Eurotopics.net

The Polish government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk has added the country's two largest private media companies, Polsat and TVN, to the list of strategic companies, which enjoy special protection. The move is intended to protect these companies from takeovers that contravene the rule of law. Commentators point out that threats to press freedom don't only come from the private sector.

Every year on St Lucia's Day, celebrated on 13 December, a young woman chosen by public vote carries a wreath of candles on her head at a ceremony in Helsinki Cathedral and performs charitable tasks during the Christmas season. In 2024 Daniela Owusu was chosen as the first Black Lucia - and was promptly targeted by racists, especially on the social media.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed on Tuesday in an explosion outside his residence in Moscow. The day before, the Ukrainian secret service SBU had charged Kirrilov, who is responsible for Russia's radiation, biological and chemical defence forces, with war crimes and formally opened an investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. Europe's press assesses the situation.

On Monday the majority of the members of the German parliament withdrew its confidence in Chancellor Olaf Scholz, officially clearing the way for new elections on 23 February. Scholz will be running again as the top candidate of the SPD, but the leader of the opposition Friedrich Merz (CDU) is ahead in the polls. Europe's press takes stock.

After the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the gates of Syria's prisons and torture chambers have been opened and mass graves all over Syria discovered. At Saydnaya Prison, where tens of thousands of people have disappeared or been tortured and killed, the vicious cruelty of the regime has been revealed. Commentators discuss the next steps after these discoveries.