Eurotopics.net

The government of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany has ordered all government buildings to display a cross at their entrance. This reflects the cultural values of the Germany, Bavaria's new state premier Markus Söder said justifying the decision, and had photos taken of himself hanging a cross on the wall of his office. The decision has drawn fierce criticism from many quarters - and also from certain members of the Church. Rightly so?

Right-wing extremists attacked refugees protesting the living conditions in overcrowded hotspots on the Greek island of Lesbos on Sunday night. The resulting street battle lasted into the morning and left several people injured. Greek media conclude that the refugee deal with Ankara has failed and fear that the conflict will escalate.

For roughly two weeks the Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor has been trying to block the popular messaging app Telegram. To this end it has also blocked 16 million IP addresses of Amazon, Google and other network operators in a bid to prevent Telegram from circumventing the ban. Millions of websites are currently inaccessible. Will the blockade backfire?

Madrid's regional president Cristina Cifuentes resigned on Wednesday after media published a video taken seven years ago allegedly showing her shoplifting. Cifuentes had already come under fire over reports of a faked master's degree. What will be the consequences of her downfall?

French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need for EU reform during his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Thursday. The latter agreed to put together a compromise on the reforms by the middle of the year despite glaring differences of opinion. Journalists speculate on the reasons for Merkel's reticence.

The president, the parliament and two of Ukraine's Orthodox churches have asked the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople to approve autocephaly. This would be tantamount to his giving permission for the establishment of a Ukrainian national Church that is independent of the Moscow Patriarchate. The initiative has triggered a fierce debate in Ukrainian and Russian media.