Eurotopics.net

Apple and the European Commission are sparring over 13 billion euros in back taxes at the General Court in Luxembourg this week. The EU wants Ireland to demand that the company pay it this sum on the grounds that it granted Apple illegal preferential treatment. Commentators in Ireland are at odds over the issue.

Actor Pavel Ustinov has been sentenced to more than three years in prison in Russia for resisting arrest during the Moscow protests. Videos show Ustinov talking on his phone when a member of the National Guard dislocated his shoulder during Ustinov's arrest. The wave of solidarity - comparable with that in the Golunov case - gives Russian journalists hope that things will change in the country.

After the drone attacks on two oil refineries in Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has put the blame on Iran. Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Riyadh also insists that Iran was behind the strikes. Commentators also speculate on who was responsible.

After the snap election in Israel early results point to a deadlock between Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud party and his challenger Benny Gantz's Blue and White Party - meaning that the formation of a government will be just as difficult as it was after the last elections in April. But Netanyahu's position is weaker than it was the last time round, commentators say.

Spain's caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of the socialist PSOE party has announced new elections for 10 November. The process of forming a new government failed after months of negotiations. Spanish commentators voice concern about the state of the country.