PRESS EUROPEAN

Denmark

Hidden riches

ROMAN gold coins, rings and precious stones now on show in Denmark's National Museum in Copenhagen were all discovered by amateurs who used metal detectors. The treasure trove is the result of a Danish law obliging detectorists to hand over their finds in exchange for a finder’s fee.

The Netherlands

Crying shame

CLIMATE change is affecting onion production in The Netherlands where they have fetched a record wholesale price of 70 cents a kilo. Growers blamed the increase on increased costs initially triggered by the pandemic, followed by the Ukraine war, high temperatures last summer and insufficient rainfall.

Belgium

Royal fans

FIFTY-EIGHT per cent of Belgians are in favour of the monarchy, with support for the royal family lower in Flemish-speaking Flanders where the population wants more regional autonomy. Walloons are more accepting of monarchs Philippe and Mathilde who, although multilingual, are francophone by birth.

Germany

Stuck fast

MORE than 10,000 police officers in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region will be given training in dealing with climate activists who glue themselves to the road. This will speed up removal procedures and also reduce traffic incidents, as currently very few officers know how to unglue the protesters.

France

Stay-at-home

MORE than 40 per cent of French residents who ski each winter told the Campsider Winter Observatory that they would not be doing so this year. They could no longer afford the average outlay of between €900 and €1,000 per person plus another €1,350 for equipment, they said.

Norway

Owning up

NORWAY’S 29-year-old Justice and Public Safety minister, Emilie Enger Mehl, finally admitted that she had installed TikTok on her official phone after several days of giving only evasive answers in parliament. Critics said that the Chinese app could be used by the Beijing government’s intelligence services.