Eurotopics.net

Major upheavals are on the cards in the Dutch party landscape as a prominent figure enters the race for the office of prime minister. The GreenLeft and the Labour parties have agreed to combine their campaigns and have named EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermanns as their lead candidate for the general election in November, which was prompted by the collapse of Prime Minister Mark Rutte's coalition. An exciting twist?

The Kyiv City Council has banned the public use of cultural products in Russian. The ban applies to books, songs, plays and other cultural works, even if they are by Ukrainian authors. But because the City Council lacks the authority to enact such legislation there are no penalties for violations for the time being.

Canicola, eyyamıbahur, καύσωνας - Mediterranean countries each have their own special name for the hottest phase of the summer, which usually begins in mid-July. This year, however, the temperatures are soaring to record levels. Many Italian cities are on red heat alert, the most serious level, and in Greece and Spain forests are burning. A look at Europe's press shows that the fear of the consequences is not limited to southern Europe.

The meeting of the Brics emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in August in Johannesburg will take place in the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will participate by video instead, the Kremlin has announced. The arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which South Africa would have been obliged to execute, is suspected to be the reason for the cancellation. Commentators disagree about the ramifications of Putin's absence.

The advance of artificial intelligence (AI) into many existential areas of life is sparking heated debates and concern about the future. Regulatory legislation is still in the early stages. Commentators examine whether we should fear being replaced in the working world or whether art will lose its value.