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France is urging its citizens to leave Lebanon. An update on the French foreign ministry's website warns of "the risks of military escalation in the Middle East" and advises people to book another commercial flight to France "as soon as possible" while flights are still available. The ministry also reiterated its "urgent" advice against travelling to Lebanon.

The European Union has condemned several waves of large-scale attacks on several Ukrainian cities carried out by Russia on Monday (8 July). 

From 9 to 11 July, Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, will make an official visit to the Republic of Moldova to launch the EU's bilateral accession screening process with Moldova, starting with the basics. 

Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD, which stands for 'Build Your Dreams', signed a deal with Türkiye on Monday (8 July) to open a major factory in the country. The move will allow the Chinese to avoid new import tariffs from Brussels.

French President Emmanuel Macron has asked Prime Minister Gabriel Attal not to resign immediately "to ensure the stability of the country". He thanked Attal for the campaign he had led, although it had not gone as he had hoped.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced his resignation from the government of President Emmanuel Macron on Monday (8 July), following his heavy defeat in the second and decisive round of the French parliamentary elections. The Nouveau Front Populaire, a left-wing alliance, appears to have won the parliamentary elections against all odds.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is in the Chinese capital Beijing. He is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing later today (8 Juli). What exactly they will talk about is not known.

In a statement issued on Tuesday (2 July), the European Union "strongly condemned" the launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea on 1 July, in further violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

Political uncertainty in France and an EU trade dispute with China are casting a shadow over European corporate earnings, investors say, despite forecasts pointing to better corporate results. According to LSEG I/B/E/S equity research, second-quarter earnings for companies in the pan-European STOXX 600 index are expected to rise by 2%, with revenues up 1.7%. This would be the first quarter of growth since early 2023. Investors had been optimistic about Europe's stock markets as the European Central Bank adopted a looser policy and the economic outlook improved. However, French President Emmanuel Macron's unexpected decision to call a general election has raised doubts.