Stricter rules against tobacco consumption have come into force in France: smoking is now prohibited on beaches, at bus stops, in parks, around schools and on sports grounds. The tightened regulations are mainly aimed at protecting young people from active and passive smoking. Health Minister Catherine Vautrin wants France to have a new "tobacco-free generation" by 2032. The national press is unimpressed.

The EU Commission has set a new climate protection target: a 90 percent reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 1990 levels, by 2040. As of 2036, EU member states will be able to purchase up to three percentage points of their reduction target with credits from environmental projects in countries outside the EU. These "international credits" in particular are a source of controversy in Europe's press.

At a time when developing countries are struggling with massive debt and industrialised nations are cutting aid budgets, how can development cooperation continue? This is the question that dominated the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development which ended on Thursday in Seville. The US, which has scrapped more than 80 percent of USAID projects under Trump, didn't even send a delegation.

Relations between Russia and Azerbaijan have nosedived after several Azerbaijanis were arrested in Yekaterinburg on Sunday for murders committed many years ago. Two of those arrested were found dead shortly afterwards - according to Baku as a result of severe physical abuse. In retaliation, several Russians - including employees of the Russian state broadcaster Sputnik - were arrested in Baku and subjected to brutal treatment. What is fuelling the conflict?

Romania's new prime minister, Ilie Bolojan, has announced major cuts to scholarships at schools and universities. According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, almost one in two secondary school pupils has received a grant of around 90 euros per month in recent years for good grades. The criteria for receiving these merit-based scholarships, as well as those allocated to disadvantaged pupils, are now to be tightened.

Europe is sweltering as temperatures hit record levels of more than 40 degrees Celsius in some places. Wildfires are spreading, rivers and lakes are drying up, crops are withering, and particularly for the sick and elderly the heat poses a major health risk. Commentators examine existential questions.