A majority of UK businesses expect a positive start to 2025, according to two economic confidence surveys which show managers planning for growth after a challenging period for the economymore

A cocktail of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis has left larger ‘chrome and carpet’ venues high and dry as struggling chains look to party bars, writes 'The Guardian'.more

Some of the UK’s largest police forces have reported increases in religious hate crimes in the past 18 months, figures reveal, with the number of incidents rising after the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict in autumn 2023 and again after the Southport attacks in England this summer.more

English Premier League football table-leading Liverpool beat West Ham United 5:0 in London in the 19th round. Once again, Egyptian Mohamed Salah showed a very good side, scoring a goal and having two assists. The home team was missing goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.more

In Sweden, 2024 was the calmest year in terms of the number of shootings and victims of gang hijinks since 2017, when such statistics began to be published, according to preliminary data from the Swedish police covering the past 12 months.more

Employers should have formal policies in place to help workers who are undergoing fertility treatment, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has said, warning that businesses are increasingly losing talented people by failing to support them.more

Universities from Katowice, Gdansk, Warsaw and Opole were among the universities involved in sports science recognised in the Global Ranking of Sport Scene Schools and Departments 2024, announced Prof Grzegorz Krolczyk, Vice-Chancellor for Science and Development at the Opole University of Technology.more

Pawel Wasek was 10th, Jakub Wolny 30th, Aleksander Zniszczol 36th and Piotr Zyla 41st in the opening competition of the 73rd edition of the 4-Hills-Tournament in Oberstdorf, Germany. Austrian Stefan Kraft triumphed, ahead of his compatriots Jan Hoerl and Daniel Tschofenig.more

Officials are examining whether to change the way domestic violence crimes are recorded after a campaign by an MP who says the lack of a specific offence allows abusers to be freed early from jail.more

Former US President Jimmy Carter died yesterday at the age of 100, reported Reuters and the ‘Washington Post’ newspaper website, citing the son of the deceased. Carter was the 39th president of the United States. He held the office from 1977 to 1981 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.more

Researchers have called for greater transparency from the Foreign Office over the files it holds on the Duke of York. Officials responding to freedom of information requests have given a variety of reasons why the files cannot be released.more

Data from the German Federal Employment Agency show that by the end of this year, more than 500 million euros in child benefit (Kindergeld) will be transferred abroad, wrote the daily "Bild". At the end of 2023, the benefit was paid to around 313,000 children abroad, including many in Poland.more

Defending champions Manchester City ended a five-game winless streak and beat Leicester City 2-0 away in the 19th round of the English Premier League, with Jakub Stolarczyk the home team's goalkeeper.more

London is surrounded by several commuter towns that are popular with people looking for a quieter life or more space, but one stands out as one of the happiest places to live in the UK. Wokingham in Berkshire was voted the fourth happiest place to live in the UK by Rightmove in 2023 and second in the South East.more

In December, 61 percent of Poles assessed that the situation in their workplace was good or very good, according to a CBOS survey. It added that farmers perceived their situation the worst.more

Household incomes will stagnate or fall next year but the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will be hoping people feel better off as a result of improvements to public services, a leading thinktank has said. The Resolution Foundation calculated a new measure of “real living standards” that took into account both disposable income and the “in-kind” benefits of public services.more

A plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Korea has killed 179 people. Two people - both flight crew members - have survived what could be the country's worst aviation accident.more

The tragedy took place this Sunday morning near Blériot-Plage in Sangatte, according to a source close to the emergency services.more

Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) said preliminary findings indicated that the crash of a passenger plane it owned that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday was caused by "external physical and technical interference." Thirty-eight people died in the crash.more

Last year's winner, the LawConnect, won the 79th edition of the Sydney to Hobart Regatta, which was held in the shadow of tragic events. The day before, two sailors died in a storm, the first fatalities in the prestigious race since 1998.more

The number of UK retailers on the brink of collapse has risen by a quarter in the final three months of the year, driven by a combination of rising business costs and weak consumer confidence, according to a report.more

On January 1, Milan will ban smoking in public spaces, including the street. The exception will be when a person smoking is within 10 meters of others. The ban does not apply to electronic cigarettes.more

Four Poles advanced to Sunday's Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf. Austrian Daniel Tschofenig won the qualifications. Piotr Żyła was 14th, Jakub Wolny - 25th, Aleksander Zniszczoł - 38th, Paweł Wąsek - 42nd, and Dawid Kubacki - 53rd.more

Between 2018 and 2023, France's trade surplus with the UK fell by almost 20 per cent. - report the French media. They cite a study published by the Directorate-General of Customs on Friday, which attributes the unfavourable trend for Paris to the UK's exit from the European Union.more

In several hundred churches in Poland, you can make a cashless offering. Some priests decide to completely abandon the traditional collection plate. It is convenient and serves the transparency of the Church's finances - claims Karol Sobczyk, the originator of the first donation machine in Poland.more