The leader of the Italian far-right party the League, Matteo Salvini, has cancelled political rallies to return to Rome, in what was seen as a sign that a political impasse that has left the country without a fully functioning government for months may soon be coming to an end. Salvini was heading back to the capital to meet his coalition partner, Luigi Di Maio, the head of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, after the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, gave the pair more time to form a government.

Italian press reports indicated that any agreement to form a new populist government involving the League, formerly known as the Northern League, and M5S would include the nomination – again – of Giuseppe Conte, a formerly obscure law professor, to serve as prime minister. But Di Maio and Salvini are expected to back down on their earlier insistence that Paolo Savona, a Eurosceptic who has called Italy’s adoption of the euro a “historic mistake”, should serve as finance minister. There were also small indications that the populists would try to assure the markets they were not planning any big moves to try to hasten an Italian exit from the euro – a fear that roiled markets this week.(theguardian)…[+]

Denmark has joined several other European countries in banning garments that cover the face, including Islamic veils such as the niqab or burqa, in a move condemned by human rights campaigners as “neither necessary nor proportionate”. In a 75-30 vote with 74 absentees on Thursday, Danish lawmakers approved the law presented by Denmark’s centre-right governing coalition. The government says it is not aimed at any religions and does not ban headscarves, turbans or the traditional Jewish skull cap.

But the law is popularly known as the “burqa ban” and is mostly seen as being directed at the dress worn by some Muslim women. Few Muslim women in Denmark wear full-face veils. Those violating the law, which comes into force on 1 August, risk a fine of 1,000 kroner (£118). Austria, France and Belgium have similar laws. Following the Danish vote, Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International’s Europe director, said: “All women should be free to dress as they please and to wear clothing that expresses their identity or beliefs. This ban will have a particularly negative impact on Muslim women who choose to wear the niqab or burqa.(theguardian)…[+]

The future of the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, is hanging in the balance as parliament has begun debating a motion of no-confidence tabled after his People’s party (PP) was found to have profited from a huge kickbacks-for-contracts scheme. A defiant Rajoy addressed MPs early on Thursday, accusing the opposition socialist party, PSOE, of opportunism and reminding it of its corruption scandals.

“With what moral authority are you speaking? Are you perhaps Mother Teresa of Calcutta?” he asked. “There have been corrupt people in the PP, but the PP is not a corrupt party.” The no-confidence vote, scheduled to take place on Friday, is likely to be very close. The socialists need the support of 176 of the 350 MPs in congress of deputies. The votes of the five MPs of the Basque Nationalist party (PNV) will prove decisive, with the party saying it would meet and hear what the PSOE leader, Pedro Sánchez, had to say before announcing its decision. Sánchez called for “democratic regeneration” as he sought the backing of MPs, saying: “Resign, Mr Rajoy. Your time is up.”(theguardian)…[+]

Hundreds of truckers and their supporters had gathered at a gas station on a highway near São Paulo for a rally in support of a nationwide protest that has brought South America’s biggest economy to its knees.

But among the slogans and Brazilian flags were signs not usually seen at strike demonstrations: slung from a nearby overpass were banners calling for “military intervention”, a sign that this shutdown has taken on a political dimension all of its own. As a nationwide truck strike reaches its 10th day, gas stations have finally begun to receive fuel deliveries and truckers have started drifting back to work – some unwillingly.

But hundreds of demonstrations have continued on highways across Brazil – and many of those still protesting are calling for a return to the rightwing dictatorship that ran Brazil for two sombre decades until 1985. “We need help from the military to resolve our problems in Brasília, to remove the bandits from there and to put the house in order,” said one driver, Gabriel Berestov, 44.(theguardian)…[+]