PRESS EUROPEAN

Denmark

Ticked off

SPEAKER of the Danish parliament Soren Gade announced that the country’s 179 MPs and parliamentary employees had received an email that “strongly” recommended they deleted the Chinese-owned TikTok app if they had it installed. There was a risk of espionage, Denmark’s Cyber Security Centre said.

The Netherlands

It’s a gas

THE NETHERLANDS’ Nature minister said the country would not be able to build urgentlyneeded infrastructure without cutting nitrogen-based emissions, principally in the farming sector. Farmers needed to reduce livestock herds or leave the industry to cut emissions, the minister said.

Belgium

Bumpy ride

BELGIUM will host its first European Gravel Championships cycling races in Flanders on October 1, one week before the International Cycling Union (UCI) Gravel World Championships in Venice. “Gravel has grown significantly over the last few years,” UCI president Enrico Della Casa said.

Germany

Film fan

POLICE pulled over a man of 77 for exceeding the speed limit in Berlin’s Wannsee district and noticed on taking his details that he had been watching porn as he drove. They let him off with a caution without revealing afterwards if what he was watching had been responsible for the speeding.

France

False alarm

POLICE went to a Rillieux-la-Pape (Lyon) high school following bomb warnings and emailed death threats to teachers. They eventually arrested two high school pupils, one of whom sent the fake alerts and his friend who, he claimed, persuaded him to send the alerts so that classes were cancelled.

Norway

Winding down

NORWAY’S government apologised to Sami reindeer herders affected by wind farms that were later declared illegal. Courts ruled that the project violated the rights of Sami families although the decision gave no guidance regarding what should be done with the turbines, which were already in operation.

Finland

Warm February

WITH temperatures ranging from zero to minus9, February was milder than usual across Finland, the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) announced. The most noticeable divergences were measured in Ostrobothnia and Lapland, with temperatures three degrees Celsius above the normal average for February.

Ireland

Safe and sound

IRELAND’S Heritage and Electoral Reform Ministry ordered a halt to cutting hedgerows and verges or burning land until the end of August. Birds and mammals relied on hedgerows and uplands to nurture and feed their young in habitats that kept them safe from predators, the ministry said.

Italy

Bad choice

RESEARCH revealed that the hunter-gatherers who sought refuge 30,000 years ago from the last Ice Age in modern Italy found themselves at a dead end when the ice expanded southward approximately 25,000 years ago. In Italy the population completely disappeared, investigators found.

PORTUGAL Speak up

PORTUGAL announced that it intended to grant one-year residency permits to citizens who came from Portuguese-speaking nations. This would enable approximately 150,000 immigrants from countries including Brazil to regularise their situation and also tackle labour shortages, the government announced.

UKRAINE Not wanted

UKRAINE accused Russia of trying to export Anime-inspired teenage gangs that originated in Moscow via Telegram. Police said they had blocked 18 Telegram channels and groups “created to conduct Russian military information campaigns, undermine the domestic situation in Ukraine and involve minors in illegal activities.”

Sweden

No cash

A MAJORITY of Swedes told a recent survey that they had not used cash for 30 days, while 95 per cent of the 15-95 age group used the mobile payment app, Swish. Phone-tapping and card-swiping are now used even for church collections, the Copenhagen Business School found.