PRESS EUROPEAN

Denmark

Dry spell

ON June 7 Denmark’s meteorological agency DMI announced that the country had seen no rainfall for more than two weeks, the longest dry period in 17 years. Episodes without precipitation could be related to climate change, they said, although this was an area of ongoing research.

The Netherlands

Night out

A COMPUTER outage disrupted rail travel in Amsterdam and also affected other parts of the Netherlands on June 4 and 5, the Dutch railway company NS said. Hundreds were stranded and 150 people spent the night at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome concert hall, unable to return home after a Harry Styles concert.

Belgium

SpyING

BELGIUM’S public prosecution service launched an investigation following complaints from the BBTK union that ING had accessed the emails of around 2,000 of its employees. According to the union, the bank viewed email traffic following the dismissal of a BBTK member alleged to have leaked sensitive information.

Germany

More nurses

AS part of a bid to attract more skilled workers from non-EU countries to the German employment market, Germany and Brazil have signed a declaration of intent for “fair immigration.” The main focus is on nursing, a field in which Germany faces a growing shortage, Labour minister Hubertus Heil said.

France

Not trending

THE draft of a new law regulating the activities of social media influencers, approved by French politicians from all parties, will curb the promotion of dangerous products and trends with fines and even prison terms. “We can be proud of this unprecedented agreement,” declared senator Amel Gacquerre.

Norway

Helping hand

NORWAY’S emergency services rescued a Russian who needed medical assistance while on board a scientific vessel stuck in ice near the North Pole. The authorities dispatched a helicopter from Longyearbyen, which was 500 nautical miles (926 kilometres) away from the ship and only just within range.

Finland

Not safe

FIGURES released by the Finnish Crash Data Institute (OTI) revealed that half of the people who were killed in urban accidents between 2012 and 2021 were pedestrians or cyclists. The same figures showed that 44 per cent of the pedestrians who died in built-up areas were killed on zebra crossings.

Ireland

New idea

SOME archaeologists are beginning to question the accepted theory that Ireland’s first human inhabitants arrived from Scotland. In prehistoric times the Irish and Welsh coastlines were much closer than they are now, they pointed out, suggesting they could have crossed from Pembrokeshire into southeast Ireland.

Italy

Home again

LAST year the US authorities returned 58 looted antiquities worth $19 million (€17.7 million) to Italy. Very often stolen from archaeological sites and smuggled out of the country over the past 50 years, they included 27 items seized from the Met in New York and the collection of billionaire Michael Steinhardt.

Portugal

Angola aid

ANGOLA and Portugal signed a new cooperation agreement covering 13 areas ranging from finance to legal issues which will be in force until 2027. “We have significantly increased our line of credit from €1.5 billion to €2 billion,” Portugal’s prime minister Antonio Costa announced while visiting Luanda.

Ukraine

Looking ahead

THE World Bank will support Ukraine with a rapid assessment of damage and needs after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric dam. Anna Bjerde, the World Bank’s managing director for operations, estimated that it would cost $411 billion (€381.3 billion) to rebuild Ukraine’s economy after the Russian invasion.

Sweden

New route

UNPRECEDENTED confiscations of cocaine in Sweden in recent months highlighted the country’s increasing role as a gateway for cocaine from Latin America to the rest of Europe. Swedish customs seized 460 kilos of cocaine during their latest haul at Helsingborg port, according to a government statement.