The French overseas territory of New Caledonia is to be given more state sovereignty but remain French under a deal reached by negotiators from Paris and the political parties of the archipelago in the South Pacific. In May 2024, the territory was rocked by deadly riots triggered by a planned electoral reform that favoured citizens from mainland France. The compromise solution elicits both praise and scepticism in Europe's press.
US President Donald Trump has adopted a harsher tone vis-à-vis Russia. He announced on Monday that Ukraine is to be equipped with Nato-financed US weapons, including Patriot missiles, and that if an agreement to end the war wasn't reached within 50 days, Washington will impose punitive tariffs of up to 100 percent on Russia and its trading partners. Europe's press takes a look at the potential impact of this new rhetoric.
After a data leak that put 19,000 people at risk, the British government relocated thousands of Afghans to the UK from August 2023 to protect them from the Taliban - at an estimated cost of 400 million pounds so far. Both the data breach and the evacuation scheme were kept strictly secret by means of a so-called 'superinjunction', which has now been lifted by the courts.
Hundreds of migrants arrive on the Greek island of Crete via Libya every day. The Greek government has now decided to suspend processing of the asylum applications of refugees arriving by boat for an initial period of three months. New arrivals are to be 'arrested and detained,' Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced. In addition, a detention camp for migrants is to be set up on the island. The national press is of two minds about the initiative.
The town of Torre-Pacheco in southern Spain has been the scene of rioting and racist violence over the last few days. The unrest erupted after a pensioner was reportedly attacked by young people with a migrant background and right-wing extremists launched a "hunt for migrants" in the town where many agricultural workers from Morocco live. The police sent in reinforcements and ten people were arrested.
Many observers are concerned about the harmful effects of artificial intelligence on humanity. A new study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is now fuelling fears that AI is slowing down human development progress. Commentators make suggestions as to how governments and leaders can steer the influence of AI in the right direction.
People around the world marked the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre on Friday. In July 1995, during the Bosnian war, Bosnian-Serb forces invaded a protection zone set up by the United Nations and killed over 8,000 Bosniaks. The crime is now internationally recognised as genocide. A look at Europe's press shows why remembrance is still so important.
A new round in the tariff dispute: US President Trump has announced 30-percent tariffs on goods from the EU and Mexico as of 1 August. The EU Commission is pinning its hopes on the ongoing negotiations - the introduction of counter-tariffs on US goods, which was originally scheduled for today, has been postponed until the end of the month. Commentators take a closer look at Trump's strategy and Europe's resilience.
Thirty members of the Kurdish PKK burnt their weapons in northern Iraq on Friday in a symbolic step towards ending their insurgency against the Turkish state, which began in 1984. One of the group's leaders said that they would now try to achieve their goals by political means. The press examines the prospects for the peace process.
The Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has launched proceedings against Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre and one of the country's best-known civil society activists. Because he also serves as a volunteer in the army, he is now accused of evading military service and using an army vehicle for private purposes. The media sound the alarm.
The motion of no-confidence against EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, tabled by members of far-right parties, has failed. Only 175 MEPs voted in favour of the initiative – while more than twice that number voted against. Two-thirds of those present would have had to support the motion for it to pass. Europe's media draw varying conclusions.