Eurotopics.net

Russia began its biggest military exercise since Soviet times on Tuesday. Up to 300,000 soldiers are to take part - around 3,000 of them from China. The exercises, dubbed Vostok 2018, are taking place in eastern Russia and will continue until the weekend. What is the message behind them?

Serena Williams received three warnings from umpire Carlos Ramos during the US Open women's final. After the matche Williams called Ramos a "thief" and accused him of sexism, pointing out that men had not received warned when they did similar things. Was her accusation justified?

One in five Latvians receive their salary in an envelope. A new regulation came into effect at the start of September under which the employees of employers who do not pay contributions pay a "voluntary tax" and in exchange receive free health insurance. Moreover the tax authorities plan to write to around 400,000 people and encourage them to pay social insurance contributions. Latvia's press isn't all too convinced by the plans.

Although the Social Democrats remain the strongest party after the elections, they had their poorest results since 1911. The conservative Moderate Party also lost votes, while the far-right Sweden Democrats saw their percentage increase by 4.7 points. Commentators seek the reasons for the established parties' losses and see the outcome as a taste of what will come in the European elections.

The EU Parliament will once again debate a reform aimed at bringing copyright into line with the Internet era on Wednesday. Under the reform, instead of the controversial upload filters licences would be introduced for certain content, which platforms like Google News would have to purchase before putting the content online. Not all commentators believe the current version of the reform is a step forwards.