Eurotopics.net

A key position has become vacant in Ukraine following Andriy Yermak's resignation. Zelensky's chief of staff stepped down after six years in office in connection with the corruption scandal in the Ukrainian energy sector. His home was searched, but no charges have been brought against him so far. The media assess what the development means for the country and the negotiation process.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent a letter via his lawyer to President Isaac Herzog asking for a pardon. In 2019 Netanyahu was charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust - and of having received luxury gifts to the value of 174,000 euros, including jewellery, cigars and champagne. He recently claimed that pardoning him would promote the "reconciliation our country so desperately needs".

To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Tuesday, the UN published a landmark report on femicide. It states that a woman or girl is killed by a family member or intimate partner every ten minutes. The numbers are gruesomely high and yet "only the tip of the iceberg" according to the report. Europe's press reflects.

Belgium has been paralysed since Sunday evening by a nationwide strike against the government's reform plans. The work stoppage is expected to continue until Wednesday evening. The multi-party coalition had agreed on various measures to reduce the budget deficit by 9.2 billion euros, including increasing VAT on certain products and services and imposing cuts on pensions and public spending.