Eurotopics.net

Donald Trump had disappeared from the political scene ever since the storming of the Capitol. Now the ex-president has reaffirmed his intention to retake the White House for the Republicans in 2024 in a self-assertive 90-minute speech delivered at the Conservative Political Action Congress (CPAC). He also said he does not plan to found a new party. What are his chances - and in what direction will the divided party head?

According to a newly published US intelligence report, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi, who had been living in the US, was murdered by a death squad on 2 October 2018 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Until now bin Salman had only assumed formal responsibility for the killing. Commentators call for a clear response from the international community.

Digital coronavirus vaccination certificates are coming, participants at Thursday's EU summit agreed. Whether or not such certificates - which are to be valid throughout Europe - will allow their holders freedom of travel is still under discussion. Greece, Spain, Italy and Austria, all of which rely heavily on tourism, argue that they should. Many commentators say the discussion is premature.

The Biden administration has indicated that it is seeking talks with Tehran over the nuclear deal signed in 2015 and terminated by Trump. Tehran had previously announced that it would refrain from taking voluntary transparency measures in future because the US has not yet lifted sanctions adopted under Trump. Europe's press attempts to interpret the signals from Washington.

A court in Riga has sentenced Aivars Lembergs, an oligarch and one of the most influential men in Latvia, to five years in prison for bribery and money laundering. Lembergs has been mayor of Ventspils, Latvia's busiest export port, since 1988. The trial lasted more than twelve years. Is the verdict a decisive blow against corruption in the Baltic state?