Almost 1.5 million coronavirus infections and around 167,000 deaths: these are the figures recorded to date by the EU agency ECDC for the European Economic Area plus the UK. However, new infection rates are declining across Europe and are now as low as they were in mid-March. Commentators take stock.
Since the start of the coronavirus crisis Sweden has attracted attention for of its liberal approach to the pandemic. But recently critical voices have gained traction due to the country's comparatively high death toll. Leading Swedish virologist Anders Tegnell said on Wednesday that his country's strategy needed to be partially revised. Were the Swedes too uncritical of their authorities?
The conservative opposition in Spain is demanding the resignation of Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Marlaska had dismissed the chief of the Guardia Civil, the national law enforcement agency, claiming the move was part of a general replacement policy. However it later came out that the police chief was investigating members of the government on the orders of the judiciary - albeit on the basis of potentially biased reports.
A heated debate has raged for years about what should happen to the house in Braunau am Inn where Adolf Hitler was born and which became a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis. Austria's Ministry of the Interior has now presented plans for it to be converted into a police station. This has met with a barrage of criticism from the country's media.
Mass protests continue in the United States after the killing of George Floyd, an African American, by a policeman. While most rallies have been peaceful, some protestors have resorted to vandalism and looting. In reaction to the unrest 1,600 soldiers have been stationed near Washington. European media examine the structural causes for the racism which has brought the protesters onto the streets.
Tourism is the sector most severely affected by the coronavirus crisis, according to a report by the EU Commission. On average, eleven percent of the jobs in Europe depend on the industry, and in some countries that figure is much higher, reaching 23 percent in Croatia or 22 percent in Cyprus. More and more countries are therefore opening their doors to holidaymakers - a worrying trend in the eyes of some observers.
Protests against the government's crisis management led by right-wing parties took place in Rome and other Italian cities on Italy's Republic Day. As with rallies in other countries, those taking part were a heterogeneous crowd including citizens suffering from the economic effects of the pandemic, supporters of conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine activists. How powerful is the movement?
Donald Trump and Twitter have been exchanging blows for a week now. After the Internet company slapped fake news warnings on tweets by the US president, Trump signed a decree restricting the rights of social networks. Now Twitter has again flagged a Trump tweet for glorifying violence. What will be the upshot of the conflict?
On 4 June Hungary will mark the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. When the First World War ended, the country had to give up two-thirds of its territory, as a result of which a quarter of the native speakers of Hungarian were left living outside the new borders. The Orbán government introduced this day of remembrance after taking office in 2010. Commentators take the opportunity to reflect on the commemoration policy.
Elon Musk's company SpaceX has successfully carried off its first manned flight to the International Space Station: carrying two astronauts, the space capsule "Crew Dragon" landed on the station without a hitch on May 31 after 19 hours of flight. This is the first time that a private company has been commissioned to fly astronauts into space.
The number of people going hungry as a result of the measures to contain the pandemic has risen dramatically. At the same time farmers all over the world are unable to offload their products due to disruptions in production processes and supply chains as well as decreasing demand. The crisis is highlighting the interdependencies in the food supply chain, prompting reflection on inadequacies and new solutions.