Four people will take part in a year-long mission to help with plans to conquer Mars. The programme participants will live at the Mars Dune Alpha base in Texas. Among other things, they will be expected to work in a laboratory, grow plants, simulated spacewalks and controlled failures. Recruitment of US citizens continues until 2 April.more

The recent reform of the naturalization law provides for shortening the waiting period for obtaining a German passport from 8 to 5 years, and it will also be possible to retain your previous citizenship. The act has not yet entered into force, but the number of applications in offices is already increasing significantly, reported the daily "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung".more

The former Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, and leader of its government-in-exile, Akhmad Zakayev, during a visit to Gdansk yesterday, stressed that Russia has imperial ambitions. In his view, the potential occupation of Ukraine will result in Poland being drawn into Russia's sphere of influence.more

The Kremlin may release the body of oppositionist Alexei Navalny, who died in a penal colony, to his family only after the presidential elections scheduled for March 15-17, or not at all, reported the independent Russian website Moscow Times, citing government sources.more

MoneySuperMarket travel insurance has developed a ‘serene cities’ index, and it evaluated 75 cities on factors including air, light and noise pollution, traffic congestion, average sunshine hours as well as the happiness and friendliness of locals. more

An Air Serbia state airline plane flew for about an hour with a hole in its fuselage before returning to Belgrade airport, Nova TV reported yesterday. More than 100 passengers were on board.more

The temperature in the Chinese town of Tuerhong, located in the northern part of Xinjiang province on the border with Mongolia, dropped to minus 52.3 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning. This is a new cold record for the province. The previous one was recorded more than 60 years ago.more

If you are dreaming of a summer holiday, you can look no further than the list compiled by the European Best Destinations organisation. Using the votes of around one million people from 172 countries, the EBD has selected the 20 best European destinations for this year from among 500 places. The Spanish city of Marbella topped the list, ahead of Monaco and Malta in the race for the title.more

A Belize-flagged and UK-registered freighter was attacked off the coast of Yemen yesterday, Reuters reported. An explosion occurred near the vessel. The crew safely abandoned the vessel.more

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen yesterday expressed outrage at the death of Alexei Navalny and stressed the importance of holding those behind this in the Russian system to account, a Downing Street spokesperson reported.more

Russia is a threat to every country in Europe, but the countries that border Russia are the first to be threatened, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo pointed out in an interview with the "Rzeczpospolita".more

In Benidorm, Alicante province, the police detained a 34-year-old Polish citizen wanted on the basis of a European arrest warrant (EAW), reported the Spanish agency EFE.more

The next warning strike of Lufthansa ground staff workers this year will begin on Tuesday. The protest is to last 24 hours and will cover the seven largest airports in Germany, the Verdi trade union organizing the strike announced yesterday.more

In 2023. Spain was visited by 1.9 million Polish tourists, reported the Office of the Tourism Counsellor at the Spanish Embassy in Warsaw. Never before have so many Poles paid a visit to the country of corrida.more

Foreign tourists must now pay a 150,000 rupiah (£7.60; $9.60) levy to enter Bali, one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. Indonesian authorities say this is aimed at protecting the island's environment and culture.more

Anders Breivik, who is serving a 21-year prison sentence for killing 77 people in 2011, lost a lawsuit he brought against the Norwegian state for human rights violations on Thursday. The mass murderer had complained about poor prison conditions.more

The board of Russia's prison service announced today that Alexei Navalny, the leader of the anti-Kremlin opposition and considered the most important opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has died in a gulag.more

As prosecutors this week charged two teenagers with murdering the mother of one of the leaders of a criminal group, Swedish police expect a new wave of gang violence.more

In the north-western Spanish city of Vigo, there are more dogs and cats than children and adolescents, according to regional government statistics published by Atlantica TV.more

Mike Turner, head of the Intelligence Committee in the House of Representatives (the lower house of the US Congress), announced yesterday that the committee had shared information about a "serious threat to national security" with all members of Congress. Turner did not specify the nature of this threat.more

Polish confectioner Rafał Perz has won a competition for the best semla this year in Stockholm. These yeasty buns with almond paste and whipped cream were enjoyed by Swedes on Tuesday, the last day of the carnival.more

Billionaire Elon Musk has criticised the new aid to Ukraine being processed by the US Congress and believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot lose the war, Bloomberg news agency wrote yesterday. It cites Musk's discussion with US Republican senators on the X service.more

Donald Trump's top national security adviser Keith Kellogg announced yesterday that he would push to transform NATO into a 'multi-level alliance' if Trump becomes US president again. As Reuters points out, the idea is to deprive some member states of protection from attack.more

Global military spending - from ammunition to nuclear weapons - increased by 9% in 2023. compared to 2022, reaching a record level of USD 2.2 trillion, and this year it will increase even more - said the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS).more

An AI system is being piloted in the metro in Montreal, Canada, which is able to identify potential suicides based on monitoring data. It's part of a suicide prevention strategy on Montreal public transit.more