Raiffeisen Bank (Kyiv) opened its first underground branches in Kharkiv and Dnipro, the bank’s Telegram channel reported on Friday. As specified, the underground branches will operate on the basis of existing ones and serve clients in the event of an air raid alarm. Customer service is already available through a separate entrance leading to the underground premises.more

Keir Starmer spoke to President Xi Jinping of China yesterday. The Prime Minister began by setting out his priorities for his government, including national security, secure borders and economic stability. The leaders discussed areas of shared collaboration, and potential areas of cooperation between the UK and China, including on trade, the economy and education.more

Australia yesterday announced a plan to improve water quality around the Great Barrier Reef to protect the world's largest coral ecosystem. The government will spend $130 million on the plan to reduce pesticides, control invasive species and improve the most vulnerable parts of the reef, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said.more

Ilkay Gündogan will return to ­Manchester City on a free transfer, 12 months after leaving the club for Barcelona. The 33-year-old, captain when City won the treble in 2023, will join on an initial one-year deal with an option for a second.more

Voi, which already operates e-scooters in the capital, has said it wants to ‘generate as many rides as possible with as few vehicles as possible’.more

Nearly 73% of Poles aged 18-35 positively evaluate the announced legislative solution allowing for obtaining a divorce from a notary, which the Ministry of Justice is currently working on.more

Notting Hill Carnival returns to west London this August bank holiday for the 56th year. Carnival is one of the longest running street parties in the world and the largest street party in Europe. Over two million people, including thousands of tourists, attend each year to follow the three-mile (5km) parade.more

A new Pet Abduction Act law is coming into effect from this Saturday, August 24. Under the Pet Abduction Act 2024, anyone found guilty of stealing a pet in England or Northern Ireland will face up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.more

Robert Lewandowski's Barcelona will host Athletic Bilbao tomorrow (Saturday) in the 2nd round of the Spanish top division. In Italy, Piotr Zieliński, returning from injury, may get a chance to debut in Inter Milan, and in Germany, the Bundesliga will start, where there will be more Polish accents than recently.more

Official statistics reveal fewer people are seeking to come from abroad to work in the NHS or in social care. The statistics reveal that the outgoing Conservative government granted some 286,382 work visas overall in the year to June 2024 - 11% down on the previous year.more

U.S. regulators approved updated COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, shots designed to more closely target recent virus strains- and hopefully whatever variants cause trouble this winter, too.more

Nearly three-quarters of Britons are worried about rightwing extremism after anti-migrant riots, polling has found, with increasing numbers concerned about societal divisions.more

There are more and more vacancies in the Polish police. There is a shortage of 12.3 thousand police officers on the front line, there are gaps even in the elite Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police - reports "Rzeczpospolita" today. According to experts, systemic incentives are needed to change this situation.more

A University of Dundee student is offering a glimpse into 1990’s Poland through a 3D visualisation of her grandmother’s living room. Justyna Butkiewicz emigrated from Poland to Scotland with her parents and sister when she was only seven years old, leaving behind her family and the place she called home.more

In the first round of the US Open, world ranking tennis player Iga Swiatek will play against Russian Kamilla Rakhimova. The opponent of seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz will be Kazakh Timofey Skatov, while Grand Slam debutant Maks Kaśnikowski will face Spaniard Pedro Martinez.more

Earlier reports in Italian media that the last wanted victim of the yacht disaster that sank off the coast of Palermo in Sicily on Monday had been found have not been confirmed. Earlier, it was reported that a body had been located in the wreck, but that recovering it would be difficult. RAI television reported on Thursday evening that the seventh victim was still being sought.more

Lancashire Police said its officers were forced to shoot the dog to prevent it from causing further harm to others.more

Australian workers will have the right to "disconnect" from work outside the hours specified in their contract with their employer from next Monday, Reuters reported.more

Waitrose is to open up to 100 new convenience stores over the next five years as part of a £1 billion overhaul.more

Today's match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen, defending champion and unbeaten in the previous Bundesliga, will inaugurate the German Premier League season. There will be more Polish touches than last time, including the transfers of Kamil Grabara and Tymoteusz Puchacz.more

King Charles will shift the royal fleet of cars to electric vehicles under new plans unveiled by Buckingham Palace. The eco-conscious King intends to swap the royal collection of vehicles for green alternatives in the “next few years” in a bid to reduce the Palace’s impact on climate change.more

More than 14 million tourists arrived in Portugal in the first half of 2024, estimated the National Statistical Institute of Lisbon (INE). According to the government agency, this figure is a record high.more

The EU is planning to introduce a €7 (£6) EU visa waiver for some non-EU citizens, including Britons, by summer 2025. Under new rules, visitors from a list of non-EU countries, including the UK, will need to apply for a waiver, similar to a US Esta, before travelling to 30 countries in Europe. more

Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo set up a Youtube channel called ‘UR Cristiano’, which gained several million subscriptions in record time. Already on the first day, more than a dozen short videos were published on it.more

The number of new child benefit claims rose in April, after the government changed the rules on how much parents can earn and still be eligible. There were 86,656 new claims made, which was up 16% on the previous month, a BBC Freedom of Information (FoI) request has found.more