Eurotopics.net

Russia's athletes have been banned from the Olympic Games in Rio. The International Court of Arbitration for Sport decided in the last instance, rejecting the appeals of 68 athletes affected by the case. As bitter as the decision is for individual athletes it was inevitable, commentators argue.

Same-sex marriages are forbidden by law in Romania. Three million Romanians have now called in a petition for this ban to be enshrined in the constitution. Now parliament must decide whether a referendum will be held on the issue. The Romanian press comments:

The axe attacks in a regional train in Wurzburg that left several wounded have an Islamist background according to the current state of investigations. The act carried out by a 17-year-old Afghan boy was apparently the result of a rapid and unnoticed radicalisation. Some commentators are convinced that immigrants are dangerous and that politicians are trying to cover this up.

According to the French public prosecutor's office the Nice lorry driver spent months planning the attack. Five suspected accomplices have been taken into custody. The 31-year-old Tunisian drove a truck into a crowd on Bastille Day, killing 84 people. What lessons must political leaders learn from this attack?

Theresa May is set to become the UK's next prime minister after her rival for the post Andrea Leadsom withdrew from the race to succeed David Cameron. Commentators believe May has what it takes to lead Britain out of the EU without too many negative repercussions.

The former president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso has been hired to work in London for US investment bank Goldman Sachs. Should the EU ban such career jumps to prevent its credibility from being damaged?

At the Nato summit in Warsaw US President Barack Obama spoke out critically on the conflict over Poland's Constitutional Tribunal. His words were then presented as praise for the government in a televised report by Polish public broadcaster TVP. The media discuss what he really said and whether he stepped out of line in expressing a view on the issue.