Fifa is planning to sell up to 20 percent of its stake in the World Cup to private investors. According to media reports, its president, Gianni Infantino, wants to set up a new entity to raise billions in profits by selling off commercial rights to the tournament. Fifa has confirmed that it is examining the proposal. Uefa has slammed the plan. Commentators are also incensed.
Fighting in the Gulf region has intensified again. In conjunction with Saudi Arabia, the US military has attacked positions held by pro-Iranian militias in Iraq that, according to Washington, were being used to launch drone strikes ordered by Tehran. The US also carried out further attacks on targets within Iran itself. Iran, for its part, has launched new strikes against US bases in the region.
A Ukrainian couple were beaten up by three men in the Polish city of Wrocław on Sunday. The police have arrested two suspects so far. Just a few years ago, the world was impressed by the Poles' solidarity with refugees from Ukraine, Prime Minister Donald Tusk admonished, adding that, "All of that is now being destroyed." Media outlets in both countries examine the shift in public sentiment in Poland.
While some progress has been made in the fight against the devastating wildfires in France and Spain, there are concerns that the situation may deteriorate again as yet another heatwave looms. President Emmanuel Macron has said this is France's worst fire emergency since the Second World War. Commentators are also alarmed and discuss what action should be taken.
AI research company OpenAI reported that during an internal test of its new AI models last week the software independently hacked its way into the systems of another AI company. The AI models apparently managed to break out of their isolated test environment and gain access to the internet. Commentators voice concern and call for appropriate measures.
The Austrian government wants to extend compulsory military service from six to nine months. Its 6+3 scheme is intended to boost the Austrian army's operational readiness and better prepare soldiers for crisis and defence tasks. To make military service more attractive, holiday entitlement will be introduced and pay will be hiked up to 1,000 euros a month. The press is very sceptical.
In July 2025, after more than 40 years of civil war, the PKK has symbolically laid down its arms. Reconciliation with the Kurds is now to be placed on a legal footing, and Turkey has announced that is preparing the legal framework for a peace process that will regulate disarmament, returns and reintegration. The speaker of Turkey's parliament, Numan Kurtulmuş, called for Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood.
Berlin's Christopher Street Day parade was cut short on Saturday evening following an attack. A van driver ploughed into a crowd on the fringes of the festival and then attacked passers-by with what appeared to be a machete. One woman died and 29 people were injured. The suspected 21-year-old perpetrator was a known Islamist. He was shot dead in a police operation on Sunday.
In the Romanian spa town of Băile Tuşnad, former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has called on his supporters to 'resist' his successor Péter Magyar’s government. Around 7,000 people listened to his keynote speech at the annual summer camp in Transylvania, during which he reassured his supporters that he would return to the political stage. This was Orbán’s first major public appearance since his electoral defeat in April.
An advertising campaign for meat producer Rannarootsi has sparked a fierce debate in Estonia. A photo shows two men barbecuing against a backdrop of huge clouds of smoke, with the slogan: 'The right barbecue makes bitter onions sweet'. In Estonia, 'onion' is a slang word used to refer to Russians. The national press reports on the outrage among Estonia's Russian-speaking community.
Kazakhstan is widely regarded as Russia's silent ally. But now its president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has called on Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin to end the fighting in Ukraine. At a summit in Omsk, Russia, at which both leaders were present, he urged Putin to freeze the conflict, adding that the causes of the war, which has resulted in heavy losses for both sides, was incomprehensible.