Just hours before his ultimatum expired, US President Donald Trump has prolonged the ceasefire with Iran for an indefinite period. At Pakistan's request, Trump said that there would be no more attacks until the "seriously fractured" government in Tehran had put forward a "unified proposal" and talks had been concluded. According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, no final decision has been reached about participating in the negotiations.
Since 2021 Hungary has had a law – typical of the Orbán era – prohibiting access to information on homosexuality, trans identity and gender reassignment for the under-18s. The European Court of Justice has now ruled that the law is discriminatory, and that it violates European fundamental rights as well as contradicting the EU's core values.
Former President Rumen Radev's centre-left coalition Progressive Bulgaria won a clear victory in the parliamentary elections, securing around 45 percent of the vote. Radev has affirmed that Bulgaria will continue its European path, but that a strong Europe needs critical thinking and pragmatism. Commentators ask what the election result means for European cohesion.
A proposed change to the curriculum has sparked controversy in Portugal. The country's only Nobel laureate, José Saramago, may lose compulsory reading status in secondary schools. Saramago, who was an avowed communist until his death in 2010, left the country in the 1990s following a row with the Conservatives. Against this backdrop, the proposal by the Conservatives, who are now in power again, has fuelled a heated debate.
More revelations in the Mandelson scandal are upping the pressure on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Mandelson was given the post of ambassador to the US despite failing security vetting. In the House of Commons, Starmer apologised for the appointment but said that at the time of the decision he had not been fully informed.
Romania's four-party ruling coalition is on the brink of collapse: On Monday, the Social Democrats (PSD), the largest party in the government, withdrew their support for the liberal prime minister Ilie Bolojan over proposed reforms and austerity measures, calling on him to resign and threatening to withdraw the PSD ministers from the cabinet if he refused. Bolojan, however, said he has no intention of stepping down and accused the PSD of trying to shirk its responsibilities.
Russian troops have been unable to make any significant advances in recent months. Military experts attribute this mainly to the dominance of Ukrainian drones – not only in the airspace directly above the front line, but also behind it on the aggressor's side. Ukrainian attacks on industrial and energy facilities deep within Russia are also intensifying. Commentators see the tide turning in the war.
Left-wing politicians from across the globe gathered at a meeting in Barcelona at the weekend to pledge their joint commitment to the defence of democracy. Under the banner of Global Progressive Mobilisation (GPM), the heads of state and government and ministers of dozens of countries travelled to the event at the invitation of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Trump faced accusations of fickleness and a lack of tact right at the start of his second term in office. Now the US president is making headlines with his alarming rhetoric and AI-generated images. In its discussion of his foreign policy – from the Iran war to Nato, to the elections in Hungary and even the feud with Pope Leo XIV – the media sees indications that Trumpism is in decline.
After their landslide victory in Sunday's parliamentary election, Hungary's future Prime Minister Péter Magyar and his Tisza Party aim to overhaul the system put in place by Viktor Orbán. Having won a two-thirds majority in parliament, they hope to restore the separation of powers, the rule of law and press freedom in Hungary. Magyar has also called on the country's president, Tamás Sulyok, to step down voluntarily.
The European Commission wants to introduce a new age verification app to enhance child protection online. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in Brussels that the app is ready for launch and will soon be available to the public. Is this the breakthrough in the fight against smartphone addiction, cyberbullying and the harmful influence of social media on minors?
Turkey has seen two school shootings in as many days. At a school in Kahramanmaraş on Wednesday, a 14-year-old boy shot eight pupils and a teacher before he was shot dead at the scene. A day earlier, a former pupil at a school in Siverek in Sanliurfa Province shot and wounded 16 people, including ten pupils, before killing himself. Commentators search for reasons to explain the attacks.