Eurotopics.net

According to official figures, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has won the presidential elections with 95.1 percent of the vote. Voting was only allowed in areas controlled by Assad's regime, which make up about two-thirds of the civil war-torn country. Around twelve million people have been displaced by the war which has been raging since 2011, and almost four million Syrian refugees live in Turkey alone.

After seven years of negotiations, Switzerland has pulled out of talks on the Institutional Framework Agreement with the EU. There was no agreement on crucial points, said Swiss President Guy Parmelin. The main sticking points were wage and worker protection and free movement of persons. While some commentators welcome the withdrawal, others warn of undesirable consequences.

On the fringes of the Ice Hockey World Championships currently taking place in Riga, the city's mayor and the Latvian foreign minister caused a scandal by replacing the official flag of Belarus flying outside the hotel where the teams are staying with the white-red-white version of the opposition. Belarus reacted by expelling the Latvian ambassador and other diplomats. Now Latvia has retaliated by expelling the Belarusian embassy staff.