After the US Navy attacked several boats allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean, US President Trump has now announced plans to combat drug smugglers on land as well, and has authorised CIA covert operations in Venezuela. As the US strengthens its military presence in the region, Venezuela has appealed to the UN Security Council for support. European media see the Maduro regime as the real target of the operations.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has postponed the controversial reform raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 until January 2028. The idea is to create the confidence needed to develop new solutions, he explained on Tuesday. For the opposition Socialists, who had vigorously pushed for this move, the decision marks a victory. The planned reform led to months of mass protests across the country in 2023.
Despite the ceremonial signing of a Gaza peace declaration on Monday, Hamas has announced that it will continue its fight against Israel. According to media reports the terrorist organisation has taken action against armed gangs on the streets of Gaza and released a video showing several people described as "collaborators" being executed. Commentators examine the organisation's role.
Filip Turek, who is under discussion as a candidate for foreign minister in the new Czech government, is facing accusations of racism, homophobia and sexism. Deník N newspaper has published several posts with such content taken from Turek's Facebook page, which were later deleted. Election winner Andrej Babiš has described the problem as"serious" but needs Turek's party Motorists for Themselves to secure a governing majority.
Donald Trump is becoming more vocal about his frustration over Vladimir Putin's refusal to end the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to visit Trump again on Friday. The delivery of long-range, highly accurate US Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, which has been under discussion for some time, could be finalised at the meeting. What would this mean for Moscow?
A storm is brewing between Washington and Beijing again: China has tightened its restrictions on exports of rare earth metals and related technologies. Exports to third countries now require approval from Beijing. US President Donald Trump has responded by threatening to impose a 100 percent punitive tariff on Chinese goods as of 1 November. Is the world facing a new trade war between the two economic giants?
Following last Thursday's approval by Israel and Hamas on an agreement which includes the release of Israeli hostages and a ceasefire, the mediating states signed an accord on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday, after more than two years of war. Further steps towards peace are now to be negotiated. Commentators voice a mixture of scepticism and hope.
Last Friday, Estonian border guards reported sightings of several heavily armed soldiers without insignia in the Saatse Boot area, where the road to the village of Saatse runs through Russian territory for one kilometre. The Estonian authorities closed the road as a precautionary measure. The incident has reignited the debate over whether the Baltic states are under threat.
After resigning, Sébastien Lecornu has been appointed French prime minister for a second time. However, several key portfolios in his cabinet remain in the hands of the previous incumbents. The government policy statement and 2026 draft budget due to be presented today will now be decisive, as both the far left and far right opposition groups in parliament have already tabled motions of no confidence which will likely be put to vote on Wednesday.
In local elections in Portugal on Sunday, the two major parties, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's centre-right PSD and the Socialist Party (PS), won a majority of the votes in most cities and municipalities. By contrast, the right-wing populist Chega party, which had emerged as the main opposition party in the parliamentary elections in May, fell far short of expectations in these elections.
The Gaza ceasefire deal is to be signed on Monday afternoon in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, with US President Donald Trump in attendance. The remaining living Israeli hostages who have been held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the massacre on 7 October 2023 were all released this morning. Commentators examine the chances of a lasting peace.