European Union

The coalition government of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has lost its majority in the House of Councillors, the upper house of the National Diet. His Liberal Democratic Party has had a majority in the house almost without interruption for 70 years. Now for the first time it is in the minority in both chambers. Meanwhile two right-wing populist parties have gained ground. The press focuses on Sanseitō, which went from two to fourteen seats.

At a Coldplay concert in Boston, a "kiss cam" was displaying couples when it panned to a man and woman who didn't want to be shown together on the big screen. Instead of kissing the two ducked away. The video quickly went viral and as a result the man in the video, who happened to be CEO of IT firm Astronomer and was at the concert with the company's HR chief, lost his job. Europe's press reflects.

A report by the UK's Independent Water Commission paints a bleak picture of the water supply sector in England, which was privatised in the 1980s, concluding that inefficiency, blatant disregard for environmental standards, leaks and poor water quality are rife. Environment Secretary Steve Reed reacted by announcing that the current water regulator will be scrapped and replaced to overhaul the entire system.

The world’s most widely used vegetable oil is at the heart of a decades-long battle between economic development and environmental damage. More can be done.

This video captures highlights from the event: Wild Animals Not Pets – The Case for an EU Positive List. A gathering of policymakers, experts, and animal welfare advocates at the European Parliament to discuss the trade in wild animals and its implications for welfare, health, and biodiversity

Berlin says other countries want in on controversial return operations.

Tehran is accusing Britain, France and Germany of undermining the 2015 nuclear deal.

“What they sell is a product – and that product is access to European countries,” Danish immigration minister said of smugglers.

The planned treaty comes after mutual defence agreements between Germany, France, Britain, and the EU, amid threats from Russia and America’s withdrawal from Europe's security architecture.

In today's edition of The Capitals, read about EU summits in Japan and China, Ireland's push for sanctions on Israel, a diplomatic push to stop the war in Gaza, a Commission hiring push for cybersecurity staffers.

Poland strikes biggest-ever oil and gas find near Baltic coast, a discovery hailed as a game-changer for energy independence and one of Europe’s top hydrocarbon hits in a decade.

As the European Commission prepares its Maritime Industrial Strategy, the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) is calling for a balanced and forward-looking vision—one that enables a realistic energy transition while preserving the global competitiveness of the European shipping sector.