Following airstrikes last week, the Israeli military announced on Saturday that it has launched a new ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously announced the intention of conquering and permanently occupying the area. According to Palestinian sources, dozens of people are being killed in the attacks every day.
The mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan, has won the presidential election in Romania. The pro-European liberal-conservative secured roughly 54 percent of the vote in Sunday's run-off, overtaking George Simion of the far-right AUR party, who came second with 46 percent. Commentators analyse the results and future challenges.
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's centre-right Aliança Democrática has won Sunday's snap parliamentary election in Portugal. The right-wing populist Chega party, which was in a neck-and-neck race for second place with the Socialist Party that governed Portugal with an absolute majority just over a year ago, made significant gains. The Portuguese press takes stock.
The Austrian singer JJ has won this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Basel with his song Wasted Love. Once again, heated discussions and disruptive actions took place during the competition due to Israel's participation. Israel was represented by Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October 2023. She came second thanks to enormous backing in the audience vote.
The Liberal candidate Rafał Trzaskowski has won the first round of the presidential election in Poland with 31.4 percent of the vote, giving him a narrow lead against right-wing conservative candidate Karol Nawrocki (29.5 percent). The two will now face each other in the run-off on 1 June. The right-wing populist Sławomir Mentzen came third with 14.8 percent, followed by far-right candidate Grzegorz Braun with 6.3 percent.
