After trips to Ukraine and Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister and current EU Council President Viktor Orbán has also visited China. During the tour, which he refers to as "Peace Mission 3.0", Orbán met with Chinese head of state Xi Jinping. Xi spoke out in favour of a ceasefire in Ukraine and subsequent negotiations. Commentators discuss appropriate responses to Orbán's conduct.
The debate about migration and integration has reignited in Austria after the city of Vienna saw a mass brawl and then a stabbing within a few days of each other. The perpetrators are said to belong to gangs from various different countries of origin. Europe's press discusses how the violence can be contained.
Ukraine's largest children's hospital Okhmatdyt was destroyed by a missile strike on Monday. Two people were killed, but an even greater tragedy was prevented by evacuating the building at short notice. A UN monitoring mission has said that there was "a high likelihood" of this being a direct hit from a Russian missile and condemned the strike as one of the most "shocking" attacks since the beginning of the invasion. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the allegations.
A new far-right group called Patriots for Europe has been formed in the European Parliament on the initiative of Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán. In addition to the Hungarian Fidesz party the group - now the third-strongest in the European Parliament - includes among others Austria's FPÖ, the French Rassemblement National (RN), the Portuguese Chega and the Italian Lega. Commentators voice concern.
Masoud Pezeshkian, who is widely seen as a moderate reformer, has been elected as Iran's new president. Before entering politics Pezeshkian was a doctor and heart surgeon, and then health minister under former president Mohammad Khatami between 2001 and 2005. Both politicians stand for the desire for reform and improved relations with the West. Nevertheless, Europe's press sees little hope of real change.
Shortly after his visit to Kyiv, Hungarian Prime Minister and current EU Council President Viktor Orbán has made a surprise visit to Moscow. After talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war against Ukraine, he declared that Europe needs peace and that all sides must work towards this goal. Commentators are sceptical.
Following the resumption of the German-Polish government consultations last week, the debate in Poland about reparation claims against Berlin has reignited. The fact that Prime Minister Donald Tusk has not put such demands on the agenda is being interpreted as a renunciation of the claims, causing outrage not just among his opponents. The national press also seizes on the topic.
Labour leader Keir Starmer has won a landslide victory in the UK general elections with his promise of "change". Labour won a large majority in the House of Commons with 412 of the 650 seats, while the Tories suffered heavy losses and now have just 121 seats. Commentators wonder what exactly the promised change can and should entail.
Turkey is rejoicing after its national team qualified for the quarter-finals in the Euro 24 football tournament for the first time since 2008 with a 2:1 victory against Austria. However Merih Demiral, who scored the country's two goals in the game, is facing a ban for making a "wolf" salute, which is linked to the right-wing extremist Grey Wolves youth group, after he scored his second goal. Is this justified?
In the first round of the parliamentary elections in France, the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and its allies emerged as the strongest force. Ahead of the second round of voting on Sunday, the leftist alliance Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), which came second, and the third-placed Macronist camp have withdrawn more than 200 candidates in total in order to boost each other's chances against the RN.
Hungarian Prime Minister and current EU Council President Viktor Orbán visited Ukraine for the first time in more than a decade this week. In a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky he proposed a quick ceasefire as a basis for peace negotiations, urging the Ukrainian leader to rethink his demand that Russian troops withdraw before talks can begin. Commentators see this as a calculated move.