Four scenarios for the post-rules world
The Greenland psychodrama together with some of the startling opinions aired in Davos last week – especially Mark Carney’s definitive language on the end of…
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Society
Latest reporting and analysis on society.
Tusk’s Polish courts ‘are tearing down justice’
In Poland governed by Donald Tusk’s coalition, the justice system no longer operates independently in political cases.
Sweden ponders jail for 13-year-olds after explosion in gang violence
Sweden's justice minister Gunnar Strömmer said the government is pressing ahead with plans to allow 13-year-olds to be sentenced to prison for the most serious…
MCC Brussels wins landmark free-speech court battle
The Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) Brussels, a leading conservative educational and think-tank organisation associated with Hungary's Government, has won its final…
Spain to regularise 500,000 undocumented migrants
Spain's left-wing government approved Tuesday a plan to regularise around 500,000 undocumented migrants by decree, the country's latest break with harsher policies…
Germany sent abroad more than €500m in child benefits in 2025
The German state has paid out a record sum in child benefits to recipients abroad in 2025, latest numbers by the Federal Employment Agency (BfA) show.
Italy summons Israeli ambassador after officers threatened at gunpoint in West Bank
Italy has summoned Israel's ambassador to Rome in a sharp diplomatic protest following an incident in which two Italian military policemen were threatened at gunpoint.
Europe forgets real genocide and cuts loose from all historical knowledge
“Performative” surely is the political cliché of our times. Yet nonetheless it is the only word that describes the vapid behaviour of so many western societies.
Polish opposition leader calls on PM Tusk to fund spot on Trump’s Board of Peace
The leader of the Polish opposition has called on the centre-left government to provide the $1 billion (€840 million) required for Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki…
Former Austrian minister slams home country in Russian podcast
Karin Kneissl, Austria’s foreign minister from 2017 to 2019, has used an appearance on a Russian podcast to settle scores with her former home country.
Russia jails schoolgirl for four years for posters of pro-Kyiv fighters
A Russian court Thursday upheld a four-year prison term for a 17-year-old girl who hung posters of pro-Ukraine Russian fighters in her school, Russian independent…
Austria introduces mandatory summer schools for children lacking German skills
The Austrian Parliament has adopted a law introducing a mandatory two-week summer school for children who do not speak German sufficiently well.
Poland to end preferential treatment of Ukrainian refugees
The Polish Government has prepared legislation to end special support for Ukrainian refugees put in place in 2022 following the onset of war with Russia.
European Parliament votes against flight delay compensation reform
The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to preserve the existing three-hour threshold for flight delay compensation.
Austrian Right and Left team up to prevent government eavesdropping on private messages
The right-wing Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the left-wing Greens Party are teaming up to thwart the government coalition’s plans for extended surveillance…
Bigamy charges next? Polish rule-of-law dispute creates chaos in family courts
A Polish judge has ruled that a couple’s divorce was invalid because it had been granted by a judge who had been appointed during the lifetime of the previous…
Barcelona train crash kills one in Spain’s second deadly rail accident in days
A commuter train near Barcelona ploughed into the rubble of a collapsed wall on Tuesday, killing one and injuring dozens in Spain's second deadly rail accident in…
US Republicans turn on Germany’s AfD after Weidel criticises Trump
US Republicans have attacked Germany’s right-wing AfD following party co-leader Alice Weidel’s criticism of US President Donald Trump over Venezuela and Greenland.
MEPs want independent EU social media to counter X after Grok scandal
European lawmakers are demanding the creation of a European Union social media source to counter the influence of X following the Grok scandal.
Hanover daycare centres get ‘queer book boxes’ to teach toddlers about sexual diversity
In a move to promote "diversity" among young children, the city of Hanover has allocated around €11,000 from surplus budget funds to distribute "queer book boxes"…
Western freedom is heading for the crocodile’s pantry shelf
The ailing English novelist Julian Barnes recently announced that he has written his last book.
Polish Government side-steps Constitution to comply with EU same-sex marriage edict
The Polish Government is planning to by-pass the Constitution by introducing gender-neutral terms to recognise same-sex marriages held in other European Union…
Illegal migration to Europe halves in two years
Irregular border crossings into the European Union have plummeted by more than half over the past two years, according to the latest figures from Frontex, the EU's…
UK, France mull social media bans for youth as debate rages
Countries including France and Britain are considering following Australia's lead by banning children and some teenagers from using social media, but experts are…
PR disaster? UK ‘woke’ anti-racism campaign spawns right-wing icon
A controversial computer game in the UK, backed by the Home Office and designed to steer young minds away from the dangers of far-right extremism, has backfired,…
Exclusive: How left-wing NGOs emasculate Germany’s ruling CDU
The Prime Minister of the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein was accused of calling for the censorship of the online platform Nius during a televised debate…
EU criticised for funding €1.6 million study on Muslim women’s hair
The European Union has come under fire from Italian MEP Silvia Sardone over its funding of academic research projects, which she deems "wasteful".
Compromise proposal on tobacco ‘is opposite of harm reduction’
A leaked compromise proposal from the Cypriot presidency on the European Union’s Tobacco Excise Directive has drawn sharp criticism for undermining harm reduction.
Berlin schoolchildren will no longer study Communist East Germany
The City of Berlin is reportedly planning to change the curriculum for schoolchildren in the German capital, removing the study the history of the German Democratic…
Berlin court acquits left-winger activist who forged AfD letters
A German left-winger who faked and sent out letters purportedly written by right-wing opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD) had been acquitted by a court…