Eurotopics.net

Martina Šimkovičová, Slovakia's culture minister and a member of the nationalist SNS party, has caused outrage with her decision to sack the directors of several important state cultural institutions. Not long ago she played a key role in the controversial reform of the country's public broadcasters. The national press strongly condemns her actions.

Austrian security authorities have announced that they have foiled an attack on one of the three Taylor Swift concerts that were cancelled in Vienna. The 19-year-old man who is the main suspect is reportedly a supporter of the IS terrorist militia. He and an accomplice were allegedly planning to kill as many people as possible outside the stadium.

Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers in tanks have reportedly launched an incursion into the Russian border area of Kursk, penetrating several kilometres into the region. Russian authorities have evacuated several villages. In contrast to previous attacks, this advance was not led by Russian militias fighting on Ukraine's side, but by the Ukrainian military. Commentators take stock of the offensive, which has not yet been officially confirmed by Kyiv.

After weeks of street protests, Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country. Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is now to lead the government on an interim basis. The media discuss what the overthrow means - also for Europe.

The radical Islamic Hamas organisation has appointed Yahya Sinwar as successor to its assassinated former leader Ismail Haniyeh. Sinwar (61) lives in hiding and is believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October massacre in which around 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel. Commentators debate the repercussions.