Eurotopics.net

For many children the first day of school is a big adventure, while for some it's a source of fear. All over Europe children will be starting school in the next days and weeks. Journalists in various countries describe how stressful the school years can be for children and parents, and who needs most support during this time.

The UK's ex-foreign secretary Boris Johnson is coming under increasing pressure from within his party after his contentious remarks about women wearing burqas (he described them as resembling "letter boxes" and "bank robbers"). Several leading Tory politicians, including Prime Minister Theresa May, have demanded that he apologise. Johnson refuses to do so. Is he right to stick to his guns?

The question of who was to blame for the war between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia is still controversial today. The region had long been seeking autonomy, and Moscow didn't like Georgia's attempts to form closer ties with the EU and Nato. Since the five days of fighting the conflict has been frozen. Both the West and Russia should have learned more from the war, journalists say.

US President Trump has once again made the headlines with attacks against the media. This time he called journalists "horrible, horrendous people" and said much of the press was an "enemy of the people". While some commentators say it's just a matter of time before Trump gets caught in the trap of his own lies, others warn that his excesses must not become the norm.

The UK's ex-foreign minister Boris Johnson has said in a column commenting on Denmark's burqa ban that women wearing full-body veils looked like "letter boxes" and "bank robbers". In the text for the daily The Telegraph he spoke out against the ban but described the clothing as "absolutely ridiculous". Are these the words of a free thinker or a racist provocation?