Eurotopics.net

China's ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, has sparked outrage in countries of the former Soviet Union after saying in a TV interview that they have no "effective status" in international law. There is "no international accord to concretise their status as a sovereign country," he said. Commentators also condemn his comments as a major faux pas.

While Western countries are evacuating their citizens from Sudan, fighting between the army of de facto President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo continues. The death toll now exceeds 400. A ceasefire to mark the Muslim religious holiday Eid al Fitr on Friday did not stop the hostilities.

Brazil's President Lula is in Portugal on a state visit. At a summit meeting with his counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Sunday, Lula once again advocated the idea of forming a group of states with the goal of "sitting down at a table with both Ukraine and Russia". Lula is scheduled to give a speech in parliament on Tuesday, the anniversary of Portugal's Carnation Revolution. Is this a good idea?

The Russian State Duma has passed amendments introducing a digital central conscription register. From now on conscription notices can be delivered electronically. Commentators analyse the potentially immense impact of this step for the military and society.

In March 2022, the Russian army bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol. The images of helpers rescuing a wounded heavily pregnant woman went around the world, but the mother and child did not survive. The photo by Ukrainian AP photographer Evgeniy Maloletka has been named the World Press Photo of the Year. Media discuss the importance and impact of such images.