Eurotopics.net

After the Novaya Gazeta newspaper released a video filmed in 2017 showing an inmate in a penal colony in the city of Yaroslavl being tortured by prison employees, the investigation into the incident, which had been closed, has been reopened. But this won't make any difference to the situation in Russia's prisons, commentators from the opposition predict.

They made a name for themselves by rescuing civilians from war zones in Syria, but now they are in danger: 422 members of the Syrian aid organisation White Helmets and their families have been rescued from the combat area in the south of Syria - by the Israeli army. The press reacts positively to the spectacular rescue of the rescuers.

At least 54 people have been killed and more than 150 injured in forest fires in the Athens area. An extended period of extreme heat and drought abetted by strong winds contributed to the rapid spread of the wildfires. The authorities have declared a state of emergency and are seeking international aid. Commentators see the state as partially responsible for the tragedy.

Alexandre Benalla, a former security aide of Macron, and an employee of the ruling party attacked demonstrators on May 1. But it wasn't until last Friday after video footage of the incident was published and a probe into the incident was launched that Macron dismissed Benalla and criticised his conduct. For commentators the president has lost much of his former appeal.

London's Brexit plans have met with criticism from the EU. Barely any progress had been made on the key topics of the single market and the free movement of persons, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said in the first official response to May's white paper on the Brexit. But for all its doubts the EU cannot just London to its fate, commentators stress.