In Metz, on the last stop of his France tour, Pope Leo XIV stressed the importance of Europe and its fundamental values for "maintaining peaceful relations". He called for dialogue, courage in negotiations and multilateralism and also paid tribute to Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the EU who worked in Metz for many years. Commentators examine the background to this encouraging speech.
The situation in the straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab and the decline in Russian exports due to the war in Ukraine are putting pressure on global crude oil and fuel markets. Diesel prices in particular have been hitting record highs. European governments are once again trying to counter market trends with tax cuts or subsidies. In Germany, for example, filling up is to cost 17 cents less per litre as of October. Are such fuel discounts a good idea?
Israel will elect a new parliament on 27 October. The vote will determine the future of the right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has led the country on and off in multiple tenures since 1996. Netanyahu's Likud party has been governing in a coalition with ultra-Orthodox partners since 2022. The media take a look at the heated election campaign.
The Swedish Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson has announced that her party's exploratory talks with the Left Party have failed. Although the centre-left bloc secured a narrow majority in the recent parliamentary election the attempts to form a government failed after the Left Party voted for Andreas Norlén of the Moderates, the long-serving Speaker of the Riksdag. The Swedish press takes stock.
In a referendum held on Sunday, 70.2 percent of Swiss voters rejected a stricter stance on neutrality. The principle of neutrality, as enshrined in the country's constitution, means that Switzerland does not take part in wars or join military alliances. The initiative was put forward by the association Pro Schweiz, which is backed by Swiss industrialist and politician Christoph Blocher and closely aligned with the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party (SVP).
For the first time since January 2022, the German and Russian foreign ministers met in person on Saturday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. However, there was apparently no convergence of positions during the 20-minute meeting between Sergey Lavrov and his German counterpart Johann Wadephul. The media discuss the diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine.
China's President Xi Jinping was received with great pomp by Donald Trump in Washington last week. Both sides emphasised the "friendship" and "progress" in their relations. It was announced today, Monday, that an agreement had been reached on tariff cuts totalling 30 billion dollars and the establishment of a trade council to meet at regular intervals. A forum for dialogue on regulating AI is also to be set up.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, have once again warned the UN Security Council in New York of the dangers of unregulated development of artificial intelligence. They called for internationally applicable control mechanisms to mitigate the potential risks posed by AI. The European press is concerned.
According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US administration has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in Miami in December. "In order to solve problems, you have to meet with the people that you disagree with," he said. The EU has said it does not intend to boycott the summit, pointing out that it wants a say in any peace deal for Ukraine.
The EU has agreed at the last minute to extend the current sanctions against Russia – which target around 3,000 individuals and organisations – for another three years. However, at the instigation of France, Luxembourg and Slovakia, two oligarchs, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, have been removed from the list. Kyiv is outraged. Europe's press is incensed.
The case of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, who was evicted from the flat in Madrid where she had lived for more than 70 years, has triggered outrage in Spain. Real estate company Urbagestión had raised her rent from 500 to 2,650 euros, well beyond what Abascal could afford on a monthly pension of 1,350 euros. Hundreds of demonstrators tried to prevent the eviction, without success. Spain is currently facing a severe housing crisis.