Eurotopics.net

The British House of Commons has passed a new immigration law under which people who have entered the country irregularly can be denied the right to asylum. According to the UN, the new law violates international asylum and refugee regulations. A symbol of the new rules is the Bibby Stockholm, a huge barge which is set to house 500 asylum seekers and has now been towed into Portland Port in Dorset, southern England.

Major upheavals are on the cards in the Dutch party landscape as a prominent figure enters the race for the office of prime minister. The GreenLeft and the Labour parties have agreed to combine their campaigns and have named EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermanns as their lead candidate for the general election in November, which was prompted by the collapse of Prime Minister Mark Rutte's coalition. An exciting twist?

The Kyiv City Council has banned the public use of cultural products in Russian. The ban applies to books, songs, plays and other cultural works, even if they are by Ukrainian authors. But because the City Council lacks the authority to enact such legislation there are no penalties for violations for the time being.

Canicola, eyyamıbahur, καύσωνας - Mediterranean countries each have their own special name for the hottest phase of the summer, which usually begins in mid-July. This year, however, the temperatures are soaring to record levels. Many Italian cities are on red heat alert, the most serious level, and in Greece and Spain forests are burning. A look at Europe's press shows that the fear of the consequences is not limited to southern Europe.