Eurotopics.net

The investigation into the storming of the US Congress building on 6 January 2021 is still ongoing three years after the event. In February, the Supreme Court will decide whether the exclusion of then President Donald Trump from the current primaries in two states - based on his role in the riot - is legal. How has the event impacted US democracy?

Starting today, Monday, German farmers are protesting against the German government's planned subsidy cuts with various blockade actions. Although Germany's traffic-light coalition (of the Social Democratic Party, Free Democratic Party and the Greens) has already withdrawn some of its plans for cutbacks, farmers are still demanding that tax breaks on agricultural diesel remain in place. Not all commentators sympathise with the protest.

Tensions are still running high in the Middle East: the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah continues, as does Israel's battle against Hamas in Gaza. Shortly before the weekend, the Sunni terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for an attack that left more than 90 people dead at a memorial service for Qassem Soleimani in Kerman, Iran. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned of an escalation in the region.

European Council President Charles Michel has announced that he is stepping down early from his post so that he can run for a seat in the European Parliament. If he is elected to as an MEP in June, a successor will have to be found quickly, otherwise the country holding the presidency of the EU Council of Ministers - in this case Hungary - takes over the presidency. Commentators analyse the motives and consequences.

The president of Harvard University, Claudine Gay, has resigned in the wake of twin accusations that she had failed to sufficiently distance herself from antisemitic positions and that she had committed plagiarism in numerous publications. When asked in a congressional hearing whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates university rules, she replied that it depended on the context.