Europe
Spain / Greece: extreme weather
Deep snow left by Storm Filomena turned to ice, disrupting transport and lowering temperatures to -25C (-13F). The elderly are warned to stay at home. At least seven people have died due to…
British EU residents in post-Brexit ‘travel chaos’
Days after a ‘mutant’ coronavirus strain ruined Christmas plans of holidaymakers on both sides of the Channel, red tape and confusion have raised hurdles for Britons attempting to return to their homes in…
Russia: aggression
Russian aggression has taken on many different forms. The most glaring example remains the undeclared and ongoing war in eastern Ukraine, which has cost over 14,000 lives and displaced millions. President Putin has…
Europe’s Covid Christmas
Across Europe there will be further lockdowns, curfews and travel bans as the number of people infected with Covid has increased. Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte summed it up when he told Italians…
Holy See: Christmas lighting-up ceremony
'Christmas reminds us that Jesus is our peace, our joy, our strength, our comfort’, Pope Francis said at the Vatican’s traditional lighting ceremony: ‘Let there be light.’ A 30-metre-tall spruce was placed just…
Venice flooded again as new dam system fails
A massive new flood defence system called MOSE, aimed at protecting Venice's lagoon during high tide, was finally installed in October. This week St Mark's Square was again under water, after MOSE did…
Spain: lions have coronavirus
Four lions at Barcelona Zoo have tested positive for coronavirus after being given Covid tests when a zookeeper noticed they were displaying suspicious symptoms. The lions were familiar enough with the zookeepers to…
Barnier warns Boris over fishing and finance
Michel Barnier has warned Brexit trade talks could be plunged into ‘crisis’ if Boris Johnson puts forward more legislation that calls into question last year's divorce deal. The Brussels diplomat is worried that…
Germany: car drives into pedestrians, killing five
Five people have been killed and thirteen seriously injured after a car zig zagged towards pedestrians in the city of Trier. Among those killed was a nine-month-old baby. A 51-year-old man with no…
Berlin: car crashes into Merkel’s gate
A car with an anti-globalisation slogan on its side crashed into the gate of the office of German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on 25 November. The driver is in custody, and Berlin…
