Celebrate

• The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party celebrated a strong performance in the Saxony-Anhalt state elections, though they failed to secure a majority in the parliament. • Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani described the result as "terrible news" because the AfD represents a political force opposite to liberal and western values. • The outcome creates political uncertainty in Germany and signals a broader shift as several European nations prepare for key parliamentary and presidential races through 2027.

Futuro Nazionale’s speedy rise in polls prompts questions over whether PM will return to her roots before electionEurope live – latest updatesGiorgia Meloni’s government has become the longest-running in Italy since the second world war – a milestone the prime minister is determined not to let pass unnoticed.In the port area of Bari, capital of the southern Italian region of Puglia, where Meloni hosted the G7 in 2024 and where she spends her summer holiday, preparations are well underway for a festival-style showcase of her rightwing administration. Continue reading...

Christine Edzard’s The Man With the Plan tours the country with a timely message about tackling want, disease, squalor, idleness and ignoranceA new film that addresses issues fundamental to the new prime minister’s declared mission will star Simon Callow as a historical British political figure.The hero of The Man With the Plan is William Beveridge, who helped to lay the foundations of the postwar welfare state. It shows that the Liberal peer was much more radical than is usually assumed – and certainly far more so than Churchill anticipated when he asked Beveridge to draw up a report into the future of Britain’s fragmented social insurance and national health system after the second world war. Continue reading...

• NASA and SpaceX are preparing to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket. • The launch is currently scheduled to take place on August 30 at 7:26 a.m. ET. • This mission is designed to explore the universe, providing critical data on dark energy and exoplanets.

Luke Pollard warns government will force platforms to remove content, after latest deadly crash involving a car driving in wrong directionA minister has pressed social media companies to remove content from their platforms showcasing dangerous driving in the wake of a fatal collision that killed seven people in Middlesbrough.The crash in the early hours of Saturday, in which PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough died, occurred when a Volkswagen Passat, containing five individuals aged between 23 and 17, crashed head-on with a marked armed response vehicle while driving the wrong way on the A66. Continue reading...

• British sprinter Karina Hunt achieved a historic haul by winning four gold medals at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. • Hunt celebrated her final victory with a mix of "champagne and a KFC," marking her transition into mainstream sporting fame. • While embracing her new status, Hunt notes that living in Padua, Italy, provides a secluded environment that shields her from intense tabloid scrutiny.

‘Outstanding young Americans’ came together to catch a tennis ball for freedomThe Patriot Games, held this week in Ohio, was intended to be a “national athletic competition celebrating the character, determination, and excellence that define the American spirit”, according to a press release.The competition, which organizers insisted would be nothing like the Hunger Games, was to bring together “outstanding young Americans” from across the country, “to compete, inspire, and showcase the values that have shaped the United States for nearly 250 years”. ESPN, hosting the games, said it would “test excellence in skillsets of beloved American sports”. Continue reading...