Eurotopics.net

The Taliban have announced that they have taken complete control of Panjshir - the last Afghan province still held by resistance fighters. Heavily armed Taliban fighters posed outside the governor's residence there, but the NRF resistance front has contradicted these claims. Meanwhile, the Taliban has appointed the first ministers of its new government. But not all commentators believe the resistance to Taliban rule is broken.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a 1.25 percent increase in social insurance contributions to provide more money for the UK's overburdened public health system. The Conservative government is thereby breaking its election promise not to increase taxes. How will voters react?

Nearly six years after the terrorist attacks in November 2015 in which more than 130 people were killed, the trial of the suspected attackers begins in the French capital today. The hearings will be recorded on video and made public. Commentators praise the legal process, yet are concerned that other things have been overlooked.

The EU Commission has asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to impose fines on Poland. This comes in response to the ECJ's ruling demanding the suspension of the controversial Disciplinary Chamber in Poland's Supreme Court, which can review and dismiss judges and prosecutors. So far, the government has not complied. What can the penal proceedings achieve?

In a trial that was closed to the public, the Belarusian civil rights activist Maria Kolesnikova has been sentenced to eleven years in prison and her defence lawyer Maxim Znak to ten years. The opposition, the EU and Amnesty International have sharply criticised the sentence and called for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus. Commentators are dismayed but voice hope that the Belarusian opposition will win out in the end.