Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

After the UK government recently unveiled immigration plans inspired by another centre-left government in Copenhagen, The Local looks to Spain and considers how the hardline Danish model isn't the only way to respond to Europe's surge in anti-immigration sentiment. There are arguably only three centre-left governments left in western Europe: Denmark, Spain and the UK. Many might question their leftist credentials but these are countries

Hundreds of Spanish fascists marched through Madrid on Friday, a day after the country marked the 50th anniversary of divisive right-wing former dictator Francisco Franco's death. The Falange -- an organisation that sees itself as the successor to defunct fascist movements that helped bring Franco to power in a devastating 1936-1939 civil war -- protested against what it calls democratic Spain's 1978 constitutional "regime".

Four people, including three children, were injured after a grizzly bear attacked a school group in a remote part of Canada. Two of the injured were in critical condition and two in serious condition, the Health Services Authority said Friday. All four remain hospitalized. The attack occurred on Thursday in the Bella Coola area of British Columbia (BC), when a bear charged a group of 20 children and their teachers.

Nearly four decades later, his widow, Natalia Khodemchuk, died last Saturday at the age of 73 in a Kyiv hospital: the night before, a Russian drone strike had hit her apartment while she slept. The resulting fire has left a black stain on the seventh floor of the building, around what used to be Khodemchuk's apartment. It's a 20-storey block, a massive structure on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 89 of the 104 strike drones launched from multiple directions across Russia and occupied territories, the Ukrainian armed forces said on November 22. However, 13 drones hit 15 locations, and one Iskander-M ballistic missile struck its target. A Russian drone damaged infrastructure at the Orlivka checkpoint on the Ukraine-Romania border, forcing the ferry complex to suspend operations temporarily. Two people were injured, and 11 trucks were damaged along with administrative buildings, officials reported.

The echo of millennia-old myths reinforces its magnetism. But the view also encompasses key elements of the current power dynamics in the Caucasus: Russia with its imperial ambitions, the United States with President Trump's thirst for deals, the European Union with its hopes and doubts about enlargement, Turkey with its aspirations as a regional power, and China with its connectivity interests.

Matriarch Martina is often seen as the driving force behind her 10 children

Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to be questioned this morning by a parliamentary committee investigating the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The pipeline, along with the earlier built Nord Stream 1, was meant to transport cheap Russian gas to Germany, but certification was halted by Scholz after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Both pipelines were then hit by explosions in September 2022 and currently lie damaged and unused, beneath the Baltic Sea.

At first sight, few suspected that Francisco Franco might become a strongman capable of imposing a brutal dictatorship across four decades.

"That means that 15 women are affected by intimate partner violence every hour in Germany," said Family Minister Karin Prien. Suspects in domestic violence last year were 75.6 percent male and 24.4 percent female, according to the BKA. Prien noted that the official statistics do not include unreported cases, which may dwarf the official figures. Ongoing research involving victims has shown that as few as five percent of all incidents of intimate partner violence are reported to authorities, according to the BKA.

Sales volumes fell by 1.1%, the first contraction in three months and significantly worse than the flat reading economists had expected. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the drop was partly driven by shoppers intentionally holding off on spending until this month's major discount events. Grant Fitzner, ONS chief economist, said many consumers reported waiting for Black Friday deals, which begin next week.

Germany's top diplomat sees the US peace proposal as a list of issues needing urgent discussion.

"If a German corvette ship is attacked and sunk by a Russian submarine, you would call that war," Sonke Marahrens, a colonel in the German Armed Forces and a military strategist, said at a recent meeting of German security forces. "But what if metal shavings were thrown into the ship's gears and it is then no longer operational: Is that war? Marahrens is an expert on hybrid threats."

Tomorrow is set to be a milder day with highest temperatures between 7 and 11 degrees The alert will kick in early tomorrow morning at 5am, expiring five hours later at 10am, affecting predominantly the midlands and east of the country. It will apply to counties Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath and Wicklow.

Under the sweeping 28-point plan backed by US President Donald Trump Ukraine would give up a swathe of eastern territory to Russia and slash the size of its army. Kyiv would also pledge never to join NATO, and would not get the Western peacekeepers they have called for, although European warplanes would be stationed in Poland to protect Ukraine. Russia would meanwhile be readmitted to the G8 group of nations and be rewarded with sanctions relief under the plan.

We are again reminding consumers that when buying goods online from outside the European Union, including from the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland), additional costs can arise before your goods are delivered. Customs formalities apply, and VAT is chargeable on all goods imported into Ireland, regardless of their value. Ms Dalton said consumers can avoid unexpected charges when their goods arrive for delivery.

Mack Hansen is set to take his place on the Ireland team despite training with strapping on his right hand today ahead of their final test of the year against South Africa at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow (KO 5.40pm).

The "Solidarity pool," an important part of the European Union's new Migration and Asylum Pact, will come into effect mid-2026. Under this framework, member states that face high migration pressures qualify for help from the pool. A recent assessment by the European Commission indicates that Germany, amongst other countries, can request an exemption from taking more asylum seekers until the end of 2026.

We have a daily flight to Prague, during the draw, all the remaining seats on those flights on the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday were all sold out. So before the draw was even concluded yesterday, we're completely full on our daily flight to Prague. What do we do? We added, within an hour of the draw yesterday, we had an extra 15 flights going out to Prague and returning from Prague on that week. Now the reality of those flights is the returns are empty

Wetherspoon's is to open its first pub outside the UK, serving alcohol from 6am every day to sun-seeking Britons waiting for their plane in the departure lounge at Alicante airport. The opening in Spain, scheduled for January, will be the first foray on to foreign soil for the pub chain, which said it expects to pursue more footholds on the continent in the coming years.