesday (30 July), demanding that President Nicolás Maduro acknowledge he lost Sunday's election to the opposition, as a major international observer concluded the vote was undemocratic.

From the aqua vitae of mediaeval Europe to the baijiu of ancient China, distilled alcohol has an incredible global heritage, and today each sip of spirit tells the tale of its birthplace.

Escalation or even all-out war is likely more than ever in recent years, after the killings on Tuesday and Wednesday (30 and 31 July) of two senior commanders of forces hostile to the state of Israel.

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen promised single-ticket rail travel across the continent in her re-election pitch to the European Parliament, but a similar initiative in her previous five-year term never saw the light of day.

Ukraine has invited China's foreign minister to visit amid growing dialogue that could eventually lead to a meeting between the two countries' leaders, Kyiv's foreign ministry said on Tuesday (30 July).

A large crowd of anti-Muslim protesters clashed with police on Tuesday (30 July) in a northern English town where three girls were stabbed to death and five other children critically wounded during an attack on a Taylor Swift-themed event on Monday.

A number of Russian dissidents and people convicted for their opposition to Moscow's war in Ukraine have disappeared from Russian prisons in recent days, in what rights activists say is a possible sign that a prisoner swap with the West may be close.

The European People's Party (EPP) has raised security concerns over a decision by Hungary to ease visa restrictions for Russian and Belarusian citizens, fearing it could fuel espionage in the EU, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday (30 July).

Slovakia's National Cancer Institute (NOÚ) is offering new hope to patients with otherwise incurable diagnoses, with the launch of innovative CAR T-cell therapy for lymphoma and leukaemia treatment.

A revamp of Poland's drug reimbursement law is underway. Government officials and industry representatives have advanced discussions, and a final draft of the amendment is expected by the end of the summer.

The rising cost of transformative therapies, which can run into millions of euros for each treatment, has prompted calls for innovative funding solutions, including support from the EU budget.

Rising healthcare costs are straining Slovak health insurance companies. The state-owned General Health Insurance Company (VšZP) took the worst hit with a predicted €169 million year-end loss.

Germany’s Constitutional Court approved on Tuesday (30 July) the government’s plans to downsize the Bundestag by roughly 100 lawmakers but threw out some parts of the proposed reform to protect smaller political parties.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron proposed incumbent EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton for a second five-year term in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seen by Euractiv.

Greece’s Supreme Court prosecutor has shelved a case against the intelligence service, EYP, as a preliminary probe by the court showed no evidence that the agency used illegal phone malware to spy on targets.

Spain's competition watchdog fined Booking.com with a record €413 million fine for "abusing its dominant position" during the past five years.

The European Commission has issued a call to stakeholders to participate in drafting a code of practice for general-purpose artificial intelligence (GPAI), a key part of compliance with the AI Act for deployers of technology like ChatGPT, according to a press release on Tuesday (30 July).

As a French company seeks approval to sell a cell-based duck product mimicking the famous foie gras, the EU livestock sector denounced the move as “a perfect door opener” for other lab-grown products, questioning their safety and sustainability. 

The Left Group prioritised securing the chairmanship of the European Parliament’s labour affairs committee to prevent any rollback of environmental and workers’ protections over the next five-year mandate, the new committee’s leftist chief told Euractiv in an interview.