In the aftermath of the attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow, for which Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility, fears of attacks by Islamist terrorists are growing in other countries. France has declared the highest terror alert level, while German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described the threat posed by IS in Germany as "acute". Commentators discuss appropriate European responses.

In Portugal the liberal-conservative PSD under Prime Minister designate Luís Montenegro has only managed to get its candidate elected as house speaker in the fourth round of voting. The right-wing Chega party, which gained a number of seats in the elections, had also put forward a candidate - apparently in contradiction to what had been agreed - meaning that Montenegro had to compete for the votes of the Socialists (PS). Commentators see more difficulties on the horizon.

Originally the office of prime minister was to rotate between the liberal PP-DB and the conservative Gerb-SDS alliance. Now the cabinet formation process has failed completely in Bulgaria. Nikolai Denkov (PP-DB), who has been prime minister for the last nine months, immediately returned a renewed mandate to form a government on Wednesday. Since the populist ITN is also not expected to be able to form a government, the country now faces its sixth parliamentary elections in three years.

The US state of Florida under the conservative Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has passed a law banning children under 14 from having user accounts on social media. Children under 16 will require parental consent. The move has prompted a discussion about child protection and data security in Europe's press.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange may not be extradited to the US for the time being. The judges at London's High Court have given the US authorities three weeks to guarantee that Assange can assert his right to freedom of expression enshrined in the US constitution and that the death penalty will not be imposed. Commentators assess the decision also against the backdrop of the upcoming US elections.

The UN Security Council has adopted an appeal for an "immediate ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip, with 14 votes in favour and the US abstaining. The resolution calls for both a ceasefire until the end of Ramadan and the release of the hostages taken by the radical Islamic Hamas organisation. Israel has reacted with outrage, while Hamas has thanked the Security Council but demanded that the hostages be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.

An audio recording from January 2023 released by Hungarian politician Péter Magyar allegedly compromises members of the Orbán government. In the recording of a conversation between Magyar and his ex-wife Judit Varga, who was Minister of Justice at the time, Varga describes how government officials caused evidence to be removed from court investigation files to protect Orbán loyalists against corruption charges. A tricky situation, commentators surmise.

According to research conducted by To Vima, audio recordings were deliberately manipulated after the Tempi train crash and then disseminated by pro-government media to create the impression that the collision was due solely to human error. The opposition has reacted by tabling a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Mitsotakis, which will be put to the vote on Thursday. Commentators remain sceptical.

Although Vladimir Putin has blamed Islamist terrorists for the attack in Moscow that left over 130 people dead, with a reference to those "who ordered it" he did not completely retract the version that Ukraine had a hand in the massacre. Seven suspects are now in custody. Four of them have already been brought to court, showing visible signs of torture. Commentators see this as a symptom of the climate in Russian society as a whole.

In the current edition of the World Happiness Report European countries, led by Finland, occupy the top nine places. But even within Europe, certain countries have fallen far behind their neighbours or dropped several places compared to previous rankings. Commentators look at why.

The non-aligned former foreign minister Ivan Korčok secured an unexpected victory in the first round of the Slovakian presidential election with 42.5 percent of the vote. Most polls had put Peter Pellegrini, parliamentary speaker and coalition partner of the country's controversial Prime Minister Robert Fico, in front, but instead he was left trailing behind with 37 percent. The two now face a second round of voting. Commentators generally see the interim result as a positive signal.

A terrorist attack in which almost 140 people were killed was carried out near Moscow on Friday. Several attackers broke into the Crocus City Hall event centre, where they gunned down concertgoers and set the building on fire. The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the attack, and eleven suspects have been detained. President Putin has alleged that Ukrainians had a hand in the massacre, which Kyiv denies.

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