In the run-up to Friday's Alaska summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, several European leaders participated in a video conference with the US president, laying out key points for possible peace talks, including a ceasefire based on the current front line and security guarantees for Ukraine. The media assess the chances of success.
An outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in south-east Estonia has provoked strong reactions - both on social media and in the area surrounding the affected farm with its 6,700 animals. After several days of uncertainty and speculation it was confirmed that the pigs have the virus. The authorities have ordered the culling of the infected and isolated livestock. A second outbreak has now been reported.
Fuelled by persistent water shortages, drought and record temperatures, devastating wildfires are raging across southern Europe, with the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey all affected. The fires have already claimed lives in Spain and Portugal, and thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes in Greece in recent days. The media criticises the lack of preventive measures.
Ahead of the planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has invited European leaders to a virtual summit. The participating countries - including Ukraine - aim to coordinate a common stance and convey it to the US. Commentators assess the motives of those involved.
US President Donald Trump has announced he is deploying the National Guard in Washington and placing the capital's police department under federal control, citing the high number of homeless people and rampant crime on the other as justification for the measure - even though Washington authorities say these figures are on the decline. Trump already sent the National Guard to Los Angeles a few weeks ago in response to protests against his immigration policy.
Portugal's conservative government has proposed a new law tightening the family reunification regulations and raising the hurdles for acquiring citizenship. However at the behest of President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Constitutional Court reviewed the draft, which the government had planned to push through with support of the right-wing populist Chega party, and has now declared it unconstitutional.
Another heatwave is making its way northwards from southern Europe at the moment. Spain and France are registering temperatures of more than 40 degrees, and Central Europe is also approaching these levels. Commentators discuss how society and the economy can adapt to such extreme weather conditions.
Five Al Jazeera journalists, including 28-year-old correspondent Anas Al-Sharif, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. In their statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) described Al-Sharif as a "terrorist posing as a journalist for Al Jazeera". For commentators, the attack on journalists marks the crossing of another red line in the Gaza war.
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev, have signed a US-brokered peace deal in Washington. US President Donald Trump announced that under the agreement they committed to ending all fighting, initiating trade, travel and diplomatic relations and respecting each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. A fresh start for the region?
In Poland, media reports on the use of EU funds from the country's National Recovery Plan (NRP) have sparked a scandal. Evidence has emerged that in the hospitality sector NRP funds were used to purchase yachts, saunas and solariums. Critics see this as a misuse of the programme, which was put in place to bolster the country's economy after the pandemic. The NRP was considered the greatest success of Tusk's coalition government.
The Israeli security cabinet has approved an expansion of military operations in the Gaza Strip and the plan to take over Gaza City. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the aim was not to occupy Gaza but to demilitarise the area and place it under a non-Israeli civil administration. European commentators voice numerous objections.