American influencer IShowSpeed has made appearances in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania as part of a PR campaign for the Baltic states. In Riga he met with politicians and former president Raimonds Vējonis, with whom he jumped around on the platform of the country's Freedom Monument, before appearing with officials in Lithuania. Commentators who are not among his 40 million YouTube followers are baffled.
Every year, German public broadcaster ARD invites the German Chancellor and the leaders of the parties represented in the Bundestag to a summer interview on a terrace in Berlin's government district. This year the exchange with AfD leader Alice Weidel was disrupted by a group of loud demonstrators. Commentators criticise both the discourse on German television and the approach to countering the rise of the far-right party, which was classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in May.
The coalition government of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has lost its majority in the House of Councillors, the upper house of the National Diet. His Liberal Democratic Party has had a majority in the house almost without interruption for 70 years. Now for the first time it is in the minority in both chambers. Meanwhile two right-wing populist parties have gained ground. The press focuses on Sanseitō, which went from two to fourteen seats.
At a Coldplay concert in Boston, a "kiss cam" was displaying couples when it panned to a man and woman who didn't want to be shown together on the big screen. Instead of kissing the two ducked away. The video quickly went viral and as a result the man in the video, who happened to be CEO of IT firm Astronomer and was at the concert with the company's HR chief, lost his job. Europe's press reflects.
A report by the UK's Independent Water Commission paints a bleak picture of the water supply sector in England, which was privatised in the 1980s, concluding that inefficiency, blatant disregard for environmental standards, leaks and poor water quality are rife. Environment Secretary Steve Reed reacted by announcing that the current water regulator will be scrapped and replaced to overhaul the entire system.
The interior ministers of six EU member states met at the summit of the Zugspitze mountain in Germany on Friday, hoping to reach an agreement on tightening Europe's asylum and migration policy. The proposed measures include more deportations and the transfer of asylum procedures to third countries. Against this backdrop and in light of the recent far-right riots in Spain, commentators debate whether Europe's migration policy is on the right track.
During his election campaign, Donald Trump promised to release secret files on the Epstein scandal. Now his supporters are insisting that he keep his promise, with some questioning his integrity over his failure to do this so far. Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died in prison six years ago, and the case has given rise to numerous conspiracy theories. European commentators discuss to what extent they now pose a threat to the president.
In Bulgaria, several local politicians in the opposition strongholds of Sofia and Varna have been arraigned on corruption charges in recent weeks. The arrest of Blagomir Kozev, the mayor of the key port city of Varna, has sparked protests. The national press fears that - as in neighbouring Turkey - the judiciary is being misused by the government to secure its grip on power.
The EU Commission has proposed a new budget of two trillion euros for the 2028-2034 period - around 700 billion euros more than the current budget. At the same time, less money is to be allocated to fixed areas in a bid to increase flexibility and allow for quicker responses in a crisis. Europe's press discusses the size of the budget and funding priorities.
Israel bombed government buildings in Damascus on Wednesday, intervening in a conflict between Druze and Sunnis in the southern Syrian province of Suwayda that had degenerated into brutal clashes. A ceasefire has since been agreed, after which Syrian government troops withdrew from the Druze stronghold. Commentators assess the situation.
