On a multi-day visit to Germany's most important trading partner, China, Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared his intention to deepen both diplomatic and economic relations. After a meeting with President Xi Jinping, Merz and Prime Minister Li Qiang signed several agreements on issues such as climate change and the fight against animal diseases with a view to closer collaboration.

Against the backdrop of a massive US military build-up, indirect talks between the US and Iran resumed in Geneva on Thursday. While the main topic was Iran's nuclear programme, the US is also seeking a deal on missile armament. There was no breakthrough but further talks are scheduled to take place in Vienna next week. The media examine the motives on both sides.

Danish voters will elect a new parliament on 24 March after the country's Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced a snap election yesterday. The vote would have had to take place no later than 31 October anyway, but the announcement comes as no surprise as Fredriksen's popularity has soared since the Greenland crisis. Whether she can and wants to continue with the current three-party coalition remains to be seen.

On Monday, the 45th anniversary of the attempted coup of 23 February 1981, the Spanish government announced that it was declassifying the corresponding documents, which since are available for viewing on the government website. The failure of the military coup was a key moment in Spain's transition to democracy, known as the "Transición", after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

In the wiretapping scandal that shook Greece in 2022, a court has sentenced four businessmen associated with spyware manufacturer Intellexa to prison on Thursday. The Predator spyware was used for illegal wiretapping operations against politicians, journalists, military personnel and entrepreneurs. The national press is now pushing for further clarification of the case.

US President Donald Trump has praised his government's policies in his State of the Union address. He declared that the US border was secure, the economy was booming and America's enemies were afraid, speaking of a new "golden age for America". Commentators take a closer look at his speech and criticise a lack of clarity on foreign policy.

A debate about what to do with Hungary is underway after it blocked both new sanctions against Russia and an aid loan for Ukraine. EU Council President António Costa has stressed that no EU member state should be allowed to undermine the credibility of EU decisions, and several MEPs have called for its voting rights to be withdrawn.

Since its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Russia has undergone significant internal changes, with the Kremlin regime tightening its grip on power. However, the economy, which initially boomed thanks to massive government contracts and high oil prices, is now faltering, and according to estimates around 300,000 soldiers have been killed in action.

In 2018, the Swiss clearly rejected a complete abolition of public broadcasting fees. Now, a new initiative by the national conservative party SVP, the Young Liberals and the Swiss Trade Association aims to halve the budget of public broadcaster SRG to ease the burden on citizens and businesses. But according to the national press, this is not the real issue. The vote has been set for 8 March and the outcome is still open.

The killing by the Mexican military of Mexican drug lord Nemesios Oseguera Cervantes, also known as "El Mencho", has triggered a violent backlash from his powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Dozens of people have already been killed in the clashes. Europe's press discusses how the conflict will affect the country's stability.

Exactly four years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, commemorative events for the victims of the war are being held in Ukraine and other countries across the world. Commentators reflect on these four years of death, destruction, hardship and suffering in Ukraine, and on how the war could end.

Moscow's Gulag History Museum, which was initially closed in November 2024 due to alleged fire safety violations, will now be given a new thematic orientation. According to the newly appointed museum director it will be converted into a "memorial museum for the victims of the genocide of the Soviet people" and document Nazi war crimes during WWII.