Eurotopics.net

With the support of the US, Kurdish-Arab units are leading an operation to take the last stronghold held by the IS. Around 600 IS fighters are estimated to have withdrawn to the area surrounding the village of Baghuz in eastern Syria, where some of them are putting up fierce resistance. Will the terrorist group soon be a thing of the past?

In France it has emerged that journalists in the Facebook group Ligue du LOL (League of LOL) have organised sexist and racist cyberbullying against female colleagues for several years. The attacks by members of the largely male League were exposed by French daily Libération as well as reports by victims on Twitter. What are the causes of this hate-driven online behaviour, and how can it be combatted?

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has voiced opposition to a draft law under which parents would be banned from using corporal punishment methods with their children. Certain forms of verbal and physical violence were helpful in child rearing and should not be criminalised, the Church wrote in an official statement on Friday. The press objects.

The trial of twelve Catalan separatists began on Tuesday in Madrid. Spain's public prosecutor wants them to receive sentences of up to 25 years in prison for rebellion, insurgency and misuse of public funds in connection with the 2017 independence referendum. Commentators discuss the role of the judiciary and the media.

The trial of twelve Catalan separatists - most of whom were members of the regional government in 2017 - begins today at the Supreme Court in Madrid. Spain's public prosecutor is charging them with rebellion, insurgency and misuse of public funds for their role in the independence referendum held on 1 October 2017. Is the court the right place to resolve the Catalan independence issue?

Next-generation mobile telecommunications promise communication without dead zones and large-scale networking of technical devices, enabling autonomous driving among other things. But if network supplier Huawei develops the 5G network there is the risk that China could misuse this sensitive infrastructure. Observers have qualms about security.