Five Al Jazeera journalists, including 28-year-old correspondent Anas Al-Sharif, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. In their statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) described Al-Sharif as a "terrorist posing as a journalist for Al Jazeera". For commentators, the attack on journalists marks the crossing of another red line in the Gaza war.
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev, have signed a US-brokered peace deal in Washington. US President Donald Trump announced that under the agreement they committed to ending all fighting, initiating trade, travel and diplomatic relations and respecting each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. A fresh start for the region?
In Poland, media reports on the use of EU funds from the country's National Recovery Plan (NRP) have sparked a scandal. Evidence has emerged that in the hospitality sector NRP funds were used to purchase yachts, saunas and solariums. Critics see this as a misuse of the programme, which was put in place to bolster the country's economy after the pandemic. The NRP was considered the greatest success of Tusk's coalition government.
The Israeli security cabinet has approved an expansion of military operations in the Gaza Strip and the plan to take over Gaza City. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the aim was not to occupy Gaza but to demilitarise the area and place it under a non-Israeli civil administration. European commentators voice numerous objections.
Plans for a gigantic suspension bridge connecting Sicily with the Italian mainland as of 2032 were approved by an inter-ministerial committee last week. With a total length of 3.3 kilometres, the bridge, the cost of which has been estimated at 13.5 billion euros, would be the longest suspension bridge in the world and designed to withstand major earthquakes (a devastating earthquake destroyed the Sicilian city of Messina in 1908).
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are apparently close to engaging in direct negotiations aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine. The meeting is expected to take place next week, although Putin has rejected the idea of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attending. Commentators see things moving forward despite the many obstacles.
Donald Trump's new tariffs against around 70 countries came into force on Thursday. Switzerland is among those hit hardest, with a 39-percent tariff now applying on Swiss exports to the US. Not even a lightning visit to Washington by President Karin Keller-Sutter was able to avert this serious blow to Switzerland's export-oriented industry. The national press examines the damage.
The municipality of Jumilla in south-east Spain has banned Muslims from using public facilities to celebrate religious festivals. The ban, which was introduced by the conservative People's Party (PP) and facilitated by the right-wing populist Vox, clearly violates the Spanish constitution. The Spanish Episcopal Conference has also protested the decision.
Representatives from around 170 countries have been attending a meeting in Geneva since Tuesday to discuss how to reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste. The last UN conference on the subject failed mainly due to resistance from oil-exporting countries. European commentators examine the options for an agreement.
The Japanese city of Hiroshima has commemorated the victims of the atomic bombing eighty years ago with the ringing of the Peace Bell and a minute's silence. Tens of thousands of people were killed when the US deployed a nuclear bomb as a war weapon for the first time. Against this backdrop, European commentators debate the dangers and the logic of deterrence.
Romania's first post-communist president Ion Iliescu died on 5 August aged 95, and will be buried in a state funeral today. He was under investigation for committing crimes against humanity during the 1989 revolution until recently. The national press gives conflicting accounts of his historical role.
Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff has landed in Moscow shortly before the US's deadline for Russia to end its war in Ukraine expires. Details of his agenda are not known at present, but a meeting with Putin has not been ruled out. European commentators speculate on the results of his visit.