Eurotopics.net

So many refugees have arrived in Lithuania since Alexander Lukashenka decided to stop preventing migration flows in protest at EU sanctions that Vilnius has declared a state of emergency and massively increased border patrols. The influx has triggered protests in the country. Now Lithuania, its neighbouring countries and the EU must come up with a far-sighted, intelligent response, journalists urge.

Many countries in the Northern Hemisphere are planning to give their citizens third shots of Covid vaccine in the next few months, and Israel has already started. But the World Health Organisation (WHO) is calling for a temporary stop to the boosters so vaccines can be distributed more evenly and the global vaccination rate increased to ten percent. The current average in African countries is just two percent. Commentators disagree, saying this strategy would be ineffective.

Football superstar Lionel Messi is leaving FC Barcelona after 21 years. The 34-year-old's negotiations with the club broke down at the last minute on Thursday, apparently due largely to the Financial Fair Play rules in force in the Spanish league which impose limits on the total amount clubs can pay their players.

For schoolchildren in some countries another school year overshadowed by Covid is starting. European societies are arguing about how to best protect themselves from a new wave of the pandemic. Compulsory vaccination for teachers and vaccines for teenagers are among the measures under discussion. One thing all commentators agree on is that children should not have to pay for the freedom of adults.