Poland: struggle to control state media
18 Jan 2024
Poland's main evening news studio is under heavy police protection amid a fierce battle for control of the country's media landscape. This struggle emerged following elections that ended eight years of populist rule, leading to promises…
France: Macron shifts to the right
18 Jan 2024
On 16 January Emmanuel Macron made a notable shift to the political right during a televised press conference, signalling a change in his political stance. One week earlier, he had appointed Gabriel Attal as the youngest…
Sweden: alarm after warning to ‘prepare for war’
11 Jan 2024
Civil defence minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin and commander-in-chief Gen Micael Byden have issued warnings to prepare for the possibility of war in Sweden, raising concerns and accusations of alarmism. Byden urged all Swedes to prepare mentally for…
An operation is under way to evacuate livestock trapped for days on an island in the River Danube. Last week up to 200 cattle, calves and horses were stranded on Krcedin island, northwest of the capital…
Ukraine / Russia: prisoner exchange
04 Jan 2024
On 3 January Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, in the biggest such swap since Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned to…
Denmark: the first Australian to become a Queen
04 Jan 2024
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's surprise abdication in favour of her son Crown Prince Frederik has marked a historic moment globally, but it has also made Princess Mary the first-ever Australian to become a Queen Consort.…