The West African nation of Mali is in the grips of its worst military conflict in years. Radical Islamists and Tuareg separatists have joined forces to fight against the military government that has been in power since a coup in 2020. What does the conflict mean for the Russian Africa Corps, which backs the military junta in Bamako, and for Europe?
Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut has been released as part of a prisoner exchange after five years' internment in Belarus. Poczobut (53), who is a reporter for the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper and a member of the country's Polish minority, was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to eight years in a labour camp in 2023. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed him in person at the border.
The Iran war has put an end to the popularity of the Gulf states as a tourist destination, social media checks for visa applications in the US are provoking protests and people are tightening their purse strings. European commentators examine what the global political and economic situation means for tourists and holidays.
Croatia has faced a flood of bomb threats over the past week. Hospitals, shopping centres, editorial offices, airports, schools and kindergartens have had to be evacuated and searched more than 700 times – but in each case no explosives were found. The national press talks of a systematic attack on state and society.
Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla have arrived in the US for a four-day state visit. President Donald Trump and the First Lady welcomed the royal couple in the White House on Monday. Charles is due to give a speech before Congress today Tuesday. Commentators debate whether the King can rescue the strained relationship between the US and the UK.
The ousted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has resigned his parliamentary seat. He says he wants to focus on "reshaping the nationalist movement" and will continue to lead the Fidesz party. His successor Péter Magyar, however, has warned that a "mafia" that had formed around Orbán is now planning to flee the country, taking their billions with them.
The Social Democrats (PSD) and the far-right AUR party have announced plans to table a motion of no confidence against the government of Liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. The move follows the resignation of six Social Democratic ministers and the PSD Deputy Prime Minister in protest at a major austerity package. Commentators discuss the background and consequences.
The US tech company Palantir has published a 'manifesto' by CEO Alex Karp on X which has sparked a furore. The development of AI weapons is inevitable and the US must secure dominance in AI-based deterrence, it states. It also mentions the need to address the fact that different cultures have different levels of success. Critics are calling it the dawn of technofascism.
The Estonian Olympic Committee (EOC) voted to remove EOK President Kersti Kaljulaid from office – making her the first president to be ousted in the organisation's 102-year history. Opposition to Kaljulaid, who was Estonia's president from 2016 to 2021, had intensified over her efforts to increase transparency into the EOC's finances.
Forty years ago, Chernobyl, which was still part of the USSR at the time, was the site of the worst accident in the history of nuclear energy. A series of technical errors caused the reactor in Block 4 to explode on 26 April 1986. The leaked radioactivity spread across the whole of Europe and can still be detected today – in mushrooms, the bodies of wild animals and the forest floor. Commentators discuss the use of nuclear energy, then and now.
US President Donald Trump, his wife Melania Trump and several members of his administration had to be escorted to safety after shots were fired at the annual Correspondents' Dinner in Washington at the weekend. A 31-year-old man who was reportedly carrying a shotgun, a handgun and several knives has been arrested. Commentators examine the ramifications of the attack.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) has presented a military strategy that aims to make the Bundeswehr "Europe's strongest conventional army", and explicitly named Russia as a threat. The number of active-duty soldiers is to rise from the current 185,000 to 260,000 by 2035, with the number of reservists increasing to 200,000.