Consumers will see the price of alcohol rise from Saturday when a hike in tax and duties comes into effect. The alcohol tax itself will rise in line with the Retail Price Index at 3.6%, but a new system to tax wines and spirits based on strength will be introduced at the same time.more

Barclays has told staff to come into the office for an extra day each week, making it the latest company to tighten its hybrid working policy. The bank said in a memo to its 85,000 employees that they will need to come into the office for the extra day, which for most workers means three days a week instead of two.more

Nigel Farage’s far-right Reform UK party has topped the poll for the first time in a YouGov election report commissioned by Sky News.more

In recent days, increased seismic activity has been recorded between the Greek islands of Santorini and Amorgos. Several hundred tremors have been recorded there, many of them with a magnitude of over 4, the Polish embassy in Greece warned yesterday. It was recommended to follow information on the seismic situation.more

The trial of Luis Rubiales, former head of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), began yesterday. After Spain's women's team won the 2023 World Cup in Australia, Rubiales kissed player Jennifer Hermoso, sparking outrage in the country and beyond.more

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer assured European Union leaders at yesterday's summit in Brussels that he wants to work more closely with them to strengthen the continent's defence - including increasing cooperation in the development of military technologies and arms production.more

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Sunday and predicted six more weeks of wintry weather, his top-hatted handlers announced to a raucous, record-sized crowd at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania.more

A 15-year-old boy has died after being stabbed at a school in Sheffield, police have said. The boy, named locally as Harvey Willgoose, was injured at All Saints Catholic High School, in Granville Road in the city, at about 12:17 GMT.more

In January 2025, the minimum wage in EU countries ranged from €551 per month in Bulgaria to €2,638 per month in Luxembourg, Eurostat reported.more

Kensington Palace will no longer routinely release details of the Princess of Wales’s outfits from her royal engagements, it has been reported. Kate has been frustrated by a perceived focus on her style rather than the substance of her work, according to the Sunday Times.more

Robert Lewandowski scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Deportivo Alaves in the Spanish league match. The 36-year-old footballer has been playing for Barcelona since 2022 and is playing his best season at the Catalan club. The Polish striker has scored 30 goals in 32 appearances.more

PLL LOT will increase the number of flights from Warsaw to Chicago and to Toronto, as well as on the Kraków-Chicago route from the beginning of June until the end of September this year, the company's spokesman Krzysztof Moczulski has announced. The carrier has modified its Asian route network for this summer season, he added.more

Hundreds of thousands of British workers are on zero-hours contracts despite being with the same employer for years, according to analysis from the TUC.more

InPost Group has launched 250 parcel machines in the UK as part of its partnership with the Aldi chain, InPost announced today. The company announced an increase of 5,000 devices in the UK, bringing the total investment in the UK market to £1bn.more

Iga Swiatek remains the runner-up of the world women's tennis ranking in the latest ranking, with a loss of 186 points to the first-ranked Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. There were no changes in the top 10. Hubert Hurkacz, meanwhile, remains at number 21 in the world tennis ranking. more

Daniel Khalife has been jailed for 14 years and three months after escaping from prison while awaiting trial for spying for Iran. Khalife joined the Army aged 16 in September 2018, and shortly after began passing sensitive information - including the names of special forces soldiers - to Tehran.more

The UK has a fair and balanced trade relationship with the US, which is an indispensable ally, a UK government spokesperson said today. Earlier, US President Donald Trump suggested that the UK would not be subject to tariffs.more

Could Canada join the European Union, the public broadcaster CBC asked in an analysis yesterday. This is another such analysis following a recent article in ‘The Economist’. The idea of greater rapprochement with the EU is being considered among Canadian politicians.more

Napoli's players drew 1:1 away against AS Roma in the match of the 23rd round of the Italian Premier League and retained their three-point lead over runners-up Inter. The club of Piotr Zielinski and Nicola Zalewski, who is making his debut in his new colours, shared the points with AC Milan (1:1) in a derby encounter.more

New UK cycling laws being introduced this month introduce further penalties – but downgrade two existing offences. Ten offences to tackle antisocial cycling have been proposed – including offences relating to cycling behaviour in London's Royal Parks.more

US President Donald Trump said yesterday that discussions on Ukraine were going ‘quite well’ and that he had talks scheduled on the issue ‘with various parties’. He also announced that he would ‘soon’ impose tariffs on EU goods, and threatened that something ‘very powerful’ would happen if the US did not reclaim the Panama Canal.more

Arsenal London defeated defending champions Manchester City 5:1 at their home stadium in the hit of the 24th round of the English Premier League football. Jakub Kiwior sat on the substitutes' bench for the entire match.more

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer received German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at his Chequers country residence yesterday. The leaders touched on the topics of support for Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, with Starmer supporting closer relations with the EU.more

The capital of Poland, associated with sausages and herring, is now a vegan haven, the British Guardian wrote on Friday. The daily reminds us that Warsaw has been at the top of the world's "veggie cities" ranking for six years, and three years ago, National Geographic awarded it first place.more

The UK government plans to reduce the country's agricultural land by more than 10 percent by 2050. The biggest cuts are to affect grazing land, and residents of the country will be encouraged to reduce their meat consumption, the Guardian reported.more