Author: staff
With the recent spate of air accidents, travellers may feel less confident. But is flying really becoming unsafe? 2024 has fanned the flames of worries over flying, particularly in recent weeks, when more than 200 people lost their lives in two separate incidents just days apart. Thirty-eight people died when an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in Kazakhstan; four days later, 179 perished when a Jeju Air flight crash landed in South Korea.While recent events are still ringing in the minds of many, 2024 was a year of disasters in aviation. In early January, a fiery crash in Tokyo shocked the…
PiS appealed against the August decision to Poland’s Supreme Court. However, the party lodged the appeal with a chamber of the court that the country’s centrist government feels is stacked with judges improperly appointed under the previous PiS government. The chamber’s legitimacy has also been questioned by the Court of Justice of the EU. The chamber predictably sided with PiS in a ruling issued in December, apparently leaving little room for Domański but to pay out the money. But the way the PKW issued its decision leaves gray areas. The body said that the Supreme Court chamber’s ruling must be…
An expert explains what drives the ‘vacation mindset’ as half of Americans admit to acting out on holiday. After a summer that saw protests against overtourism spread across Europe, a survey has confirmed that people really do behave differently on holiday – and not for the better.From the British tourist caught carving his name into Rome’s Colosseum to the German woman who stripped naked and interrupted a ritual at a Bali temple, tourists have repeatedly made headlines for shocking behaviour. While the extreme stories that make the news are exceptional cases, a new poll appears to show that other types of bad…
Yet, the far-right effort may stymie a push to rein in Big Tech platforms that’s failed so far to live up to its promise. Vandendriessche said this agenda “is completely outdated in a changing world” as “the U.S. is going in the opposite direction.” “Free speech seems to have become a threat for state censors,” posted Christine Anderson, German European lawmaker for the far-right Alternative for Germany (part of the Europe of Sovereign Nations group) on social media platform X. She was responding to a POLITICO article that laid out how Brussels would watch the live-streamed chat of X CEO…
Washington has imposed sanctions on Serbia’s largest oil and gas company due to Russian ownership. More details are to emerge in a joint press conference on Saturday. Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić has said on Friday he would hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the US targeted Serbia’s main oil and gas company NIS with sanctions over Russian ownership. In a press conference, Vučić stated that the US is demanding the immediate removal of the Russian state-owned company Gazprom from the corporation.According to Vučić, “From what we’ve seen, it’s more about ‘removal’ than ‘reduction.’ They won’t even allow a…
Traffic jams cost each driver more than €1,000 in wasted time in Europe’s most congested city last year. London has the most congested roads in Europe for the fourth year in a row, according to a new analysis. Traffic analytics company Inrix found that it had the fifth most clogged roads in the world overall. Inrix says in its 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard that the capital city accounted for around half of all UK traffic delays, costing around £3.85 billion (€4.64 billion) in lost time or £942 (€1,135) per driver. The analytics firm says the city has some of the…
But instead of taking him in, the north African country simply sent him back. “Algeria is seeking to humiliate France,” Retailleau, a conservative with hardline views on immigration, said on the sidelines of a visit to the western city of Nantes. “I believe we have reach a extremely worrying threshold with Algeria.” Tensions have been rising between Paris and Algiers in recent weeks over the activity of Algerian influencers accused of attempting to incite violence in France or against members of the Algerian opposition — in some cases purportedly with the blessing of Algerian officials, according to reports in French media. The two…
At 12 noon on New Year’s Day, nearly 200 vintage locomotives around the world blew their whistles to ring in a special year for rail travel. 2025 marks 200 years since passenger rail travel began with the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) in September 1825.An engineering feat first designed to transport coal in England’s industrial north has since become the backbone of sustainable travel across the world. Digital rail platform Trainline estimates that its UK customers saved more than 1 million tonnes of CO2 last year by opting for trains instead of petrol cars. “The world changed forever in…
When asked if he had spoken with the incoming U.S. President, Egede said “no, but we are ready to talk,” echoing Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s statement on Thursday that she had asked to speak with Trump. As to what shape the Danish-Greenlandic relationship might entail in the future, Egede suggested that Greenland wants to be in charge: “There is more that unites us but the desire to be master of one’s own house is understandable to everyone in the world.” “When I have to talk to another country’s leader, I have to be together with the Danish ambassador. It’s…
Read our full guide to the UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA): who needs it, how long it’s valid for and how to apply. The UK has just launched its new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) permit for non-EU travellers. The new system means tourists are required to gain permission to enter the country, as part of plans to fully digitise its borders.The permit is required for travellers from countries like the US, Canada and Australia starting 8 January 2025. The scheme has been in place for nationals of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates…