PRESS EUROPEAN

Denmark

Shook up

SEISMOLOGISTS could not understand why they recorded minor tremors on the Danish island of Bornholm on May 13. They called the recordings “acoustic pressure waves” and after ruling out earthquakes and explosions as the source, now believe that “some unknown atmospheric event” is the only answer.

The Netherlands

Short read

CHILDREN'S reading skills have deteriorated faster in the Netherlands than other countries, education experts found. They concluded that lessons missed during the pandemic were unlikely to be the only cause and believe the short texts used in Dutch schools do not prepare pupils for longer passages in literacy texts.

Belgium

On mute

BELGIAN workers now have the legal right to switch off their work phones outside working hours without fear of complaints from their employer. The new regulations apply only to firms with 20 or more employees and excludes those working in emergency services or the aviation sector.

Germany

Print job

HEIDELBERG will boast Europe’s largest 3Dprinted building, which will be 54 metres long, 11 metres wide and nine metres high. The ground-breaking project, which commenced on March 31 this year and should be completed by late July, will eventually house an IT company’s cloud and data centre.

France

Green scheme

FRANCE is promoting green initiatives and tax credits to attract billions of euros in investment, boosting French industry and countering Biden’s $369 billion (€422.3 billion) Green Plan. Measures include linking subsidies for electric vehicles to environmental restrictions that favour European manufacturers.

Norway

Wedded bliss

MORE couples are marrying in Norway and staying together longer than in the past, with approximately 21,000 people formalising their partnerships in 2022, an increase of 4,700 compared to 2021, the Norwegian Statistics Agency said. Although 17,000 spouses separated, this was the lowest number since the 80s.

Finland

War-torn

FINLAND awaits news regarding the European Union’s position regarding Russians who fled the country to avoid conscription. The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) said 1,109 Russian citizens so far have sought asylum in Finland to avoid being called up to fight in the Ukraine war.

Ireland

Cool it

JIM CHAMBERS, 62, and Stephen Cole, 40, who operate rival ice cream vans, appeared at Falcarragh District Court (County Donegal), the pair accused of fighting over the same beachside pitch. Both faced breach of the peace charges but were let off after agreeing to put aside hostilities for the summer.

Italy

Fewer babies

FOR the first time, the number of annual births fell below 400,000 in Italy, averaging 1.25 babies per woman, official figures for 2022 revealed. The replacement rate is now negative, with the number of deaths currently exceeding the number of births, with 12 people dying for every seven babies born.

Portugal

Home again

DOZENS of European Jewish community leaders attended a conference on communal strategies in Porto, whose 1,000-strong Jewish community has tripled in recent years. This was partly thanks to a 2015 law giving Portuguese citizenship to descendants of Jews expelled during the Inquisition, which began in 1536.

Ukraine

Grain deal

AGREEMENT has been reached on extending by two months the deal allowing grain exports from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea. The agreement between Ukraine and Russia, signed last year and brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, would otherwise have expired on May 19.

Sweden

Smoke-free

SWEDEN could become one of the world's first ‘smoke-free’ countries, with less than 5 per cent of the adult population smoking. With smoking rates falling from 15 to 5.6 per cent over the past 15 years, it is on course to reach this milestone within months, 17 years ahead of the EU's 2040 target.

THE exhibition ‘The Legacy of the Qin and Han Dynasties’, China is a unique opportunity to delve into the fascinating history of China through the exhibition of impressive terracotta figures of warriors and horses, some of which date back to the third century BC.

These masterpieces of Chinese art are a showcase of the skill and ingenuity of the ancient artists of the Qin and Han dynasty, who created these incredible figures to accompany their leaders in the afterlife.

The exhibition presents a selection of figurines, as well