France has raised the terror alert level to the maximum "emergency" level nationwide after an alleged Islamist killed three people in a church in Nice. Alluding to tensions with Turkey and others, Macron said France would not give in to terror in the battle over values. Just over a fortnight ago, the government had announced a crackdown on Islamism and adopted a harsher rhetoric vis-à-vis Muslims. What is the right response to the attack?
Skyrocketing infection figures and the simultaneously increasing availability of various types of coronavirus tests are fuelling the discussion about the role of the proper testing strategy in the struggle against the pandemic. Slovakia's plans have attracted attention in this regard. But the commentators are already at odds over the wisest approach to testing.
Whether the topic is coronavirus, terror or immigration policy: fake news, filter bubbles and targeted disinformation have become a fixture in the media - via video channels and social media and even established publications at times. Commentators seek suitable countermeasures and examine why so many people are being duped by fake news.
The Estonian government, a coalition of the Centre Party, the Fatherland Party (Isamaa) and the far-right party Ekre, has decided to hold a referendum next spring on the constitutional definition of marriage. The referendum will not be binding - otherwise the government would have to resign if it loses. Ekre is the driving force behind the initiative; it wanted the law on registering same-sex partnership which was adopted in 2015 to be revoked.
The protests in Poland against the tightening of abortion legislation took a new turn on Wednesday, with the women's movement calling for a nationwide strike and paralysing traffic in Warsaw. The protests come after the Constitutional Court declared abortion illegal even in the case of severe foetal defects, further tightening one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. Will the PiS government soften its stance?
Much has been done to avoid it, and there have been urgent warnings against it, but in the face of a surge in infection rates lockdowns have been reimposed in many European countries. Unlike six months ago, however, daycare centres and schools are remaining open in most cases - which is why the talk is now of "partial lockdowns". Nevertheless, just like in the spring, opinions differ about the measures and whether they are necessary.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accused European politicians of Islamophobia and described them as "links in the chain of the Nazis". He said that Muslims in Europe were subject to a lynching campaign comparable to the persecution of Jews before the Second World War. Just a few days before, he had attacked Macron in response to the latter's statement after the murder of teacher Samuel Paty that Islam was in crisis. Observers reflect on the motives, victims and beneficiaries in this dispute.
On 3 November US citizens will elect a new president, the members of the House of Representatives and part of the Senate. In the race for the presidency, former Democratic vice-president Joe Biden is leading in the polls against Republican incumbent Donald Trump. European observers discuss the election's international implications.
Trump's candidate, the conservative lawyer Amy Coney Barrett, has been sworn in as justice of the US Supreme Court after being confirmed by the majority Republican Senate. At the swearing in, Barrett asserted that her work on the Court would not be swayed by her political beliefs. Commentators, however, take a different view.
Amid a wave of new and partial lockdowns in countries across Europe, the economic consequences of these drastic measures are under scrutiny again. There is a consensus in Europe's press that additional support measures are needed, but not on whether more recovery funds are the right solution or on who should receive funding.
In Belarus, opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's ultimatum to President Lukashenka has expired. She had called a nationwide strike if he did not resign by 25 October, and since he failed to comply there has been a surge in the demonstrations, which Lukashenka described as "terrorism". Commentators are at odds over who is under more pressure now.