ARGENTINA: President Javier Milei restored press access to the Casa Rosada (Pink House, the presidential residence) today after a backlash to the ban he imposed on April 23.
Mr Milei had accused journalists of conducting espionage in the presidential building. Critics including business leaders, the Catholic Church, opposition parties and trade unions said he sought to evade critical scrutiny and was aping the anti-media antics of US President Donald Trump.
Mr Milei posts “We don’t hate journalists enough” every day on social media.

FRANCE: Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has vowed to crack down on illegal raves, after 40,000 people joined a weekend illegal rave at an army firing range near Bourges.
The government said the rave was dangerous because of unexploded ordnance. Organisers said they held the illegal rave to protest against proposed crackdowns on illegal raves.

DISEASE: Three people have died on a cruise ship and one is critically ill, prompting fears of a hantavirus outbreak.
The virus is usually passed from rodents to humans and not between humans. The MV Hondius ship insists no rodents are aboard. One critically ill British citizen, medically evacuated to hospital in Johannesburg, has been confirmed to have contracted hantavirus.
The World Health Organisation said it was acting to support the ship and the risk to the wider public was low.

UNITED STATES: Alabama and Tennessee are summoning legislators to redraw congressional districts ahead of mid-term elections in November.
Last month the Supreme Court ruled on a Louisiana lawsuit restricting parts of the Voting Rights Act which allowed race to factor in the setting of district boundaries where this protects minority voting rights.
Many Republican states now hope they have greater power to redraw boundaries to boost their party’s chances.