Eurotopics.net

In mid-April the US magazine Forbes put forward the attention-grabbing thesis that countries led by women have better strategies for dealing with the coronavirus crisis and fewer deaths. This was particularly clear when such countries are compared with the United States and Britain for example, the article said. The thesis is still the subject of fierce debate on social networks and in the media, although some find it unconvincing.

People all over the world are affected by the coronavirus and the associated restrictions. At the same time the lockdown is a positive development for the climate. Nitrogen dioxide levels in major southern European cities such as Madrid and Milan have gone down by around 50 percent, for example. The difference can even be seen from space. Commentators discuss whether the pandemic could have a lasting positive impact on the environment.

Europe's governments are gradually easing their countries out of the shutdown. Some are allowing shops to reopen while others are letting children go back to schools and kindergartens. The media discuss how quickly the return to normality should be effected and what dangers the process entails.

In Russia the business newspaper Vedomosti has changed hands. Despite assurances that the newspaper's independence will be preserved, within just a few weeks the new editor-in-chief Andrei Shmarov has turned the editorial staff against him after banning the publication of data from the independent opinion research institute Levada and changing or deleting texts about the Kremlin-affiliated oil company Rosneft.

Turkey's Grand National Assembly celebrated its 100th anniversary on Friday. Official ceremonies took place in the First Parliament Building in Ankara, but due to the corona pandemic the customary public celebrations were cancelled. The commemoration was unworthy of this historical occasion, commentators believe.