The European Union should immediately consider increasing the sequencing of the genome of Covid-19 infections and the monitoring of wastewater, including from airports, to detect any new coronavirus variants from China, EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in a letter to the health ministers of the 27 EU Member States.more

In many European capitals, crowds greeted the New Year. In Paris, around a million people celebrated the turn of the year with fireworks on the Champs Elysées. In London, more than 100,000 people celebrated with fireworks around the London Eye. A New Year's Eve party was organized at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, but it was much smaller than in previous years.more

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died yesterday at the age of 95 at 9:34 am. The situation in the Vatican after his death is as unusual as it has been since his historic step down in 2013. During the pontificate of Francis, his predecessor died and it is the current pope who will preside over his funeral for the first time in history.more

Vladimir Putin sent traditional New Year greetings to the leaders of 22 countries and territories, including Serbia, China, India and Brazil, according to the independent Russian portal Meduza. Hungary and Turkey are the only NATO countries whose leaders received a commemorative cable from the Kremlin.more

Champagne has become very democratized. Currently, it can be drunk with cheese, meat, fish and even fries and hamburgers. The French drink champagne not only on New Year's Eve, but also on Christmas Eve and on every possible occasion, says Anna Meteyer, who runs a family champagne vineyard in Champagne with her husband.more

Travelers coming from China to France will have to have a negative test result for coronavirus, carried out within 48 hours before departure. The United Kingdom will also introduce such a requirement - the governments of France and the United Kingdom informed.more

The Egyptian services provided the Polish side with another tranche of materials regarding Magdalena Żuk - a Polish tourist who, in unexplained circumstances, died in Egypt in 2017. "The documents concern the results of toxicological examinations of the victim and are currently translated" - informs Prosecutor Tomasz Czułowski, spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Jelenia Góra.more

North Korea has never fired as many ballistic missiles as it did in 2022. The regime in Pyongyang has sharpened its rhetoric, threatening the world with nuclear weapons and dozens of types of missiles. Experts estimate that further escalation is likely.more

The Japanese government will offer up to one million yen ($7.500) for each child to families who decide to move out of Tokyo to reduce population concentration in the capital, the Kyodo agency reported, citing an anonymous source familiar with the plan.more

The boots of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine are made of leather imported from India, and trade between Russia and India has increased by more than 400 percent. - reports the British newspaper "Guardian" today.more

In Germany, for the first three quarters of 2022, 65 attacks on refugee centers were registered throughout the country - according to data from the Ministry of the Interior. From January to the end of September 2022 there were also 711 attacks on refugees outside of accommodation. According to the media, the attacks are motivated by hatred, and a right-wing and stratist background is suspected.more

The city council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the main city of the Canary island of Tenerife, has decided that as of 16 January 2023 it will not be possible to smoke cigarettes on the beaches of this island popular with tourists. The fine for breaking the ban is up to €750.more

Ryanair has announced that it is cancelling a total of 128 flights to and from Charleroi Airport, located near Brussels, this weekend. The airline's cabin crew in Belgium are on strike, protesting against working conditions, Belgian TV station VRT reported.more

Russians who have fled to the Netherlands for fear of mobilization in their country may be deported, said Secretary of State for Asylum Eric van der Burg. The Ministry of Justice explained that the mobilization in Russia has been canceled and therefore the normal procedure for applying for asylum through the Immigration and Naturalization Office (IND) is back.more

Journalists of the portal of the Czech newspaper "DenikN" have reached the classified material of experts who want to recognize the deliberate dissemination of disinformation as a crime. The government recommends subsidizing the media and NGOs that fight fake news.more

The death toll in Erie County in northwestern New York as a result of Winter Storm Elliot, which hit the United States over the Christmas weekend, has risen to 37 as the region tries to get back to normal. Temperatures in the state have been below 16 degrees Fahrenheit.more

Ukraine's air defence forces today neutralised the most Russian missiles since the start of the war, the head of the Mykolaiv region authorities, Vitaly Kim, estimated to Telegram this morning. A massive enemy missile attack is underway in the country. 90 per cent of Lviv's population remained without access to electricity, the mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovy, reported.more

Pope Francis has said former Pope Benedict XVI is very ill and he has asked pilgrims at the Vatican to pray for him. Benedict, 95, became the first leader of the Catholic Church to stand down in 600 years in 2013, citing advanced age.more

Italy has ordered COVID-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers coming from China, where cases are surging, the health minister said on Wednesday.more

Charleroi airport, located near Brussels, expects more than 100 Ryanair flights to be canceled this weekend. The Belgian Ryanair cabin crew strike will affect around 19,000 passengers and 107 flights from Charleroi, VRT television reported.more

In Italy, the number of journalists who received various types of threats doubled in 2022, according to the report published on Tuesday by the Oxygen for Information association. This year, 564 journalists were threatened, while in 2021 - 288.more

The Chinese authorities announced a change in the name and classification of Covid-19 and the lifting of the quarantine obligation for people arriving from abroad on January 8. This marks the reopening of the country to the world after nearly three years of strict zero covid policy and border restrictions.more

Wealthy Dutch residents live on average around nine years longer than their poorer compatriots, according to a study by the Dutch Bureau of Statistics (CBS).more

The snowstorm, which has been ongoing in the United States for the past week, paralysed Buffalo, New York, among others, on Christmas Day. According to Sky News, 46 deaths have already been reported in the US. The winter attack also affected northern Japan. At least 17 people have died.more

At the end of February, on the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the authorities in Kiev intend to present their peace proposal. This will build on an earlier 10-point 'peace formula' outlined by President Volodymyr Zelensky in November, the Wall Street Journal reported.more