European Union

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is screening nominees for the EU Commission in a first round this week. Von der Leyen has insisted that the next Commission must respect gender parity. Member states have until the end of August to name their candidates - and are faced with very different challenges.

India's Hindu-nationalist government has announced that it is revoking the special status of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also deploying thousands of additional troops to the Kashmir Valley and imposing curfews. Pakistan also lays claim to this predominantly Muslim region which is continually plagued by unrest. Commentators warn that India is playing with fire.

French inventor and entrepreneur Franky Zapata successfully completed a flight over the English Channel on his newly developed flyboard on Sunday. After landing he announced that he is currently working on a flying car. Commentators have mixed feelings about such technological innovations.

A Spanish charity that saved 121 migrants in the Mediterranean last week vowed Monday (5 August) to continue sea rescue operations, the latest NGO to defy moves by European nations to shut down a route exploited by trafficking gangs. Proactiva...

Parliamentary arithmetic at Westminster, and societal pressures from the likes of Welsh sheep-farmers, Northern Irish cattle breeders, London business groups and Scottish Conservatives combine to push a motion of no-confidence in the prime minister by mid-October at the very latest.

Eskilstuna, near Stockholm, became on 1 August the first Swedish town to introduce an official begging permit, requiring anyone who asks for money in the streets to pay 250 Swedish kroner (€23) upfront for a three-month valid licence to beg. Licences can be obtained at police stations and require a valid ID. Begging money in Eskilstuna without licence is subject to a fine of 4,000 Swedish kroner (€372).

Global markets plunged om Monday over the news that Chinese companies have halted purchases of US agricultural products marking the latest escalation of a trade war between the United States and China. China also devalued its currency, the yuan, on Monday. The Trump administration announced new tariffs on Chinese imports last week while praising a previously-announced deal that will open up the European Union to more US hormone-free beef.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson has been urged to investigate his new chancellor Sajid Javid's career, after Labour accused him of profiting from the financial crisis while working for Deutsche Bank. John McDonnell, financial spokesman for the UK's opposition Labour Party, questioned in a letter, obtained by The Guardian, Javid's suitability to look after Britain's finances and asked whether Javid also benefited from a tax-avoidance scheme.

British foreign minister Dominic Raab will travel to Canada, the United States and Mexico this week to seek to boost ties with non-European countries ahead of Brexit, his office said.