Eurotopics.net

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?

In a measure aimed at speeding up the food service at school cafeterias amid coronavirus restrictions, the Mayor of Lyon and member of the Green party Grégory Doucet has temporarily removed meat from school lunch menus. Some ministers, including Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie, as well as farmers and parents are fiercely protesting the decision.