Eurotopics.net

Shortly before joint US-South Korea military exercises are due to begin, US President Donald Trump has ordered them to be scaled back, citing both the costs and his relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. He said their relationship was now "very good". The media examine the implications of Washington's U-turn.

With Europe facing record temperatures, drought and wild fires, calls for concrete measures to tackle the increasingly evident effects of climate change are growing louder. In the Czech Republic, the National Coalition to Combat Drought has been reconvened, and Prime Minister Babiš has announced plans to identify sites for 20 new water reservoirs. Berlin has tabled an action plan aimed at better protecting workers and the elderly against the heat, among other measures.

The British nationalist right-wing populist Nigel Farage has won the by-election in his constituency of Clacton in Essex – which he himself called following a corruption scandal – with 63 percent of the vote. However, the major parties had refused to field any candidates in protest against the vote. As a result, comedian Jon Harvey, standing under the novelty name Count Binface, emerged as the only significant opponent. Joke or not, Europe's media analyse the results with the seriousness they deserve.

After nearly three years of industrial action, the Swedish trade union IF Metall has ended its strike at Tesla. The US car manufacturer had refused to sign a collective agreement, as is customary in Sweden. According to reports, it "bought out" around 80 remaining striking employees with severance packages.

For the past five years the Taliban have again been in power in Afghanistan. The leadership held a ceremony to mark the occasion outside the former US embassy, but the majority of the population has no reason to celebrate: millions are starving and women are being systematically excluded from public life and education. Now they are not even allowed to sing. Meanwhile, several EU countries have begun deporting refugees back to Afghanistan again.