Eurotopics.net

Three months ago, a violent transfer of power took place in Kyrgyzstan. Now a new president has been elected: according to the country's media, Sadyr Japarov, who took power after the unrest in October, won almost 80 percent of the vote. Commentators examine whether this means the end of the democratic progress made in recent years - or whether the president has bigger problems to deal with for the time being.

Austria's Minister of Labour and Family Affairs Christine Aschbacher has resigned after just under a year in office. The politician, who belongs to the governing ÖVP party, is facing allegations that parts of her doctoral thesis submitted to the Technical University of Bratislava in 2020 were plagiarised. Observers link the affair to Austria's penchant for academic titles.

Three days after the storming of the Capitol, Twitter permanently blocked Donald Trump's private account in a bid to stop the president from inciting further violence. Europe's press agrees that some of Trump's recent tweets were unacceptable. However, opinions differ widely as to whether blocking his account was sensible - and legal.

The price of the leading cryptocurrency bitcoin rose to a record high of 40,000 dollars last week. According to experts, the surge has been driven by more and more companies and hedge funds investing in the currency. The central banks' zero interest rate policy and expensive coronavirus aid programmes have also fueled fears of inflation, and cryptocurrencies are often viewed as a safe investment. But commentators explain that they also have clear disadvantages.