The number of asylum applications to the EU has fallen by a quarter

The number of first-time asylum seekers in the EU stood at 69,270 in August, down a quarter from August 2023. In contrast, the number of repeat asylum applications increased, according to Eurostat data released Wednesday.more

An emperor penguin found on a West Australian beach, thousands of kilometres from its Antarctic homeland, has been released. The animal, named Gus, was malnourished and spent 20 days recovering with a local wildlife carer after being found on November 1.more

Vladimir Putin did not rule out attacking military facilities of countries that allowed Ukraine to hit targets on Russian territory with their missiles. He added that Russian forces attacked Ukraine yesterday with a new medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile.more

Ford has said it will cut 4,000 jobs in Europe, becoming the latest carmaker to try to reduce costs amid slowing growth in electric car sales and competition from China. The American carmaker said on Wednesday it would axe 800 jobs in the UK and 2,900 in Germany. more

Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrei Kielin has stated that the authorities in London are “directly involved” in the war in Ukraine, as British Storm Shadow missiles have been used to attack facilities on Russian territory, Sky News reported yesterday.more

An unprecedented number of tourists have arrived in Portugal in 2024, the authorities of the Confederation of Tourism of Portugal (CTP) estimate less than six weeks before the end of this year.more

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated today that the US anti-missile base in Poland has long been among the possible priority targets for Russia. MFA spokesman Pavel Vronsky stressed that the Redzikowo installation is purely defensive in nature.more

After 10 years of serving his sentence, Anders Breivik has applied for early release. In an opinion presented at Wednesday's court hearing, experts concluded that he still posed a threat to society.more

Another volcanic eruption occurred on the night of Wednesday-Thursday on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland, local officials reported. A red glow is visible from the country's capital Reykjavik.more

Citizens of the European Union are most concerned about problems related to border protection and the threat of terrorism, according to a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation conducted in the 27 EU member states. In Poland, 29% of respondents consider a military attack to be the greatest threat.more

Four southern giant hornets (Vespa soror) have been identified for the first time in northern Spain. If the invasive species becomes widespread, it could threaten local insects, reports the journal Ecology and Evolution.more

The Pentagon intends to soon announce another package of military aid for Ukraine worth at least $275 million, AP reported yesterday, citing an anonymous Pentagon official, who also confirmed the use of ATACMS missiles by Ukraine, saying that Russia shot down two of the eight missiles used.more

On Monday, the United Nations held a meeting devoted to the thousand-day Russian invasion of Ukraine. The representative of the aggressor, Vasily Nebenzia, used it to accuse British services of arranging the massacre of civilians in Bucha so that responsibility for this war crime, which took place in the spring of 2022, would rest with Russia.more

American social media has been flooded by a wave of fake posts about celebrities who would emigrate from the USA because of Donald Trump's presidential election win. Names mentioned in this context include: Miley Cyrus, Robert De Niro, Jane Fonda or Taylor Swift.more

Vladimir Putin's signed amendment to the nuclear doctrine, which stipulates that any conventional attack on Russia assisted by a nuclear power can be considered a strike made jointly, lowers the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, AP assessed today.more

What to do in the event of a prolonged power cut, water cut, lack of internet access or in the event of natural disasters or armed conflict? The Finnish government updated a portal yesterday instructing residents on what to do during a crisis.more

After a five-year restoration, Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral will open its doors on 8 December this year. For the first week, it will be open until 10 p.m. ‘It is our great desire to welcome everyone again’ in the cathedral, announced Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris.more

US President Joe Biden's administration has given the green light for Ukraine to use US weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia, Reuters reported yesterday, citing several sources familiar with the matter. Similar information was reported by other media, citing sources in the US administration.more

In many European countries, short-term rentals are seen as one of the main causes of the housing crisis. Local authorities, including in France, the UK and the Netherlands, have introduced restrictions, such as setting limits on the number of days a property can be rented to tourists.more

According to reports from the British "The Sun", newly elected US President Donald Trump is considering sending hundreds of thousands of migrants staying illegally in the US to Rwanda, where they would wait for their residence applications to be considered.more

In recent days, the presence of Russian naval vessels in waters under Portuguese jurisdiction has significantly increased, said the commander of the Portuguese Navy, Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo.more

Madeira, the land of eternal spring, is a true paradise for nature lovers and hikers. This Portuguese island offers a range of trails and trekking routes. At the end of October, tourists who value active leisure had to pay a fee to walk the seven most popular trails. From January, the fee will apply to over 30 hiking trails.more

The New Zealand Parliament was suspended after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill to reinterpret an 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori. The controversial legislation is seen by many Maori and their supporters as undermining the rights of the country’s Indigenous people, who make up around 20% of the population of 5.3 million.more

Countries such as Denmark and Sweden have been among the happiest countries in the world for years. Referring to this, representatives of the Oresund region, also called Greater Copenhagen - covering eastern Denmark and southern Sweden, give "quality of life insurance" to those who move there. It is a kind of guarantee that their life and its quality will improve.more

We should do everything so that next year the war will end through diplomatic means, Volodymyr Zelensky stated today. He noted that talks with Russia are possible “provided Ukraine is not alone and is strong.”more

A few weeks before the winter season in Italy opens, the tourism industry is predicting a record-breaking arrivals. The number of foreign tourists will increase, above all. Poles are listed as the top foreigners heading to mountain resorts.more

An African woman is apparently ‘free’ on the island of Madeira after having given birth to a baby on a flight from Guinea-Bissau to Lisbon and relinquishing it to the care of authorities, saying she did could “not afford to keep the child financially or emotionally”.more

A Polish national who ran as a candidate in Iceland’s upcoming parliamentary elections is wanted by police in Poland. Icelandic media reported that Polish authorities had issued an arrest warrant for Christopher G. Krystynuson – who was previously listed in Poland’s population register as Krzysztof Gajowski – for financial fraud.more

The Norwegian parliament has adopted a report documenting decades of denationalization of ethnic minorities living in the north of the country. The authorities in Oslo have apologized to the Sami, Kwen and Forest Finns for years of suffering, harassment and destruction of their cultures and languages.more

President-elect Donald Trump's advisers are exerting pressure to ‘freeze’ the Ukrainian-Russian conflict and create a more than 1,200-kilometre demilitarised zone, US 'Newsweek' reported yesterday. According to the 'Wall Street Journal', the zone would be overseen by European forces, including Polish forces.more

The end of the year is a time for summing up, also in the tourism industry. One of the latest published analyses concerns which cities were the most popular places for weekend trips. It turns out that this year the city break category was dominated by Paris, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca.more