According to a decree by Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, Christmas celebrations began there on 1 October. A Christmas tree has been erected in the main square in Caracas, but the people of the crisis-ridden country are in no mood to celebrate, the media reported.more

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has returned more than £6,000 for gifts and services received since taking office, his office said yesterday. This follows a wave of criticism since Sky News calculated that he had accepted gifts totalling £107,000 over the past five years.more

Trophy defending champions Real Madrid lost 0:1 away to Lille, while Bayern Munich suffered the same result against Aston Villa in Birmingham in the 2nd round of Champions League football. The defeat was suffered by another club from the Spanish capital, Atletico, smashed in Lisbon by Benfica 4:0.more

Germany's Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs yesterday approved a draft tightening the rules on citizenship allowance. They stipulate that an unemployed person who refuses to work will receive an allowance reduced by 30 per cent for three months.more

Since 7 October 2023, when the Palestinian organisation Hamas launched an attack on Israel, a record 5,583 anti-Semitic incidents have been reported in the UK up to 30 September this year, the Jewish Community Secutiry Trust (CST) reported yesterday.more

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced yesterday a strengthening of cooperation with the UK. The starting point is the support that the UK, together with the EU, is providing to the embattled Ukraine against Russia.more

The four candidates for the leadership of the British Conservative Party yesterday set out visions for its renewal after the party's worst defeat to date in the last election. All the speeches were well received, but are more likely to strengthen the favourites in the race - Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick.more

Arkadiusz Milik has undergone another knee operation, his club Juventus Turin have announced. The Polish footballer last played on 7 June, suffering the injury in a match against Ukraine in Warsaw, one of the last sparring matches before the European Championships in Germany.more

From next spring, thousands of 18-year-olds will have the opportunity to visit Europe for free for a month - the EU is giving them 35,500 tickets. To qualify, those born between 1 January and 31 December 2006 must answer questions about the EU.more

British rock band Pink Floyd has decided to sell the rights to part of its output to Sony for $400 million, the Financial Times reported yesterday, citing people involved in the deal.more

An observation of the behaviour of nearly 3 million consumers showed that there was an overall year-on-year decrease in holiday fast food traffic. These types of restaurants also lost customers. Pizzerias recorded two double-digit declines and sandwich and chicken bars recorded two single-digit declines. Other parameters, such as the length of time spent in an establishment or the average number omore

Wojciech Szczesny is officially a footballer for FC Barcelona as of today, the Spanish club announced. The 34-year-old goalkeeper, who announced the end of his sporting career in August, has signed a contract until 30 June 2025.more

Ministers have been urged not to resurrect Conservative plans to tackle welfare fraud by launching mass algorithmic surveillance of bank accounts. Disability rights, poverty, pensioner and privacy groups fear the government is poised to deliver a “snooper’s charter” by using automation and possibly artificial intelligence to crack down on benefit cheats and mistakes which cost £10bn a year.more

Shortages of doctors mean the average GP in England has to care for 17% more patients than nine years ago, a BBC analysis shows. It means for every permanent GP there are more than 2,300 patients - a jump of nearly 350 since 2015, helping explain why access to general practice has been worsening and patient satisfaction declining.more

British troops assisted Israel in repelling an Iranian missile attack last night, Defence Minister John Healey confirmed. He did not specify the extent of the support, but aircraft were involved, according to the BBC.more

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated today ahead of a meeting in Brussels with European Union leaders that he wants a more pragmatic and mature relationship, but that there is no question of a return to the EU single market or a customs union with the EU.more

The ITAKA Foundation - Searching for Missing People Centre, at the request of the family and in cooperation with the police, is conducting a search for a missing person: Michał Sałek.more

Republican US vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance showed himself to be prudent, while Democrat Tim Walz performed better than expected in the assessments of Republican activist Keith Nahigian and Democratic activist Lukas Lipinski.more

Magda Linette fell in the 1/8 final of the WTA 1000 hard court tournament in Beijing. The Polish tennis player lost to Russia's Mirra Andreyeva 1:6, 3:6. The match lasted one hour and 14 minutes.more

The four candidates to replace former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as leader of the Conservative Party will deliver keynote speeches today on the final day of its annual conference in Birmingham. For two of them, this is the last chance to remain competitive.more

The Irish government does not intend to use the money it will receive from Apple's back taxes for current spending or to narrow the tax base, but will use it to invest in housing and infrastructure, Finance Minister Jack Chambers said yesterday.more

In retaliation for yesterday's rocket fire, Israel may strike Iranian military bases and command centres, or it may activate its agents inside Iran and attack those responsible for the attack or strike nuclear installations, the BBC assessed.more

Robert Lewandowski scored two goals for Barcelona in their 5-0 Champions League 2nd round match against Young Boys Bern. A number of Poles featured yesterday. These included Piotr Zielinski for Inter Milan, who beat Crvena Zvezda 4:0, and Arsenal's Jakub Kiwior in the second half against PSG (2:0).more

Queen Elizabeth II, Sir David Attenborough and James Bond have been named the most popular British cultural figures in a survey. The late monarch was voted the greatest “cultural icon” in the UK from the last 90 years, with 41% selecting her in a survey conducted to mark the 90th anniversary of the British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations.more

The Swiss and Italian authorities will improve the border between the two countries in the Alps, the BBC News website reported. This is necessary due to the melting of glaciers there, caused by a warming climate.more