The new EU defence commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, yesterday called for faster armament in Europe. "To be honest, we are not sufficiently prepared for a possible attack," he admitted in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).more

Norway's parliament passed a new abortion law yesterday, extending the period in which a woman can decide to terminate her pregnancy from 12 to 18 weeks. The center-left coalition's bill was supported by the People's Party, the Conservatives, and some of the right.more

The Finnish military has ordered tenants in various parts of the country to leave residential homes adjacent to strategically important military facilities. Dozens of families have been ordered to move out in areas near airports in Lapland alone, as well as in central Finland. The houses will be demolished, Yle radio reported yesterday.more

The US weekly Time magazine has named Donald Trump as its Man of the Year, the magazine's editors announced yesterday. more

Places where we once sought respite have been struggling with over-tourism for years. Not surprisingly, travel enthusiasts are increasingly looking for destinations that are a little less besieged, where tranquillity, contact with nature is of the highest value. In choosing these most soothing destinations, the ‘Global Relaxation Index’ ranking will help. more

EU interior ministers decided today in Brussels to abolish travel controls at land borders with Bulgaria and Romania from January 1, 2025. Both countries have been seeking entry into the full Schengen zone since joining the EU in 2007.more

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni won this year's Politico ranking of the 28 most influential people in Europe. Other nominees included Donald Tusk, Radoslaw Sikorski, Rafal Trzaskowski and Piotr Serafin.more

Coffee drinkers may soon see their morning treat get more expensive, as the price of coffee on international commodity markets has hit its highest level on record. On Tuesday, the price for Arabica beans, which account for most global production, topped $3.44 a pound (0.45kg), having jumped more than 80% this year. The cost of Robusta beans, meanwhile, hit a fresh high in September.more

The Portuguese government has recommended that primary schools introduce a ban on students using mobile phones in educational institutions. It justifies the decision with research that shows the harmfulness of excessive use of smartphones by children.more

Fine particle air pollution killed nearly 240,000 people in the European Union in 2022, a five percent fall on the previous year, the European Environment Agency said in a report published Tuesday.more

Yesterday in Stockholm, this year's Nobel Prize winners in five fields received gold medals and calligraphed diplomas from the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf. The special guest at the ceremony was Polish Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk.more

According to European Commission data, in October, the price of milk in the EU exceeded 50 euro, the raw material went up by 16.6 per cent y/y . In Poland, we recorded a price increase of more than 18 per cent year-on-year, the Polish Federation of Cattle Breeders and Milk Producers said in a report.more

The world record for a 100-kilometre run with a pushchair was set by Lorenzo Lotti, head of the sports department in the Italian town of Predappio. He ran the route in eight hours and one minute. His seven-month-old son slept almost the entire race.more

Since Russia's attack on Ukraine, more than a thousand companies have severed business contacts with the aggressor country. But almost as many are still doing business there, writes today's ‘Rzeczpospolita’.more

A list of people who have died, Democratic US presidential candidate Kamala Harris and the history of the Indian cricket league are the most popular search terms on English-language Wikipedia pages in 2024, the Wikimedia Foundation, which manages the service, has announced.more

Dutch F-35 fighter jets intercepted three Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea on Friday and escorted them at a distance over international waters to the border of the NATO area of ​​responsibility, the Dutch defence ministry said on Monday.more

Due to the situation in Syria, the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) yesterday issued a decision to stop accepting asylum applications from Syrians. The same is true in Austria and Denmark.more

Due to the pilots' strike, the national carrier Finnair had to cancel about 140 flights scheduled for today, including European, intercontinental and domestic connections. The Finnish airline's pilots are demanding, among other things, pay increases.more

13% of surveyed EU residents continued working after retirement in 2023, Eurostat reported. In Poland, the figure was 13.1%.more

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced today the creation of a police unit responsible for combating anti-Semitism, AFP reported. It was in response to Friday's arson attack on a synagogue in a Melbourne suburb that was deemed a terrorist attack.more

The topic of overtourism and its consequences was one of the most discussed travel issues of the past year. We will learn which corners of our globe are particularly struggling with this problem by studying the "No List" list, prepared by the publisher of travel guides Fodor's. It indicates places that are better avoided in 2025.more

This year belongs to tacos. First, in May, a Mexican street food mini-bar offering tacos (four items on the menu, no tables) received a Michelin star. Now, these crispy patties stuffed with meat or vegetables have won the ranking for the most popular street food in the world. The victory was decided by almost two million posts about tacos on TikTok.more

The nuclear power plant on the island of Beznau in Switzerland – the oldest in Europe and one of the oldest in the world – will be closed in 2033, Swiss energy group Axpo said in a statement. Meanwhile, Greenpeace is demanding its immediate decommissioning.more

Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral, a place of worship and one of France's most important monuments, opens its doors today after a five-year restoration following the 2019 fire. Guests at the ceremony will include leaders of states, international organisations and churches.more

Iceland, which is the only country along with Norway and Japan that allows whale hunting, has agreed to allow its two whaling vessels to continue hunting until 2029. The Icelandic government announced the decision on Thursday.more