78 people died early last week in a fire at a ski resort hotel in the Bolu moutains in Turkey. The hotel's owner and manager as well as several more people have been arrested. The tourism minister of the ruling AKP party and the opposition CHP mayor blame each other for lacking safety checks; apparently there were blatant violations of the fire safety regulations.

Speaking via video at the World Economic Forum, US President Donald Trump called on companies across the globe to manufacture their products in the US. Thanks to his administration's tax cuts and cheap energy from oil and gas, there was "no better place to create jobs," he declared, adding that those who do not produce in the US will have to pay tariffs to access the US market. Europe's press discusses the EU's options.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal has announced plans to increase his country's defence spending to five percent of GDP, in line with US President Trump's demand to all Nato states. With its previous plans for 3.7 percent of GDP as of 2026 Estonia was already one of the front-runners on defence spending. Commentators debate whether the five percent target makes sense and how it can be achieved.

A knife attack on a kindergarten group in Aschaffenburg has left two dead and three seriously injured. The suspect, a 28-year-old Afghan, has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The fact that the man had a history of violence and should have already left the country has triggered a political controversy.

A presidential election will be held in Belarus on Sunday. Alexander Lukashenka, who has ruled the country as a dictator since 1994, wants to be confirmed for a seventh term. In 2020 there was a major wave of protests against an election that was widely held to have been rigged. The protests were brutally suppressed by the regime. The media explain why such protests are unlikely this time round.

In his inaugural speech, US President Trump remained silent on the subject of the war in Ukraine. Now he has addressed Vladimir Putin on Truth Social: "STOP this ridiculous war!" If a solution isn't found soon he would have to impose "high taxes, tariffs and sanctions" on Russian exports, he said. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump has given his negotiator Keith Kellogg 100 days to broker a deal.