EUROPEAN UNION: A top EU court ruled today that the bloc’s commission was wrong to refuse the New York Times access to text messages sent between EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and a pharmaceutical boss during the Covid-19 pandemic, spurring further calls for reform from transparency advocates.

The newspaper’s lawyers “succeeded in rebutting the presumption of non-existence and of non-possession of the requested documents,” according to a statement by the EU General Court in Luxembourg.

GERMANY: Three Ukrainians have been arrested in Germany and Switzerland on suspicion of agreeing to send parcels containing explosive or incendiary devices from Germany to Ukraine, apparently at the behest of people acting for Russia, German prosecutors said today.

The men are suspected of acting as secret agents for the purpose of sabotage, as well as agreeing to commit arson and bring about an explosion, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

PERU: Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen resigned today, hours before he was due to face a vote of no confidence in Congress over the recent kidnap and killing of 13 mineworkers.

The departure of Mr Adrianzen is another blow to right-wing President Dina Boularte, whose approval ratings have sunk.

UNITED STATES: California Governor Gavin Newsom announced today that his state would stop enrolling more low-income immigrants without legal status in a state-funded healthcare programme, starting next year, and begin charging those already enrolled a monthly premium in 2027.

Last year, California become one of the first US states to extend free healthcare benefits to all poor adults regardless of their immigration status.