On Friday, nine of a doctor's ten children were reportedly killed when her home was hit by an airstrike in the Gaza Strip. Israel's harsh military actions and the lack of food supplies and aid have already provoked growing international criticism. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that acts that entail such suffering for the civilian population could no longer be justified as a fight against terrorism. Europe's media reflect on what is being said and done.
Russia launched a massive offensive involving hundreds of drones and missile strikes against Ukraine on the weekend, while a number of Ukrainian missiles were intercepted in the Moscow region. At the same time the two warring countries completed a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap - the biggest since the war began. US President Trump criticised both President Putin as 'absolutely crazy' and President Zelensky, for 'causing problems'.
After Portugal's snap parliamentary election, the conservative PSD, the liberal IL and the far-right Chega have the necessary two-thirds majority for a review of the 1976 constitution, which – written in the spirit of the Carnation Revolution – promises to "open the way to a socialist society" in addition to providing for a social welfare state. Chega and IL are demanding that the opportunity for a constitutional revision be used, while the PSD has so far remained silent on the issue.
A brief scene that has caused a big stir: in a video that quickly went viral, French President Emmanuel Macron can be seen being pushed in the face by his wife Brigitte as he prepares to get off a plane that has just landed in Vietnam for an official visit. While some commentators wonder whether it was a slap in the face, Macron has said that he and his wife were just joking around.
Donald Trump threatened on Friday to impose 50 percent tariffs on EU goods from 1 June, citing a lack of progress in trade negotiations. In a phone conversation with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, the US president however agreed to delay the move until 9 July after von der Leyen said she was ready to advance the talks "swiftly and decisively". European media take stock.
The dispute between President Trump and elite US universities continues to escalate: after accusing them of failing to take sufficient action against pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Trump threatened to cut funding and ban Harvard from accepting foreign students. The latter has been temporarily blocked by a court injunction. Commentators examine the root causes of the row.
US President Donald Trump confronted his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa with claims about the systematic murder of white farmers in South Africa during a White House meeting last week. The 'evidence' he presented is controversial: according to Reuters news agency, one of the images used to back up the accusations was a still from a video of a mass burial in the Democratic Republic of Congo. European commentators weigh in.
Two Israeli embassy staff members were shot dead outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. on Wednesday evening. The young couple were soon to be married. A 30-year-old man has been arrested and is expected to be charged with murder. According to police reports, he said he did it for Palestine. Commentators reflect on the causes and necessary consequences.
The right-wing populist candidate Sławomir Mentzen, who came third in the first round of the Polish presidential election, has submitted a list of demands to Karol Nawrocki and Rafał Trzaskowski, the two candidates competing in the run-off vote on 1 June, and made his support conditional on their fulfillment. Nawrocki and Mentzen have already had a meeting in which Nawrocki agreed to the conditions and even supported Mentzen's criticism of the PiS. The media takes stock.
After his phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump proposed the Vatican as a venue for peace talks on the Ukraine war. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has indicated that she would support Pope Leo XIV in the negotiations. According to the Wall Street Journal, these could begin in mid-June.
A majority of the European Union's foreign ministers have spoken out in favour of reviewing the bloc's Association Agreement with Israel. The humanitarian situation in Gaza made it necessary to examine whether Israel still fulfils the basic principles of the trade agreement which include respecting human rights, EU foreign affairs representative Kaja Kallas explained. European commentators see criticism of Israel's actions gaining traction.