On Wednesday, the day after his election as German chancellor, Friedrich Merz flew to Paris. In a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron the two leaders reaffirmed the close ties between their countries, which had recently cooled, as well as their shared interests. Merz then flew directly to Warsaw to meet Prime Minister Donald Tusk and reassert the desire for close ties with Poland. Commentators take stock.

The German Bundestag elected Friedrich Merz as the country's new chancellor on Tuesday - but only in the second round of voting after the CDU leader failed to secure enough support from the ranks of the conservative-social democratic coalition in the first round and fell six votes short of the required majority. After the vote the cabinet members were also sworn in. Europe's media discuss the causes of the false start and its consequences.

India has attacked targets in neighbouring Pakistan and the Pakistan-controlled part of the disputed Kashmir region. Official sources in New Delhi stress that only "terrorist infrastructure" was targeted, but Islamabad says 31 civilians were killed and has vowed to retaliate. This latest escalation in the long-standing conflict was prompted by a terrorist attack on tourists in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir.

The conclave, in which 133 cardinals are convening in the Vatican to elect Pope Francis's successor, kicks off today. They will hold four ballots a day, after which the ballot papers are burnt and black smoke rises into the sky until white smoke proclaims: "Habemus Papam". Commentators take a closer look at the procedure.

Following the announcement of Israel's plan to conquer and permanently occupy the Gaza Strip, spokespersons for the terrorist militia group Hamas have declared that they are no longer interested in negotiating a ceasefire. Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir has announced that tens of thousands of reservists will be called up for the upcoming operations.

Friedrich Merz (CDU) was expected to be elected as the new German chancellor in the Bundestag today with a majority of votes from the CDU/CSU and SPD. The three parties have a total of 328 seats. However in the first round of voting he received only 310 votes, six fewer than necessary. Ahead of the vote, European media assess the political potential of a black-red coalition.