German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier today dissolved the Bundestag and called early parliamentary elections for 23 February 2025. He thereby acceded to the request of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose minority government did not receive a vote of confidence on 16 December.more

Belgium has recorded its first case of the new, more contagious monkeypox virus, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Belgian national health institute Sciensano reported.more

Russian air defences downed an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation into the disaster told Reuters on Thursday. more

China has approved a project to build the world's largest hydroelectric dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River on the Tibetan Plateau, Reuters reported. Concerns about the project's environmental impact have been raised by downstream countries like India and Bangladesh.more

Thursday is a day of national mourning in Azerbaijan following the crash of a passenger plane in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. State flags were lowered to half mast and at midday, traffic was halted across the country and a moment of silence was observed to honour the victims.more

US President-elect Donald Trump plans to restore the former name of Mount McKinley to Alaska's Denali, the highest peak in North America, Fox News reported.more

A billion people in 64 countries watched the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, when three astronauts celebrated Christmas outside Earth's orbit for the first time in history. Since then, Christmas traditions have been celebrated in space, including a celebratory dinner and presents.more

European sailors in the Age of Discovery often named newly discovered places after the day they spotted them from the stork's nest. But no holiday has given its name to more places on the world map than Christmas, according to Conde Nast Traveler magazine.more

Poland is the fifth largest cheese producer in the European Union, according to Eurostat. The amount of cheese produced in Poland has been growing every year for over a decade. Germany remains at the top of the ranking, followed by France, Italy and the Netherlands.more

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will “track” Santa’s sleigh’s journey through the air for the 69th time today. The U.S. military began “tracking” the sleigh in 1955, in the midst of the Cold War, because of a call to the command’s top-secret emergency number.more

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This year, the Odra-Niemen Association solemnly celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. The establishment of the association is inextricably linked to the social program "Compatriots for Heroes". The campaign to support veterans has expanded far beyond the borders of Poland and today reaches our compatriots scattered across the most distant lands of the former Republic of Poland, and even further.more

The perpetrator of the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg several years ago repeatedly attracted the attention of the services by threatening to commit crimes. He was sentenced to 90 days in prison for disturbing the public peace, said Christian Pegel, the Minister of the Interior of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.more

A controversial 2020 scientific paper that showed the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine showed promise in treating Covid-19 has been retracted. The paper, which drew criticism from the research community from the start, has been cited almost 3,200 times, making it the most cited study on COVID-19.more

The agreement to form Iceland's government was signed yesterday by the leaders of three parties: the social democratic Alliance, the liberal Revival and the People's Party. It was agreed that the citizens would decide in a referendum on the resumption of negotiations on EU accession.more

In Rome, just in time for the inauguration of the Holy Year and the expected arrival of millions of tourists and pilgrims, the famous renovated monuments are regaining their splendour. The restoration of the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona has been completed. Work on the Trevi fountain is nearing completion, with the scaffolding already gone.more

President-elect Donald Trump has warned the European Union that its exports will face tariffs if member states do not buy more US oil and gas, Bloomberg reported yesterday.more

Last night in Magdeburg in eastern Germany, a car drove into a crowd of people at a Christmas market. Initially, it was not clear how many people were killed. It was assumed that up to 11 and dozens were injured. Today, the death toll is four, the daily Bild reported, citing local police. more

Today (21 December), the Sun will cross the winter solstice point, beginning the astronomical winter. Low temperatures, long nights and short days are associated with this time of year. It is also an opportunity to see interesting astronomical objects in the sky, relatively early in the evening.more

The heiress to a hotel fortune celebrates the passage of a law against systemic child abuse. Paris Hilton, who was herself a victim of abuse many years ago while in foster care, has repeatedly called on US authorities to introduce legislation to protect minors from abuse. more

Powiązany z gangiem 18-letni Mohammed M. został oskarżony wczoraj przez szwedzką prokuraturę o zastrzelenie w kwietniu w Sztokholmie 39-letniego Polaka Mikaela (Michała) na oczach jego 12-letniego syna.more

A cheque for 49 million euros was found on the street in Lecce, southern Italy, by a city official. He admitted that he got dizzy at the sight of so many zeros. He managed to find the owner of the cheque.more

Russia produces enough military equipment to equip an army equal to Germany's every 12 months. Europe needs to rearm, but countries either don't have the resources or don't want to cut spending on social programs. The Economist writes that a "coalition of the willing" may be the solution.more

Many Canadians want Canada to become America's 51st state, I think that's a great idea, President-elect Donald Trump announced yesterday morning. In doing so, he stated that the US was ‘subsidising’ Canada.more

In recent weeks, travel fans have been bombarded with various compilations and suggestions to help them plan next year's trips. Some publications come in the form of cautions. For example, those dreaming of a holiday in France should steer clear of the seaside town of Fos-sur-Mer. It is the ugliest town in France according to the daily ‘Telegraph’.more