Spain's government has approved a draft law banning smoking and vaping on all outdoor restaurant and bar terraces, extending restrictions to beaches, public swimming pools, and areas near schools and hospitals. The measure targets e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products for the first time.

Deutsche Bahn announced a sweeping alcohol ban at all 5,400 stations nationwide, effective October 15, following a surge in violent incidents linked to alcohol consumption. The ban applies to station buildings and platforms but not to onboard dining cars.

Australia's High Court is hearing challenges to Woodside Energy's North West Shelf gas project extension, which Indigenous custodians and scientists warn is damaging the world's oldest rock art at Murujuga through industrial emissions.

Ukrainian President Zelensky dismissed General Oleksandr Syrsky after mass protests, replacing him with General Mykhailo Drapaty as part of a broader military reform push.

The French Parliament approved a landmark law banning social media for children under 15, with implementation starting September 2026, citing mental health evidence from the ANSES report.

Ljubisa Karovic, partially sucked out of a broken window on a Ryanair flight, recounts the ordeal and faces a long recovery while investigators probe the cause.

The wreck of Pan Am Flight 526A, which crashed in 1952, has been found off Puerto Rico, leading to historic aviation safety changes.

A wildfire in the Var department scorched over 2,500 hectares, forcing 400 residents to evacuate, with more than 1,100 firefighters deployed. The 2026 wildfire season in France is the worst on record.

A fast-moving wildfire in the Var department destroyed over 2,500 hectares and forced 400 residents to flee, with firefighters containing the blaze but remaining on alert.

Japan protested a Chinese destroyer's live-fire exercise in waters Tokyo claims as its EEZ near Okinotorishima, escalating maritime tensions.

China's tightened export controls on rare earths and critical minerals have triggered price spikes and exposed Western vulnerability, prompting the FORGE alliance response.

The multipolar scramble for critical minerals is reshaping global power dynamics, with the US, China, EU, and Gulf states deploying massive resources to secure supply chains.

The US-launched FORGE alliance aims to counter China's critical mineral dominance through a preferential trade zone, price floors, and a $12 billion strategic reserve.

The ongoing Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus has killed nearly 1,000 people, with no approved vaccine, prompting a WHO emergency declaration.

Daniel Siad, a modeling scout linked to Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead at his Paris home amid an ongoing investigation into human trafficking allegations.

The EU AI Act becomes fully enforceable on August 2, imposing strict rules on high-risk AI systems with penalties up to €35 million or 7% of global turnover.