Supervisory boards at two big German carmakers are to hold emergency meetings later after they were accused of breaching EU cartel rules. Volkswagen and Daimler have declined to comment on the allegations that they and other German car giants colluded to fix the price of diesel emissions treatment systems. The issue is under investigation by EU and German anti-trust regulators. Companies found to have infringed EU cartel rules are liable to pay fines of up to 10% of their global revenue. Other firms under investigation are BMW, Porsche and Audi. The German car industry is also dealing with the fallout from the 2015 diesel car emission-rigging scandal, which erupted after Volkswagen was found to have cheated official tests by using special software to produce artificially low pollution levels. VW, the world's largest car manufacturer, has admitted about 11 million cars worldwide were fitted with the device. Last year, a US court ordered VW to pay a $14.7bn settlement over the scandal.

New challenge to US power: Chinese exceptionalism

China’s once-reticent citizens see their country as economically, diplomatically and politically ascendant—and the US in decline. The phenomenon bolsters President Xi’s signature slogan exhorting the "China Dream."

Hong Kong-China train station could apply mainland law

Hong Kong's government has unveiled a controversial plan which would allow Chinese mainland law to apply in the territory for the first time. It's part of attempts to streamline operations at the new Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, which will open next year. Under the new plan, passengers will be able to undertake border clearance procedures for both Hong Kong and China successively in one building in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. And it will be mainland law which will be in force in parts of the terminal, even though it's on Hong Kong soil. The government says that will be more convenient for passengers, but opponents say it could violate Hong Kong law.

The EU's top court has ruled that a law requiring refugees to seek asylum in the first country they reach applies even in exceptional circumstances. The case, brought by Austria and Slovenia, could affect the future of several hundred people who arrived during the migrant crisis of 2015-16. The ruling concerns two Afghan families and a Syrian who applied for asylum after leaving Croatia. The court says it is Croatia's responsibility to decide their cases. The crisis unfolded during the summer of 2015, as one million migrants and refugees travelled through the Western Balkans. Under the so-called Dublin regulation, refugees typically have to seek asylum in the first EU state they reach. But Germany suspended the Dublin regulation for Syrian refugees, halting deportations to the countries they arrived in.

The US House of Representatives has voted to impose fresh sanctions on Russia, despite Trump objecting to the legislation. Senior officials will be targeted in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in the US 2016 election. The bill is likely to complicate Trump's hopes of improving relations with Russia. Russia said the vote could destroy the possibility of "normalizing relations" between the two countries. The bill needs to be passed through the Senate before it can be sent on to the president to be signed. The White House says it is reviewing the bill, and it is unclear whether the president will veto it.

Iran's judiciary chief asked the US Monday to release Iranians jailed in the US and to return Iran's assets after President Donald Trump called on the state to release three detained US citizens. Iran's Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani renounced the US claims and brought his own in a televised speech to other top-ranking judicial officials. "We tell them: 'You should immediately release Iranian citizens held in American prisons in violation of international rules and based on baseless charges.' ... You have seized the property of the Islamic Republic of Iran in violation of all rules and in a form of open piracy, and these should be released."

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled on Monday that immigrants cannot be detained solely at the request of federal law enforcement officials. The decision comes out of Lunn v. Commonwealth, a case concerning a Cambodian refugee who was arrested for unarmed robbery in Boston last October. When the charges were dismissed because the prosecution failed to present a case, federal authorities issued a civil detainer request to hold Lunn for 48 hours until officers could take him into custody and begin the removal process. The court held that the request constitutes as an arrest as the individual in custody would otherwise be released due to a lack of pending charges. Under Massachusetts law, there is no authority to arrest and hold individuals for a civil matter such as an immigration detainer.

Contrary to what you may have seen on social media, the so-called "Goldwater rule," a code of ethics prohibiting most psychiatrists from giving opinions about the mental state of anyone they have not evaluated, remains in effect. The rule re-emerged in headlines Tuesday in the form of an article on the health news website Stat News. The article said that the American Psychoanalytic Association told its 3,500 "members they should not feel bound" by the rule. It lit up social media, with some Twitter users interpreting it to mean the Goldwater rule was being lifted and mental health professionals could have at President Trump's mental health. There has been no change to the code of ethics. "The Goldwater Rule" was implemented in 1973, preventing psychiatrists from making armchair diagnoses, after Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee for president, successfully sued a magazine that published an article doubting his sanity.

Cardinal George Pell will plead not guilty to all accusations of sexual assault against him, his lawyer has told a Melbourne court. The Vatican treasurer, 76, appeared in person for the brief administrative hearing on Wednesday. Pell is accused of historical assaults involving "multiple complainants", police said last month. The senior Catholic Church figure has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He was not required to enter a plea during the hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes. "Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to all charges, and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has," his lawyer said. Prosecutors were given until 8 September to prepare a brief of evidence. The next hearing, known as a committal mention, will be on 6 October. Pell was flanked by police officers and surrounded by crowds as he entered and left court.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says he will maintain a freeze on contact with Israel, despite the removal of metal detectors at a sensitive religious site in East Jerusalem. The installation led to deadly clashes and uproar from Palestinians who saw it as an Israeli attempt to assert control over the site. Israel said it was necessary to prevent weapons being smuggled in. It says it now has plans to replace them with less obtrusive surveillance. Both sides are under pressure from the international community to resolve the row over the holy site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and Muslims as Haram al-Sharif.

The White House says it will decide "soon" on the fate of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, after a barrage of criticism from Trump. In a Twitter onslaught, Trump called the country's top prosecutor "weak", a day after labelling him "beleaguered". At the White House later, Trump said he was "disappointed" with Sessions. The former Alabama senator should not have recused himself from an FBI inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the election, said the president. Allies of Sessions have indicated that he intends to stay in his post.

Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro announced on Sunday that a controversial election for a new national assembly will go forth as planned next weekend. The new Constituent Assembly will have the power to rewrite the nation's constitution which was adopted in 1999. Opponents to the move, including the European Union and other Latin American countries, are calling for a boycott of the vote. Many have accused the efforts for a constitutional rewrite to be undemocratic and a way to suppress the months of anti-government protests against Maduro's presidency.

Polish President Andrzej Duda announced on Monday that he is vetoing two proposed laws that threaten to limit the judiciary's independence. One of the bills, passed by the Polish Parliament last week with two others aimed at judicial reform, would allow members of parliament to appoint Supreme Court judges, a move that many citizens of Poland strongly opposed. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party pushed the bill through just days after thousands of people rallied in Warsaw to protest what has been seen as a massive power-grab by the party. The European Commission threatened to impose sanctions if the proposed bills were not abandoned. Duda, a former member of the PiS party, said that he supports a reform of the country's judicial party but that it must increase the people's sense of justice and security. Duda did sign a third bill which gives the justice minster the power to select the heads of the local courts. Parliament could challenge the vetoes, but it will need a three-fifths majority to override the President's decision.

Indonesia moved a step closer to hunting down tens of billions of dollars it believes its citizens have hidden abroad after passing a law that will give tax officials access to financial data held by other countries. The law paves the way to ramp up tax collection by getting better access to information on any assets parked in jurisdictions such as Singapore and Hong Kong

Bitcoin Cash will have to win backing from the broader community of so-called Bitcoin miners. Bitcoin Cash, to be available Aug. 1, sprang from a feud over how to govern a decentralized, open-source technology with no one set of leaders or owners.

An Australian regulator is suing Ford Motor regarding a transmission that caused jerking while accelerating and excessive noise, the latest legal challenge for global auto makers stemming from safety concerns.