After US marines stormed an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, Tehran has accused Washington of violating the ceasefire which was meant to be in force until Wednesday and threatened revenge. Meanwhile the US is planning a new round of talks in Islamabad. According to the state news agency IRNA, Iran will not be sending a delegation to Pakistan.
For the eighth time in just five years, Bulgaria voted in a new government on Sunday. This time, however, there was a clear result: the new centre-left coalition Progressive Bulgaria, headed by former president Ruman Radev, won an absolute majority with around 45 percent of the vote, while former prime minister Boyko Borisov's conservative Gerb Party secured just 13 percent. Will this bring a shift in Bulgaria's attitude to the EU?
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.
More than 100 authors have announced they will leave France's leading publisher Grasset in protest at the dismissal of its long-time CEO, Olivier Nora. Nora is to be replaced by Jean-Christophe Thiery, a close associate of ultra-conservative billionaire, media mogul and Grasset-owner Vincent Bolloré, who, the authors fear, will exert political interference. The press also voices consternation.
At an international conference in Berlin on Wednesday, aid commitments to the tune of 1.5 billion euros were agreed for Sudan, which for the past three years has been ravaged by a brutal civil war. According to UN estimates, 34 million people, or two-thirds of the population in the northeast African country, are dependent on humanitarian aid. The media debate the causes, consequences and possible solutions to the famine.
After the initial failure of peace talks with Iran, the US has begun its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the US millitary, six merchant ships arriving from Iran have been forced to turn back within the first 24 hours. President Trump has said that a key reason for the blockade is to prevent transit tolls from falling into the hands of the regime in Tehran. What consequences could this provoke?
A direct exchange between envoys of Israel and Lebanon has taken place in Washington for the first time in decades. The Israeli ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, described the talks with his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, as very positive. They agreed that Hezbollah must relinquish its power. Commentators, however, are sceptical about the prospects of success.