SPAIN - Every June for years, a rainbow-striped banner celebrating Pride Week had been draped over the long balcony of the magnificent city hall in Valladolid, northern Spain. But last month it was nowhere to be seen. Instead, flying from flagpoles on the baroque-style building overlooking one of Europe's most exquisite squares was the national yellow-and-red flag of Spain, alongside those of the city itself and the surrounding province of Castile and Leon. The reason for the banner's disappearance was that, a month earlier, the Right wing swept to power here in local elections, dethroning the ruling Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). 'It was the same all over Spain. Socialists were thrown out almost everywhere in this May's local elections …in Seville, Andalusia, Oviedo. And down came the rainbow flags or banners.'

UK - At least one teenager realizes that body dysmorphia is a mental illness that requires treatment, not transitioning. Too bad he realized it too late. Kobe, the young man facing facts actually said, “I was expecting it to help me help my mental health, and it didn’t do anything. I just wasted so much time and all I did really was become a medical patient for life.” Sadly, Kobe was actually CASTRATED as part of his “gender-affirming care” when he identified as a trans woman. Now, he wants to be a voice of reason in the cloud of leftist-haze. Of course ‘Kobe’ isn’t his real name; it is being purposely masked to avoid some of the backlash his public outcry will undoubtedly create.

UK - There has been a lot of media hype about today’s three by-elections, but almost no one has mentioned the extraordinary fact that the Labour candidate, and quite likely winner, in Selby and Ainsty is only 25. We are ruled by people who are either young or have limited (and sometimes no) previous ministerial experience. Very often they use the knowledge and contacts they acquire in office to become extremely rich when they leave it. This is hardly an ideal template for good government. It is also at odds with the way we used to be governed. Previous experience outside politics was once thought an advantage, while it was assumed one couldn’t reach the highest office without a lengthy and painstaking climb up the greasy pole.

CHINA - The Chinese president greeted the veteran US diplomat, who served as US secretary of state between 1973 and 1977, as an “old friend”. Chinese President Xi Jinping has welcomed former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger to Beijing, saying their two countries are currently at a critical juncture for the future of their relations. The veteran American diplomat, who recently turned 100, had earlier met with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu.

EUROPE - The EU in its current form is not nearly as strong as its population and economic power would suggest, Czech Minister for European Affairs Martin Dvorak said in an interview with EURACTIV.cz on Tuesday. Admitting that this position is “not at all popular,” the minister proposed that the European Union should be turned into “a European Federation or a United States of Europe,” which he claimed would put it in a position where it could be “a truly equal partner in the game between China, America, or Russia and India.”

UK - If you've lived in a major American city since the Covid pandemic, you've no doubt witnessed the 'dope lean'. The sight of drug users hunched over in a lifeless state, seemingly unaware of what's happening around them, has becoming increasingly common in recent years. Many experts point to the influx of an animal tranquilizer that has started to flood the US illicit drug supply - in everything from fentanyl to cocaine. Xylazine - known on the street as 'tranq' - is a potent sedative used to put large animals to sleep before veterinary procedures and surgeries. However, it's now being used as a cutting agent to make drugs more potent and last longer. But mixing this sedative with stimulants and opioids, some of which act like stimulants and keep the body awake, could lead to 'dope lean,' or someone hunched over and standing up while still unconscious.

UK - Rishi Sunak has intervened in the Nigel Farage banking row after Jacob Rees-Mogg and David Davis raised the scandal at PMQs. The Prime Minister said it "wouldn't be right if financial services were being denied to anyone exercising their right to lawful free speech". He also promised that a new Government Bill, the financial services and markets act, will put in place new measures to ensure politically exposed persons are treated in an "appropriate and proportionate manner". He said: "We are in the process of cracking down on this practice." Mr Rees-Mogg, Mr Farage's colleague at GB News, rose to ask whether the PM shares his "unease" that a bank "that has the Government as its largest shareholder, should close the account of a senior opposition politician?" Ms Braverman said the Coutts scandal “exposes the sinister nature of much of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion industry”.

CHINA - Today marks the 24th anniversary of the persecution of the spiritual discipline Falun Gong. It was on July 20, 1999, that then-Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin launched a vicious persecution of this group of peaceful meditators. If you’re a regular reader of The Epoch Times, you’ll have noticed that we regularly cover this story, while many other media largely ignore it. That’s because we understand its significance.

USA - President Joe Biden has threatened the “special relationship” between the US and Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with judicial reforms that are opposed by that country’s political opposition. As Breitbart News has noted, most of these reforms parallel existing practice within the US, and one that will go up for a vote next week is grudgingly accepted even by some members of Israel’s left-wing legal fraternity. Nevertheless, Biden has taken sides against Netanyahu’s government as it attempts to rein in the power of the most powerful judicial branch in the democratic world, fulfilling an election promise to conservative voters.

UK - Many of the millions who voted for Brexit — and cheered Boris Johnson’s pledge to ‘get it done’ — had one simple priority. To wean Britain off its addiction to cheap migrant labour. Across the country, ordinary people were united in their desire to see government and business invest in British workers, and get as many as possible off welfare and into rewarding work at fair wages. It’s now clear that nobody in Westminster is seriously interested in achieving this. As this surge in migration worsens, housing, education, welfare and healthcare are all spiralling, like the country itself, towards collapse. More than 60 per cent of British people believe immigration is ‘too high’, and more than 80 per cent say their leaders are handling it terribly. To be clear, this is not about race. Britain, as all the studies show, is one of the least racist, and most tolerant of nations. Levels of prejudice have never been lower than today. Nevertheless, the British people are right to worry that their identity, culture and history are being lost in a sea of immigration and globalisation.

CHINA - Beijing has responded to the UN nuclear watchdog’s controversial support for plans by Japan to dump contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean by arguing that those who believe the water is safe should drink it and swim in it. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin addressed the issue during a press briefing on Tuesday, when he was asked about recent statements by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi touting the safety of Fukushima’s wastewater. He mocked Grossi’s claims that the water was even safe for drinking or swimming. “If some people think that the nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima is safe to drink or swim in, we suggest that Japan save the nuclear-contaminated water for these people to drink or swim in instead of releasing it into the sea and causing widespread concerns internationally,” Wang said.

CANADA - The number of wildfires in Canada classified as “out of control” is approaching 600, according to a national monitor. The country is experiencing its worst wildfire season in decades. According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), there were over 900 active wildfires in the country on Monday, with 599 of them labeled out of control. Another 104 were “being held” by firefighters, while 204 were considered under control. British Columbia is the worst-affected province, accounting for a third of active fires, according to CIFFC statistics. The blazes have devastated 10.7 million hectares (26 million acres) nationwide during this fire season, with over 4,200 outbreaks reported this year. The area is the largest since the monitor started compiling statistics in the 1980s. The previous record was set in 1995, when over 7 million hectares (17 million acres) burned out in Canada.

UK - Brexit leader Nigel Farage had his bank account revoked in the end of June, as he revealed in a video. Now Farage has revealed the reason: According to the “Stasi-style” file Coutts bank compiled on him, he was targeted for his political views, including alleged “racism”, “Brexit” and interviewing vax-skeptical top tennis star Novak Djoković.

UK - Philip Miller, the executive chairman of Adventure Island, told the Daily Mail that there had been “confusion” about “what we would allow or not.” “We humbly apologise to all of our loyal customers for any offence caused,” Miller said. “There was confusion between us and the act as to what we would allow or not as it were. The grinding act was most definitely a nonstarter as we are ostensibly a family park and that is just not family entertainment.” “Rest assured we will not be rebooking this act or participate in any future PRIDE celebrations it’s just not for us, we tried to be inclusive but it has backfired on us,” Miller added.

FRANCE - Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to France as chief guest on Bastille Day on July 14 further consolidates the strategic ties between India and France. The French gesture flows from a growing recognition of India’s rising international stature and its high economic growth. Already the world’s fifth largest economy, India is expected to be the third largest by 2027. India’s considerable military potential and expanding defense sector offers opportunities for defense sales and collaborations. France, always a significant defense partner of India's, is now in second place after Russia in New Delhi's rankings. India-France economic ties being far below potential, Paris is seeking more economic opportunities with, as well as more investment from, India. The country’s young population, with some general skillset development, can meet the manpower needs of aging industrial economies. All in all, a productive visit that seeks to promote shared interests in an increasingly fractured global environment.