Catholic clampdown

THE Vatican City accused China of breaking a bilateral pact in an announcement made on April 4 after it appointed a new bishop to Shanghai, the largest Roman Catholic diocese in China.

The Holy See was reportedly informed of the decision to appoint Shen Bin as bishop of Shaghai several days ago, and the news has caused a stir in the Catholic community worldwide, who fear that the Chinese Communist Party may be trying to exercise greater power

Denmark

Face the music

HEDGE fund trader Sanjay Shah, a British subject, will be extradited to Denmark, after a Dubai court threw out his final appeal. Shah, who was arrested in Dubai last June, is wanted in connection with an alleged €1.7 billion scam that helped companies defraud Denmark’s tax authorities.

The Netherlands

Beach stop

ALTHOUGH work on the station began in 2017, the Rotterdam metro made its first stop at the new halt on the Hoek van Holland beach only recently. The multimillion-euro station’s design takes into consideration its proximity to the sea, with specific measures protecting it against sand, wind, and salt.

within the church.

Meanwhile, the Vatican has said that the city’s auxiliary bishop, Ma Daqin, should administer the diocese, but he has been under house arrest since 2012 when he publicly rejected the ‘Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association’.

However, in a positive step between the Vatican and China, both sides have recognised the pope as the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church for the first time since the 1950s.

Belgium

Dearer food

BELGIUM’S government needed to freeze the prices of 100 basic products for three months to ensure people can afford to buy basic products, said consumer-protection organisation Test Achats. Groceries were 20 per cent dearer in March this year than they were in March 2022, Test Achats said.

Germany

Success story

RYYA ALSHEBL, a 29-year-old who fled Syria in 2015 and is now a German citizen, was elected mayor of Ostelsheim (Baden-Wurttemberg) with an overall majority and 55.4 per cent of the vote. Alshebl, who worked for the council in neighbouring Althengstett, described his campaign as “overwhelmingly positive.”

France

Official help

THE town of Denain in northern France is handing out €50 to every resident, regardless of income, in a bid to combat rising inflation and soaring food prices. This is the second consecutive year that the town council, statistically one of the poorest in the country, has run the scheme.

Norway

Salmon tax

SHARES in Norway’s salmon-farming industry plummeted last September after the government revealed plans to tax the industry, the country’s largest source of national income. Six months later the government said it still would press ahead with a 25 per cent tax on the sector’s biggest producers.

Finland

Be prepared

FINLAND’S Ministry of Defence announced in early April that the country intended to spend €316 million of acquiring the David’s Sling long range missile defence system from Israeli armaments firm, Rafael. The official announcement arrived a day after Finland was accepted into NATO.

Ireland

Pro-choice

IRELAND’S Health minister Stephen Donnelly, announced that 8,500 pregnancy terminations were carried out in the country last year. Abortion was legalised in Ireland in January 2019 after a referendum held in May 2018 in which voters repealed the pro-life Eighth Amendment from the Irish constitution.

Italy

Free speech

FRATELLI D’ITALIA (Brothers of Italy), the right-wing party led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, proposed a new law to “defend and promote” the Italian language by penalising the use of English and other foreign words in official communications. Transgressors would risk fines of between €5,000 and €100,000.

PORTUGAL Polly stops play

A PORTUGUESE youth league match between the Estoril and Estrela da Amador teams was interrupted for several minutes when a parrot invaded the football pitch. Two men ran onto the field and used their jackets to try to catch the parrot which evaded them each time before finally deciding to fly off.

Ukraine

Sleep well

UKRAINE therapists have received training from British psychologist Dr Justin Havens in helping those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) nightmares. He wanted to support people in Ukraine who suffered “a double trauma” during the day and in their dreams at night, Dr Havens said.

Sweden

U-turn

SWEDEN, formerly a pioneer in LGBTQ rights, has for the last year begun restricting genderaffirming hormone therapy for minors, which is now allowed only in very rare cases. In December 2022 it also limited mastectomies for teenage girls wanting to transition, citing the need for “caution.”

STAT OF WEEK €22.8 billion

was added to the personal fortune of Amancio Ortega, founder and principal shareholder of Inditex last year, thanks to the increased value of shares in parent company Zara.