Elon Musk acts as de facto ‘co-president of the USA’ and seeks to change the powers in allied European countries, without criticising China or Russia for doing so; Europe is in trouble, a columnist for the British daily ‘Financial Times’ assesses today.more

Ketamine, the anaesthetic taken by Elon Musk to control his moods, could be reclassified as a class A drug by the Home Office after illegal use reached record levels.more

There is not the slightest chance of Canada becoming part of the United States, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on social media yesterday, commenting on US President-elect Donald Trump's statements about annexing Canada.more

Arsenal London's players at the Emirates Stadium lost 0:2 to Newcastle United in their first League Cup semi-final match in England. The replay will take place at St James' Park on 5 February.more

This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -16C on Thursday night. A yellow snow warning for Wednesday stretches from Kent to Cornwall and up to south London.more

The Meta conglomerate, which owns Facebook among others, will get rid of fact-checkers and users will have a greater role in moderating services, just as they do on X, company owner Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday in a recording on Meta's website.more

Food price inflation jumped to 3.7% last month, the highest level since March, helping fuel a bumper season for supermarkets.more

Companies in the transport and logistics and automotive industries are announcing increased hiring in the coming months, according to a report by ManpowerGroup. Four out of ten companies plan to make new hires in the first quarter of this year.more

Organisers of the Grand Slam tennis tournament French Open in Paris will introduce a ticket draw among fans to ensure a smoother and fairer distribution of tickets, the French federation has announced.more

The Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), comprising the militaries of 10 northern European countries, has strengthened protection of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea and monitoring of the Russian ‘shadow fleet’, among other things, using artificial intelligence, the UK and Swedish governments said.more

Alicante joins the ranks of Spanish cities that have decided to tackle the pressing issue of temporary holiday rentals. Councillors in this city have decided to ban the issuing of new licences for short-term rentals, which will be in force for the next two years.more

More than half of companies are planning to raise prices in the next three months as they face a "pressure cooker of rising costs and taxes", according to one of the UK's largest business groups. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said its survey of nearly 5,000 firms suggested confidence had "slumped", falling to its lowest level for two years.more

Citizens of 48 countries, including the US, Canada and Australia, who are travelling to the UK must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before arriving in the country from tomorrow. The cost of this document is £10. From 2 April, this obligation will also apply to Polish citizens.more

Kamil Majchrzak won against Argentine Marco Trungelliti 3:6, 7:6 (7-4), 6:3 in the 1st qualifying round of the Grand Slam tennis tournament Australian Open in Melbourne. Maja Chwalińska also advanced, after winning against Czech Dominika Salkova 7:6 (7-3), 5:7, 7:6 (12-10).more

A new map shows every killing MyLondon reported on in 2024. With official data on the number of people murdered in London in 2024 yet to be released, the map is by no means exhaustive, but it does give a sense of the geographic spread of violence around the capital over the last 12 months.more

Thousands of customers in Ireland are without access to water and electricity due to an onslaught of winter weather that has brought heavy snowfall, the UK's BBC reported today.more

Famed tennis player Novak Djokovic has admitted that he is still feeling stressed at Melbourne airport, where he flew in for the Australian Open grand slam tournament, which starts on Sunday. The 2022 Serb was deported from the country because he failed to comply with covid requirements.more

More than 700 McDonald's restaurant workers in the UK have joined a harassment class action lawsuit against the US group, a year and a half after a BBC investigation uncovered such practices.more

According to synoptics, more than half a metre of snow will fall in Norway in the coming hours. Bus services are being cancelled, schools are switching to distance learning and huge traffic jams are forming on the roads. According to forecasts, weather conditions in the south of the country could become even more difficult.more

AC Milan's footballers have won the Italian Super Cup. In the final of the tournament involving four teams in Saudi Riyadh, they won against Inter Milan, the defending champions of the trophy, 3:2, although they were already losing 0:2. Piotr Zielinski played among the defeated from the 65th minute.more

The government has unveiled a new pledge to cut the list of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for NHS treatment in England by nearly half a million over the next year. The plan will expand access to Community Diagnostic Centres and surgical hubs, alongside reforms designed to enhance patient choice and tackle inefficiencies.more

President Joe Biden has signed a bill extending Social Security benefits to several million retirees in the US. Its beneficiaries may include Poles, who have so far had their benefits reduced if they have been receiving pensions from Poland.more

In the UK, 200 flood warnings and 300 flood alerts have been issued, the BBC news website reported. High water levels are expected to continue until tomorrow, the national Environment Agency has announced.more

Real Madrid's footballers won away against fourth-placed Deportiva Minera 5:0 (3:0) in the 1/16 final of the King's Cup. Two goals were scored by 19-year-old Turk Arda Guler and one each by Uruguayan Federico Valverde, Croatian Luka Modric and Frenchman Eduardo Camavinga.more

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced yesterday that he will step down as party leader and thus cease to be Prime Minister. However, he will remain in office until his successor is elected. The work of parliament has been suspended for almost three months.more