Eurotopics.net

The oil export cartel Opec and its allies including Russia (Opec+) have decided to reduce oil production by two million barrels per day. The organisation said it was making the cut in response to the drop in prices, which at the end of September were at their lowest level since January. Commentators are critical of the move, especially from a political point of view.

Denmark's beleaguered Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has called new elections for 1 November. In a surprise move, the Social Democrat also announced that she would seek to form a broad coalition government that could include conservative parties. The Conservatives and Liberals, however, have rejected the proposal. Can Frederiksen stay in power with this tactic - and would that be good for Denmark?

In response to Russia's attempted annexation of Ukrainian territories, a prank call for the Czech Republic to annex the enclave of Kaliningrad is trending on social media like Twitter. The pranksters point out that the city was founded as Königsberg in the 13th century by the Czech king Ottokar II. Commentators note how effectively this satire holds up a mirror to the world.

North Korea provoked Japan on Tuesday by firing a medium-range missile over its territory. A day later, South Korea and the US responded by firing several missiles towards the Sea of Japan. This was the first time in five years that Pyongyang test-fired a missile over the Japanese archipelago. Is there a threat of escalation?

On a visit to Warsaw on Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock rejected the Polish government's demands for reparations. During a meeting with Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau she said that from the German government's point of view the issue was closed. Poland is demanding 1.3 trillion euros from Germany for the damages inflicted on the country during World War II.