On 9 July Zurich-based FIFA  banned Chuck Blazer, a central figure in the corruption scandal that has engulfed world football, for life for taking millions of dollars in bribes. ‘Mr Blazer committed many and various acts of misconduct continuously and repeatedly during his time as an official in different high-ranking and influential positions at FIFA and Concacaf,’ said a statement announcing the ban from all football-related activities. ‘In his position as a football official, he was a key player in schemes involving the offer, acceptance, payment and receipt of undisclosed and illegal payments, bribes and kickbacks as well as other money-making schemes.’ The one-time powerbroker of North American football is a former ally of Fifa leader Sepp Blatter, who has agreed to step down because of controversy over US and Swiss investigations into the world body and World Cup tournaments.

Police in Malmö are aiming  to crack down on a recent wave of gun crime in the city. Violence in Sweden's third largest urban centre has escalated in the past two months, including shootings, explosions, hand grenades being thrown and cars and buildings set on fire. On Friday night a man in his twenties was shot in the street in the nearby town of Arlöv and on Thursday a 25-year-old man was in hospital after being shot in Malmö. Regional police put the rising violence down to an increased import of illegal weapons and are calling for tougher border controls on the Öresund bridge between Sweden and Denmark in a bid to tackle the problem.

A list emerged on 10 July warning tourists intending to visit Spain to be aware of security issues from terrorists, as authorities raise the security levels at popular Spanish tourist resorts. Holiday-goers from the UK are feared to be a key target for IS extremists. The plan has been created by Holiday Travel Watch. The advice includes telling tourists to use numerous sources when researching for a holiday, follow Spanish security advice, and check that the intended hotel has good surroundings and security via Google maps.

On 9 July the EU Agency for Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) hosted  a conference on the formation of an energy union tailored to consumers in Brdo pri Kranju. The event discussed the strategy for an energy union unveiled by the European Commission in February, which aims at reducing the EU's energy dependence on Russia and securing affordable energy. The five pillars of the energy union are reliable supply, internal energy market, energy efficiency, low carbon levels and research, innovation and competitiveness. Slovenia's position is that all five pillars should be developed at the same time. The conference focused primarily on the benefits the strategy is expected to bring to energy consumers in the EU.