After the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the gates of Syria's prisons and torture chambers have been opened and mass graves all over Syria discovered. At Saydnaya Prison, where tens of thousands of people have disappeared or been tortured and killed, the vicious cruelty of the regime has been revealed. Commentators discuss the next steps after these discoveries.
Cyclone Chido has wreaked havoc in the French overseas department of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. The cyclone swept across the archipelago bringing gusts of up to 240 kilometres per hour. A large proportion of the island's population live in huts with corrugated iron roofs, a factor which it is feared will push up the death toll. Things cannot go on like this, commentators agree.
Romania's Constitutional Court annulled the first round of the country's presidential election which the far-right candidate Călin Georgescu had won on the grounds that it was manipulated. The rerun will take place in the new year. Nicușor Dan, mayor of Bucharest, has announced his candidacy. The national press discusses Dan's chances as an independent and the way he is exploiting this status.
Former professional footballer and far-right politician Mikheil Kavelashvili has been appointed as Georgia's new president thanks to the parliamentary majority of the ruling Georgian Dream party. The main opposition parties boycotted the vote on the basis that the parliamentary elections in October were rigged and are refusing to recognise the result. Europe's press comments.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has urged member states to drastically increase their defence spending to guarantee Europe's security. Two percent of GDP will not be enough to function as a deterrent in the long term, the head of the military alliance admonished in his inaugural speech in Brussels. Commentators analyse his statements.
If Vienna fails to get its finances under control, it could face penalties from Brussels. With its deficit at 3.9 percent of GDP and set to rise to 4.1 percent next year, it is in breach of the Maastricht criteria which stipulate an upper limit of 3 percent. In addition, Austria's debt ratio could rise to over 80 percent, although according to the rules it should not exceed 60 percent. The national press is divided on how to avert a crisis.
Just days after the French centre-right government under Michel Barnier was toppled, President Emmanuel Macron has appointed François Bayrou, a centrist politician, as the new prime minister. Europe's press discusses whether Bayrou can be trusted to form a stable majority and the challenges that lie ahead for his government.
When Donald Tusk came to power at the head of a politically heterogeneous three-way coalition in December 2023, expectations were high after eight years of the right-wing conservative PiS government. One year later, disillusionment is spreading. One reason for this is the government's ongoing conflict with President Andrzej Duda, who is close to the PiS. The Polish press takes stock.
Protests that began in Serbia at the beginning of November after the collapse of a concrete canopy at Novi Sad railway station killed 15 people are spreading: students are blockading around 40 faculties and demonstrations are taking place on an almost daily basis. The protesters are demanding that secret documents relating to the renovation of the railway station in Novi Sad be made public and the release of arbitrarily detained protesters. Commentators see the situation escalating.
On December 4, Brian Thompson, CEO of the health insurance company United Healthcare, was shot dead in broad daylight outside the New York hotel where the group's annual investor conference was due to take place. The alleged perpetrator, 26-year-old Luigi M., was arrested on Monday, and is now being celebrated as a national hero by many Americans who are deeply frustrated with the country's healthcare system. Commentators seek explanations.
For lack of rival candidates the final decision was a mere formality: on Wednesday, Fifa awarded the 2030 men's football World Cup to Spain, Portugal and Morocco (with individual matches in South America) and the 2034 tournament to Saudi Arabia. The fact that the decision to award the 2034 World Cup to the Gulf state was already a given does little to quell indignation in Europe's press.