The number of homicides in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level in almost 50 years, largely due to a significant decrease in the number of homicides involving knives or other sharp objects, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported yesterday.more

Along with single-use plastics, such as sauce and sugar sachets, luggage wrapping points will also disappear from airports and railway stations in the European Union by 2030. In this way, the EU is combating unnecessary packaging waste.more

A Russian vessel remained anchored for over 14 hours in the Bristol Channel, just 3 km from the British mainland, near a location where important submarine telecommunications cables pass, according to reports in the British media yesterday.more

Olympique Lyon and Aston Villa proved to be the best in the regular season of the Europa League, accumulating 21 points in eight matches. Both teams were assured of direct promotion after the 7th round, and yesterday they sealed their success. Jan Ziolkowski scored a very important goal for Roma.more

According to the latest data from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), there are over four thousand people living in Poland who, having reached the age of 100, receive the so-called honorary benefit. Currently, it amounts to less than PLN 6,600 gross per month, according to Sebastian Szczurek, spokesperson for the Opole branch of ZUS.more

A reduction in customs duties on Scotch whisky imported from the United Kingdom from 10% to 5% and a declaration of readiness to increase imports of British goods and services – these are the main outcomes of yesterday's talks between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang in Beijing.more

The lower house of the French parliament, the National Assembly, has passed a bill stating that living together as spouses does not imply an obligation to have sexual relations. This concerns the concept of ‘marital duty’, which until recently was still invoked by some courts.more

Aldi has unveiled plans to open 40 new stores across the UK in 2026 as part of a £370m investment pledge. The German-owned supermarket said the new locations would include Southam in Warwickshire, Hastings in East Sussex, and Amersham in Buckinghamshire.more

The median earnings of professional drivers in Poland last year amounted to PLN 9,000 net, and the average salary increased by over 13 per cent in two years, according to a report by the Truckers Life foundation. At the same time, the authors of the study pointed out that the industry is short of 100,000 to 200,000 employees.more

Aryna Sabalenka and Yelena Rybakina will face each other once again in the Australian Open final. The world number one from Belarus defeated Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in yesterday's semi-final, while the Kazakhstani won a fierce match against American Jessica Pegula. Tomorrow's final will therefore be a repeat of the 2023 match, when Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam title by defeating Rybakina.more

As Londoners, it's easy to overlook the allure of other UK cities. After all, why would we want to leave the world's best city? However, it's time to shift that perspective as in 2023, a city outside of London was named the second-best city break in Europe by TimeOut.more

The UK’s worst-hit areas for living standards have been revealed as the government is urged to do more to boost growth across every region. Sir Keir Starmer’s renewed focus on the cost of living in the new year is “understandable”, research group Centre for Cities says, but must be underpinned by stronger economic growth.more

Record numbers of offenders are being recalled to prison in England and Wales with union officials claiming that some are deliberately breaking the terms of their probation in order to deal drugs in prison.more

Real Madrid, the record holder in terms of the number of Champions League triumphs, as well as last season's finalists Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan, will have to play play-offs to advance to the round of 16. They will bypass Barcelona, who beat FC Copenhagen 4-1, with Robert Lewandowski scoring one goal.more

Veterinary practices will be required to publish prices of common treatments so pet owners can shop around and choose the best value option, according to government proposals.more

Yesterday, a meeting titled "Dialogue Poland – Polonia. Support and Cooperation of the Senate of the Republic of Poland" was held at the Polska YMCA in London, with the participation of representatives of this second chamber of the Polish parliament, who coordinate Polish diaspora issues.more

Water bills will rise by £2.70 a month on average from April, a year on from hefty increases for households in many parts of the country. The average annual bill in England and Wales will increase by £33 to £639, prompting calls for a "stronger safety net" for those unable to pay.more

Denmark's foreign minister said on Thursday (Jan 29) he was "more optimistic" after technical talks kicked off with the United States over Greenland. "We have had the very first meeting at senior official level in Washington yesterday regarding the Greenlandic issue," Lars Lokke Rasmussen told journalists at an EU meeting in Brussels. more

Artificial intelligence (AI) tutoring tools are set to be introduced in schools across the UK by the end of 2027, the government has announced. The Department for Education (DfE) confirmed that teachers, AI labs, and tech companies will begin co-creating and testing these tuition tools from this summer, with trials in secondary schools scheduled for later in the year.more

Jan Zieliński and Britain's Luke Johnson were eliminated in the doubles semifinals of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Thursday, losing to Australians Jason Kubler and Mark Polmans.more

Amazon plans to cut about 16,000 jobs globally as part of efforts to streamline its operations. The latest round of lay-offs at the retail technology giant, confirmed in a blog post to staff, comes only months after it axed about 14,000 jobs.more

Sainsbury's expands use of facial recognition technology after successful trials to reduce crime and improve staff safety.more

In 2024, there were over 2,300 temporary employment agencies operating in the Netherlands, offering 407,000 jobs. According to a report published yesterday by the CBS statistics office, 52.4 per cent of these positions were filled by employees born abroad, usually residing in the country for less than eight years, with Poles accounting for the largest share.more

Sarah Mullally was officially confirmed yesterday as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. She thus became the first woman to head the Church of England.more

The hands of the Doomsday Clock are now closer to midnight than ever before, according to CNN. There are only 85 seconds left until the clock strikes midnight.more