Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law restoring independence to two anti-corruption bodies, essentially annulling another law adopted last week that prompted the biggest street protests since Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago (12:20, 12:48, 13:06, 14:06).
The EU has welcomed the move, with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen saying that restoring the independence of the agencies was “a welcome step,” and insisting that “Ukraine’s rule of law and anti-corruption reforms should continue” (12:38, 12:59, 15:08)
The legislative reform came just hours after another night of heavy attacks on Kyiv, with at least eight dead and over 120 injured (10:51, 11:16, 11:41), with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggesting the need for a “regime change” in Moscow to stop its imperial ambitions (9:33, 9:57).
Elsewhere,
Lithuanian prime minister Gintautas Paluckas has resigned from the post after growing questions over the alleged irregularities in dealings and financing of his company (10:35).
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson urged the European Union to suspend the trade component of the bloc’s association agreement with Israel, saying the country was failing to meet its obligations on humanitarian aid in Gaza (10:55).
Portuguese prime minister Luís Montenegro said Portugal would consider recognising the Palestinian state at the UN general assembly meeting in September (14:24).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
France under pressure to stop $9.7m of USAID contraceptives being destroyed
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris and Lisa O’Carroll in Brussels
The French government has said it is closely monitoring a US plan to destroy millions of dollars of contraceptives stocked in Europe after outrage from French feminists, rights groups and family planning organisations at what they called a wasteful attack on women’s rights.
The Guardian reported this month that Donald Trump’s administration planned to destroy $9.7m of contraceptives that are believed to be in a warehouse in Belgium but may be moved to France for incineration. They are mostly long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs and birth control implants, which had been bought under public health programmes run by the US Agency for International Development and were probably intended for women in Africa.
A US state department spokesperson told Agence France-Presse this week that “a preliminary decision was made to destroy” certain birth control products from “terminated Biden-era USAID contracts”.
Trump’s administration dismantled USAID, the country’s foreign aid armbody, in January.
The spokesperson said the destruction would cost $167,000 and “no HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed”.
The contraceptives, stored in a warehouse in Geel in Belgium, were reportedly planned to be incinerated in France, although there has been no confirmation of this by France. France and Belgium are under pressure to prevent any destruction.
The French health ministry said in a statement: “We are following this situation closely and we support the will of the Belgian authorities to find a solution to avoid the destruction of contraceptives.
The defence of sexual health and reproductive rights is a foreign policy priority for France.
This week a collective of rights groups, feminists organisations and trade unions in France launched a petition to stop the destruction of the contraceptives. “We won’t allow this unfair and sexist decision to go ahead, it’s both an economic and human waste,” they said.
