Eurotopics.net

In Japan Carlos Ghosn, one of the most prominent figures in the automotive industry and chairman of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, has been arrested on charges of misusing company assets and under-reporting his pay package vis-à-vis the Japanese stock market. Ghosn's fall is a hard one, observers concur.

In the war in Yemen Houthi rebels have said they will halt all attacks to facilitate a ceasefire. If the Saudi-led military coalition is ready to make peace the rebels are too, their leader announced on Twitter. Journalists voice hopes that peace talks could soon begin in what the UN describes as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world right now.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both recently promoted the idea of creating a European army. Commentators examine why the two leaders are keen on the initiative and hope that they will pursue it with resolve.

More than 240,000 people blocked roads in France on the weekend in protest at hikes in gas and diesel prices. One woman died and more than 400 were injured. The government has announced that it will not back down on its tax hikes. How can it appease the protesters in their yellow high-visibility jackets?

Addressing the German Bundestag, French President Macron has called for more sovereignty for Europe and repeated his invitation for Germany to accompany France on the path towards reform. The German-French tandem has the obligation "not to let the world slip into chaos", he said on the occasion of the German Volkstrauertag, or People's Day of Mourning. Commentators applaud his strong words.