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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Poland’s government says it has received confirmation that Hungary has revoked the refugee status that was granted to fugitive ex-justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro by the former Hungarian government of Viktor Orbán. Ziobro’s associated travel documents have also been invalidated.

The news was welcomed by the current justice minister, Waldemar Żurek, who says that Poland will now ask the United States, where Ziobro fled after Orbán was ousted from power in Hungary, to determine whether Ziobro is allowed to remain on US territory without travel documents.

Otrzymałem pisemne potwierdzenie, że Węgry cofnęły status uchodźcy Marcinowi Romanowskiemu, Zbigniewowi Ziobrze i Patrycji Koteckiej-Ziobro.

Unieważniły także ich dokumenty podróży.

Koła sprawiedliwości mielą powoli, ale mielą.

— Radosław Sikorski 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@sikorskiradek) July 2, 2026

Ziobro, who served as justice minister from 2015 to 2023 under the former national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government, is wanted in Poland on suspicion of 26 crimes, including leading a criminal group and approving the unlawful purchase of Pegasus spyware .

However, he has evaded justice by fleeing first to Hungary – where he was granted asylum in December 2025 – and then to the US. Although Ziobro’s Polish passport had been invalidated , he was able to fly to the US using a so-called “Geneva passport” that can be granted to someone with refugee status.

Ziobro’s departure from Hungary came just as the new prime minister, Péter Magyar, was being sworn in. Magyar is an ally of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and had pledged to begin the process of extradicting Ziobro on his first day in office.

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On Thursday afternoon, Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, confirmed that he had “received written confirmation that Hungary has revoked refugee status for Marcin Romanowski, Zbigniew Ziobro and Patrycja Kotecka-Ziobro”, and had also annulled their travel documents.

Romanowski is a former deputy minister who served under Ziobro and was also granted asylum in Hungary after fleeing criminal charges in Poland. His current whereabouts are unknown. Patrycja Kotecka-Ziobro is Ziobro’s wife.

Later on Thursday, Polish interior minister Marcin Kierwiński announced that he too had received information from his Hungarian counterpart, Gábor Pósfai, that the refugee status and travel documents of Romanowski, Ziobro and Kotecka-Ziobro had been revoked.

Właśnie otrzymałem oficjalną informację od Ministra Spraw Wewnętrznych Węgier Gabora Posfai, że Węgry cofnęły, status uchodźcy M.Romanowskiemu, Z.Ziobrze i P. Koteckiej. Unieważniono także dokumenty wydane przez poprzedni rząd węgierski.

O taką decyzję zabiegaliśmy.

— Marcin Kierwiński (@MKierwinski) July 2, 2026

In response to the news, Żurek, the justice minister, said that Poland would now “reach out to the relevant institutions in the United States with a question about whether individuals deprived of valid travel documents may continue to stay on US territory”.

He also noted that, just a day earlier, a Polish court had upheld a request by prosecutors for Ziobro to be detained. That decision helps pave the way for Poland to request Ziobro’s extradition from the US.

Last week, Żurek had already told broadcaster TVN that he would contact the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) “if it turns out that the Hungarian documents on the basis of which Zbigniew Ziobro entered the United States were issued illegally”.

Dwie informacje na koniec dnia.

MSZ otrzymało pisemne potwierdzenie, że Węgry cofnęły status uchodźcy M. Romanowskiemu, Z. Ziobrze oraz P. Koteckiej-Ziobro. Unieważnione zostały również ich dokumenty podróży.

W tej sytuacji zwrócimy się do właściwych instytucji w Stanach…

— Waldemar Żurek (@w_zurek) July 2, 2026

Speaking on Thursday to Polsat News before news had emerged of his refugee status being withdrawn, Ziobro claimed that the Polish government want ICE to deport him so that they can “bypass the extradition court procedure”.

That is because a court case would “risk exposing all their wrongdoing”, including how they have “used courts and prosecutors for political purposes”.

Ziobro also repeated his argument that he cannot currently return to Poland because he would not receive a fair trial while the justice system remains under the influence of the “lawless” current government.

. @ZiobroPL w rozmowie z @CyprianJopek stwierdził, że nie obawia się procedury ekstradycyjnej, twierdząc, że wniosek będzie rozpatrywał niezawisły sąd. – Ekstradycja ma ten plus, że tutaj Żurek ani Tusk nie będą mogli manipulować sądem – mówił. https://t.co/Jhk128tlsj

— PolsatNews.pl (@PolsatNewsPL) July 2, 2026

During his time as justice minister, Ziobro was the architect of a series of controversial and contested judicial reforms , which Polish and European courts have repeatedly found to have violated the law and brought the justice system under political influence.

After PiS lost power in December 2023, the new, more liberal government led by Tusk began a series of investigations into alleged corruption and abuses of power under the former administration.

However, while charges have been brought against a number of former PiS officials – including former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki – none have yet gone on trial.

A court has upheld a request by prosecutors to bring former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who is wanted on 26 criminal charges, into detention.

The decision paves the way for Poland to request Ziobro's extradition from the US, where he fled in May https://t.co/vIPRjvgQnA

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 2, 2026

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Sławek Kasper/IPN (under CC BY-SA 4.0 )

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For eight seasons, Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley played one of the hottest couples on television in the 2010s in The Vampire Diaries . The complicated romantic entanglement between the former's Elena Gilbert and the latter's good-hearted, over-a-century-old vampire Stefan Salvatore was the beating heart of The CW's hit teen drama, even though the duo ultimately didn't end up together. Yet, even after Stefan's death and the death of TVD itself, the duo recently found their way back to each other when Dobrev and Wesley were cast in another book adaptation , You Deserve to Know , at Hulu . According to Dobrev, this wasn't just happenstance, either.

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Elon Musk's long-term ambition of colonizing Mars is an idea you'd normally find in science fiction novels rather than something actually on the cards for humanity today. Yet that's what the tech entrepreneur is hoping we can achieve within his lifetime. As for the first humans on Mars? It's likely to be much sooner – and even as soon as 2030.

Life on Mars

Musk bluntly outlined the possible risks that any manned mission to Mars will involve when speaking at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) a decade ago.

Quote of the day

This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here .

His comments underlined the fact that the engineers and astronauts involved in the first flights will have to accept extreme risk – and serve as a means of psychological filtering for anybody considering a role in such a mission as and when it may happen in the future.

During his talk, Musk also launched a concept design for an I nterplanetary Transport System spaceship, which is designed to carry between 100 and 200 settlers to Mars, with roughly 1,000 of these vessels leaving Earth in unison.

Ashes to Ashes

Despite Musk's longstanding ambition for SpaceX to get people onto Mars, developments in recent months and years have stalled progress – especially a pivot from the company to focus on the Moon.

Musk formally delayed the Mars infrastructure timeline by up to seven years in February, citing the need to protect humanity's future by building a "self-growing city" on the lunar surface. This is despite saying in January last year that "we're going straight to Mars" while describing the Moon as "a distraction".

Musk's comments over the last few years about getting to Mars have come across as overly ambitious, putting it mildly. Critics suggest that SpaceX may never actually achieve this – including Britain's chief astrophysicist Lord Martin Rees, who described the plans as " dangerous delusion ".

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The Cara packs a 657 cc turbo three-cylinder with 64 hp and 63 lb-ft.

It’s the sister model to Mazda’s famous Autozam AZ-1 sports car.

This example has covered roughly 20,000 miles since it was new.

It seems Kei cars are having a bit of a moment in the United States. The rules around them are shifting; plenty are being imported thanks to the 25-year rule, and even President Trump has expressed interest in seeing new examples sold on local shores. With all that in motion, now could be a smart time to buy one, before demand pushes prices higher.

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Only a week ago, we covered a 1993 Autozam AZ-1 that went on to sell for a staggering $63,000. Now another excellent Kei car has surfaced at auction, and this time it’s a Suzuki Cara that has never had the same spotlight as its twin.

Read: Mazda’s Kei Supercar Only Has 63 HP But Still Pulls Miata Money

For anyone unfamiliar, the Cara is a rebadged version of the AZ-1, and while it lacks the name recognition of the Autozam, it holds one serious trump card. Mazda built 4,392 examples of the AZ-1, but total production of the Cara is thought to have topped out at just 533 units, making it far rarer than its better-known twin.

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Photos BaT

Except “rebadge” undersells Suzuki’s role. The whole concept traces back to Suzuki’s mid-engined RS/1 show car from 1985, and Suzuki supplied the 657 cc turbocharged three-cylinder that powers both versions. Mazda’s team, led by MX-5 father Toshihiko Hirai, carried the idea to production, and Suzuki then sold its own take with little more than a few trim changes to set it apart.

This particular Cara is a 1993 example brought into the United States last March. It has covered roughly 32,000 km (20,000 miles) since new, and although that’s nearly 10 times the mileage of the AZ-1 that recently sold, the Suzuki still presents in very good shape. Someone clearly looked after it, both in Japan and here in the States.

The Perfect Mini-Supercar Recipe

It still wears its original Classic Red paint with Venetian Gray bumpers and rocker panels, and it keeps every one of the supercar-inspired touches that made the AZ-1 special, from the hood scoop to those wonderful gullwing doors.

As with any proper exotic regardless of size, the engine sits behind the cabin, though the 657 cc turbocharged three-cylinder musters only 64 hp and 63 lb-ft (85 Nm). The upside is that all of it goes to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual.

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Photos BaT

The cabin looks every bit as sporty as the bodywork, with a pair of fixed-back bucket seats trimmed in black cloth and red inserts. A three-spoke steering wheel sits ahead of the driver, and the car even holds onto its air conditioning and original cassette stereo.

Bidding on this pint-sized Suzuki wraps up in less than a week, so anyone who wants to get behind the wheel should head over to the BaT listing before it closes. Check out the listing here .

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Photos BaT

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Less than a week after its last test, SpaceX's latest Starship spacecraft went back to the stand for engine checkouts ahead of a coming test flight.

The upper stage for SpaceX's giant Starship rocket, referred to simply as "Ship" — Ship 40, in this case — underwent a static-fire test of all six of its Raptor engines at the company's Massey site in Starbase, Texas. Ship 40 is in line for the 13th test flight of a fully stacked Starship, which is expected within the next month or so.

SpaceX posted a video of the engine test to its X account on Thursday (July 2), showing several angles of the ignition sequence and all six engines (Ship is equipped with three sea-level and three vacuum-optimized Raptors) firing to simulate flight-like conditions on the vehicle.

Starship 60-second static fire ahead of the thirteenth flight test pic.twitter.com/HKZkaXo7WN July 2, 2026

Ship 40 conducted its first-ever static fire last week , lighting a single Raptor for about 15 seconds. This more recent test involved all six Raptors and lasted a full minute, according to SpaceX.

Ship 40 will take part in the second "Version 3" (V3) Starship launch; SpaceX debuted the updated rocket prototype during a test flight on May 22 . That mission went smoothly, for the most part, but it wasn't a complete success; the rocket's Super Heavy booster failed to maneuver its way to a soft ocean splashdown as planned. So the upcoming Flight 13 will likely mirror much of the flight path and mission objectives as Flight 12, including relighting one of Ship's Raptor engines in space.

Starship is SpaceX's super-heavy lift rocket, designed for seamless landing and reuse. The more capable V3 stands 408 feet (124.4 meters) tall — about 5 feet (1.5 m) taller than V2 — and is the biggest, most powerful rocket ever to fly.

Once development is complete and the vehicle is fully operational, SpaceX has big plans for the rocket, including the expansion of its Starlink satellite-internet network in low Earth orbit and landing NASA astronauts on the moon as a part of the Artemis program . The spacecraft will also be capable of delivering heavier payloads to orbit than any other rocket in history.

The success of this most recent engine test puts SpaceX one step closer to Starship Flight 13. Next steps ahead of that launch will include rolling the mission's Super Heavy booster to the pad at Starbase for engine tests of its own. Super Heavy sports 33 Raptor engines at its business end, which produce nearly 20 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Should Super Heavy's static fire tests go smoothly, Flight 13 could happen as early as August.

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After blowing the doors down with narrative horror game Mouthwashing, developer Wrong Organ decided to zig instead of zag : Its next project is Carcass Clad, a roguelike co-op tank simulator in a city where things have gone deeply wrong. But while developer Jeffrey Tomec told me that scripted narrative is on the "back burner for sure" this time, it sounds like Wrong Organ is trying to find a balance for its love of story and worldbuilding.

"We're looking into the best way to do it, but the reality is, every one of our games is made from a core [idea]," said Tomec. "Mouthwashing was, how do we make the script into a video game? Everything in this game comes back to the tank, and how you feel in it, and that is supposed to express something."

Tomec referenced a clash that's burned me in games like Destiny, Redfall, and even the co-op mode of System Shock 2: Players are in a different headspace when playing multiplayer, and that can leave your attempts at storytelling ignored, or worse, obnoxiously intrusive.

"We haven't fully discovered exactly how much we can push it," Tomec said of injecting more overt narrative into Carcass Clad. "Our temptation is always to go and start putting that in our games, and I think we're gonna have to see how much of that fits in here before we start. We strongly believe that narrative shouldn't feel forced.

"You need to understand where someone wants to read, where that's going to add to someone's experience, and where it's going to be you spitting stuff onto the page. Because we're a writing company, we put writing in our games."

But even in the scenario where Carcass Clad winds up almost pure gameplay with minimal script, it sounds like the team has a lot of pent up story and world building it's dying to share. For starters, Tomec explicitly told me that this is an entirely separate setting from that of Mouthwashing. These World War 2-looking tank battles aren't part of the Tulpar crew's distant past or something.

"This world also isn't new to us as a studio," said Tomec. "It's new to anything we've shipped to the public, but we've been talking about the setting for a while. We have stories we may want to tell in this universe. There's a lot more than maybe is going to actually come across in the experience.

"I have the write-up where that explains stuff that might happen story-wise in either this game or the setting outside of the playable experience. But it's always a question of like, is this game actually the effective way to deliver a lot of that, or is that maybe going to be another game, or are we going to decide that we actually hate this setting and ditch it the second this game comes out? There is a lot of thought that's gone into the setting and story."

You can already catch a glimpse of that in Carcass Clad's description on Steam: "The city's saint, long since laid to rest, walks again⁠—gilded and defiled." Sounds messed up and freaky. I expected no less. Carcass Clad does not yet have a release date, but you can wishlist it on Steam .

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Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Bear Season 5. The Bear is officially over, and Carmy Berzatto ( Jeremy Allen White ) has had his last service, moving onto greener pastures. But while Carmy's journey in fine dining has reached its closing chapter, other stories are only just beginning. Over the past five seasons, viewers have watched these would-be restaurateurs grow into their own. Whether it's Richie ( Ebon Moss-Bachrach ) becoming a sharp-suited general manager with his trademark rizz or Tina ( Liza Colón-Zayas ) earning her culinary credentials and stepping into the role of Chef de Cuisine, everyone is finally finding their place at The Bear.