Since the start of the war in Ukraine, over 7 million people have fled the country. Multiple reports have outlined the specific difficulties that African refugees faced as they attempted to cross the Polish border and enter the European Union. Georgina Robertson and Sophie Samaille take a look at a Facebook post falsely claiming that refugees from Africa were shot at by Polish police.

Hundreds demonstrated in Tunis on Sunday (June 19) in a second day of protest against a constitutional referendum called by President Kais Saied that his opponents say would cement his hold on power. The demonstration was organized by the Salvation Front, a coalition including the moderate Islamist Ennahda, the largest party in a parliament that Saied dissolved in March.

The war with Russia is now mostly being fought in the country's east, meaning many who fled the invasion can return home to see what's left and try to rebuild. Ukrainian authorities say at least 2 million have returned in the last few weeks. Jan-Philipp Scholz reports from Bucha.

The European Commission has recommended candidate status for Ukraine. Just over three months after being invaded by Russia, Kyiv has cleared the first hurdle on the road to membership.

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief has called for Russia to end its blockade of Ukrainian ports. His comments come ahead of a meeting of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers.

For the latest edition of Europe Now, we head to Poland and Hungary. These two EU members both border Ukraine and have both taken in large numbers of Ukrainian refugees. But on more political issues, their governments' responses to the war have been drastically different. Our team meets lawmakers from across the political spectrum of both countries to discover why the Polish and Hungarian governments have taken such different stances. We also explore other key issues, such as the ever-expanding EU files on degradations of rule of law.

Marcos Jr. has given himself the position of secretary of agriculture ahead of taking his presidential office and amid prohibitively high global prices. The Philippines is heavily reliant on importing its staple — rice.

French politics continues to dominate the papers as Emmanuel Macron desperately seeks an alliance to secure a parliamentary majority. The US Senate finds bipartisan support for new gun possession laws for the first time in 30 years. Organisers of the Miss France beauty pageant introduce radical new changes to shake up the contest. Finally, a man escapes his kidnappers by driving erratically on a highway in order to be stopped by authorities.

Colombians have elected a new president. Gustavo Petro, 62, is set to become the first leftist in the country's top job. The former rebel of the now defunct M-19 movement beat millionaire businessman Rodolfo Hernandez in Sunday's election. Petro will take the oath of office in August, replacing the deeply unpopular Ivan Duque. For analysis, we speak to Gerard Martin, a political sociologist based in Medellin, Colombia.

EU leaders are in Brussels to discuss the membership bids of Ukraine and Moldova. Meanwhile, the European Parliament has voted heavily in favor of the two countries' getting candidate status.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.

June is Pride Month, a celebration of the world's LGBTQ populations which also serves to continue the fight for equality and justice for the community. Activist Anna Sharyhina joined us on Perspective for a conversation about LGBTQ rights in Ukraine before and since the Russian invasion. Originally from Kharkiv, she co-founded the Ukrainian NGO "Sphere", which works to provide a safe space for the country's queer community and organised Kharkiv's first Pride parade in 2019.