Eurotopics.net

The results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study have been announced. The PIRLS assessment has been conducted every five years in around 60 countries worldwide since 2001. The results now released are from 2021, the second year of the pandemic, and give Europe's press food for thought.

All Europe is increasingly suffering from drought: crops are drying up and streams and rivers are disappearing. Meanwhile, worrying images of desolate landscapes are coming from popular tourist regions like Catalonia and Andalusia. What can and must be done?

A school in Stäfa in the Swiss canton of Zurich was forced this week to cancel its annual Gender Day, which features discussions about role models and equality and had been held for ten years. After politicians from the right-wing conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP) publicly criticised the event, a wave of threats and abuse in the media ensued. Commentators complain about the increasingly aggressive tone of public debate.