Eurotopics.net

A political dispute has erupted in Ukraine over how to deal with the corruption scandal in the country's energy sector. On Tuesday, the opposition blocked a parliamentary vote on dismissing Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynychuk, with the leader of the European Solidarity party, ex-president Petro Poroshenko, insisting that the entire government resign.

Just under eight months after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, President Erdoğan's main political rival, Turkish prosecutors have charged him with offences that could carry a penalty of up to 2,430 years in prison. The charges include corruption and leading a criminal organisation. The arrest of the CHP politician last spring triggered mass protests across the country.

US President Donald Trump welcomed Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa to the White House in Washington on Tuesday. He praised the former head of the now disbanded terrorist militia HTS as a "strong leader" who could turn war-torn Syria into a successful country. The press reacts to the visit and the rapprochement between the two countries with surprise and admiration.

Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators have uncovered a large corruption and embezzlement network in the country's energy sector. Searches were carried out at the homes of German Galushchenko, the now-dismissed justice minister who formerly served as minister of energy, and influential businessman Tymur Mindich, a long-time confidant of President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the investigators the state suffered losses of 'around 100 million US dollars'.

Climate protection targets are the focus of the COP30 World Climate Conference which began on Monday in Belém, Brazil. In the run-up to the conference UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for stronger measures against climate change, stressing that every tenth of a degree of warming means more hunger, displacement and losses. Commentators examine the changing roles of the US, China and the Global South.