Eurotopics.net

On the orders of President Trump, the US will further reduce its military presence in Afghanistan from around 4,500 to 2,500 soldiers by mid-January 2021. Another fifth of the US troops stationed in Iraq are also to be pulled out of the country. This will have disastrous results for the region and put US military cooperation with Europe to the test again, commentators write.

After Biontech and Pfizer announced a breakthrough in coronavirus vaccine development, closely followed by the US company Moderna, hopes that the pandemic can be beaten through widespread immunization are growing. While some commentators find it hard to control their excitement, others point to the major obstacles ahead and see grounds for scepticism.

The French film Hold-Up, which portrays the coronavirus crisis as a global conspiracy, has already been viewed over three million times online and has been recommended by celebrities like Carla Bruni and Juliette Binoche. Because the film leaves many statements that are critical of the government or simpy false uncommented, politicians and scientists are demanding that these segments be cut out and saying that the film fuels conspiracy theories.

The German Bundestag and Bundesrat have approved an amendment to the Infection Protection Act in a fast-track procedure. A new paragraph lists concrete protective measures that can be put in place, such as bans on events, travel and contact restrictions and is loosely worded in order to keep the option open for further potential measures. The amendment is also intended to make it easier for courts to judge the legality of coronavirus rules.

Like other islands on the EU's external border, the Canary Islands are now also turning into a migration hotspot: more and more people are arriving there from the coast of Africa, and the local authorities are having trouble coping. Some 2,000 refugees are crowded together at the Arguineguín port in Gran Canaria. Many of them sleep on the ground and are given nothing to eat but sandwiches. Local residents and the media have dubbed the area where the migrants are gathered the "dock of shame".