The European FCAS fighter jet project has failed. The German and French governments announced on Monday that the joint development of the aircraft is to be halted. The jet was to form the central pillar of the Future Combat Air System, a key project in European defence cooperation, however Airbus and Dassault, the two companies working on the project, were unable to agree on who should take the lead.
Rioting broke out in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, on Tuesday after a video of a knife attack which left a man seriously injured the day before was posted online. Hundreds of people staged anti-immigration protests and set fire to vehicles and buildings. According to the police, the suspected perpetrator is a 30-year-old man from Sudan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree giving an element of Ukraine's army the honorary title "Heroes of the UPA". However the nationalist Ukrainska Povstanska Armiia (UPA) or Ukrainian Insurgent Army is notorious in Poland for the mass murder of civilians during WW II. Polish President Karol Nawrocki and his predecessor Lech Wałęsa are now calling for Zelensky to be stripped of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest state honour, awarded in 2023. How deep is the rift?
Chinese President Xi Jinping has paid a two-day visit to North Korea. No matter how the international situation develops, China will remain committed to its traditional friendship with North Korea, Xi said during a meeting with Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. Commentators examine the complex web of ties between the two countries.
Armenia's ruling party Civil Contract has won the parliamentary election, securing just under 50 percent of the vote and an absolute majority of seats. Party leader Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has been in power since 2018, sees this as a clear mandate to continue the country's pro-Western course. All the other parties that will form the opposition in parliament advocate a more pro-Russian course. Europe's press discusses the sharp divide.
Last Sunday marked the 100th day of the US and Israel's war against Iran. While the initially fierce military confrontations in the Persian Gulf have subsided and the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has become the central issue, Lebanon is now at the centre of events due to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has been in office for one month now. In that time he has made numerous official visits abroad, set a new course in international policy and met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, among others. Commentators look at the progress and the obstacles.
Following the new government in Budapest's decision to end Hungary's long-standing blockade, the path is clear for EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova to begin. Negotiations with the Western Balkan countries may also gain momentum in line with the demands of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron at a summit in Montenegro. Europe's press anticipates a long and laborious process.
At their meeting in London, the leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Ukraine have called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to an immediate ceasefire and to enter into negotiations to bring the war to an end. In a shared declaration Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz and Volodymyr Zelensky called for the 'active' involvement of Europe and the US in peace talks.
In Albania, sweeping and at times violent protests have repeatedly broken out against plans to build a vast luxury tourist resort on the coast. According to the plans it would be located in protected areas on the Narta Lagoon and the offshore island of Sazan. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is involved in the project which, the government stresses, has yet to be approved.
Pope Leo XIV began a week-long visit to Spain on Saturday. More than a million people attended his Corpus Christi mass in Madrid on Sunday, during which he called for greater commitment to justice and solidarity among peoples. Commentators in the national press discuss what role the Church and its head can play in today's world.