Up and down the length of the 650-metre-long space, people come and go, bikes and scooters weaving in and out of the crowds. Next year, this scene will look somewhat different: bikes and scooters will be banned from this 18,000-sq-metre pedestrian zone for most of the day. People on two wheels will be allowed to ride only between 4am and 11am. At all other times, they must dismount and push their vehicle up the street, or face a fine.
Leinster and Ireland full-back relieves the tense build-up that led to the elation of him scoring one of the most famous tries ever by an Irish player on last summer's Lions tour in Australia It's a dark, gloomy afternoon in Dublin, and as the rain pounds and the wind howls, we are nestled in the back of a cafe, safe from the elements, away from the madness of the Christmas rush outside.
On Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez got everyone excited about a new countrywide travel pass which will cost 60 per month and can be used anywhere' in the country and on all types' of means of transport. People under 26 will pay 30. But it hasn't taken long for the first cracks to appear. For starters, there's the fact that, as things stand, it can only be used on commuter trains, mid-distance trains and state buses.
The European Union has delayed a massive free-trade deal with South American countries amid protests by EU farmers and as last-minute opposition by France and Italy threatened to derail the agreement. European Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho confirmed on Thursday that the signing of the trade pact between the EU and South American bloc Mercosur will be postponed until January, further delaying a deal that had taken some 25 years to negotiate.
Austria is expected to create thousands of new jobs in 2026, but that does not mean the labour market will be painless. While healthcare, public services and green industries continue to expand, several sectors are heading in the opposite direction. From media to parts of the automotive supply chain, job losses are already underway and are set to continue into 2026. In many cases, this is less about sudden collapse and more about long-term structural change, digitalisation, cost pressure and shifting global markets.
Data for the first three quarters of 2025 have shown that smaller German firms have borne the brunt of almost three years of economic downturn in Europe's biggest economy over the past three years. On December 12, the chief analyst at the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Volker Treier, told news agency Reuters that the "wave of insolvencies continues." He added that small and medium-sized enterprises in particular were "running into difficulties."
I grew up in a small place called Tana, where there were just 12 children in my school class. Of the five of us who were Sami, two came from families of reindeer herders. At the time, I believed the rest were Norwegian. Later, I learned that everyone in my class was Sami. Their parents had been pressured to hide who they were.
The Bureau of Prisons shut down FCI Dublin, a former minimum-security women's facility, in 2024 after news broke of the repeated sexual abuse of inmates, deteriorating and uninhabitable infrastructure, and cover-up and retaliation from the former prison's guards and staff. Felony charges were levied against the facility's warden, chaplain and several guards, who were suspected of running a rape club, resulting in nine convictions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) has arrived in Warsaw for meetings with his Polish counterpart Karol Nawrocki (left) and Polish Prime Minister Donald TuskImage: Kacper Pempel/REUTERS Skip next section What you need to know Zelenskyy is in Warsaw, seeking to shore up support from a key ally during a strategically crucial time Putin says he sees no 'readiness' from Ukraine for peace EU has agreed to fund a 90 billion loan for Ukraine
As I listened, it struck me that, while Europe's role in the Middle East has been severely damaged by its immoral stance on the Gaza war and its self-inflicted exclusion from Iran nuclear diplomacy, Europeans still have a role to play when it comes to its neighbours in the eastern Mediterranean.
A coastguard spokesperson told the AFP news agency that the rescued asylum seekers were from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and the occupied Palestinian territory. They were taken to the Cretan city of Rethymno, the spokesperson said, and after undergoing health checks, their asylum claims will be processed. In a separate incident on Thursday, the European Union's border agency Frontex rescued 65 men and five women seeking refuge from two boats in distress off Gavdos, the Greek coastguard added.
Austria's economy is set to grow again in 2026, but new forecasts suggest many households will see their incomes fall despite the recovery. After months of recession warnings and gloomy outlooks, Austria's economy is finally showing signs of recovery. New forecasts from the country's leading economic institutes, the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) and the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), suggest growth is picking up again in 2026.
They left it late, but a less than convincing Leinster finally got the job done, coming from behind to see off a battling Ulster who had led 17-7 at the halfway point. As had been expected, the powerful Leinster bench made the difference, Dan Sheehan - who scored the winning try which brought the bonus point - as well as Tadhg Furlong, and the McCarthys,
According to the company's website, Waymo Drivers 'never get drunk, tired, or distracted'. The vehicles employ a mix of cameras, radar sensors, and lidar sensors - a 3D scanning system - within its autonomous fleet. This enables the cars to detect overlapping fields of vision in every direction up to 500 metres away, the company claims. The vehicles are intended to operate without any driver, but currently human 'safety drivers' remain behind the wheel as the cars are tested in London.
A former Sinn Féin representative charged over a €4m cocaine seizure at a Kildare stables allegedly attempted to run from gardaí and hide in a barn when they went to arrest him, a court has ben told.
I can't remember the first time I played the lottery I was probably quite young. I'm an optimist. If you don't play, you can't win, and somebody has to win the big prize. Why not me? To me, winning would mean freedom leave my job, have no debts and do exactly as I pleased. I live in Norway, and every few weeks I'd buy a lottery ticket. I'd occasionally win 100 kroner (7.50), which just covered the cost of the ticket.
Buoyed by immigration, the Spanish economy has enjoyed positive headline figures in recent years and will continue to lead the way in the bloc in 2026, but Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez admits the benefits aren't yet trickling down to locals. Immigration and services have spurred the Spanish economy to continent-leading headline figures, but even Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez admits that these macro gains are failing to trickle down and that the purchasing power of Spaniards "is still low".
Rome is set to introduce an entrance fee for the Trevi Fountain and five other sites, the Italian capital's mayor announced on Friday. Rome's mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, said at a press conference that tourists will be expected to pay the new fees starting on February 1. Rome residents will be afforded free access to the monument. While the Trevi Fountain will still be viewable from a distance for free, tourists will have to purchase a 2 ($2.35) ticket to get a closer look.
Hoover will be one of the most productive and coveted players available, as he projects to have the most passing yards (9,629) and touchdown passes (71) of any player returning to college football next season. Hoover says he will not play in for TCU in the Alamo Bowl. Hoover has been TCU's starting quarterback since midway through the 2023 season, throwing for 439 yards and four touchdowns in his first start against BYU.
England have doubled down on Shoaib Bashir's status as their No 1 spinner despite omitting their two-year project from the third Test in Adelaide and watching Will Jacks struggle in his place. Speaking after the close of play on day three, at which point Australia were closing in on an unassailable 3-0 series lead, England's assistant coach Jeetan Patel said Bashir had been sacrificed to prop up a struggling batting lineup.
We call it integrated air and missile defence, and we have, over 30 years, not really faced a threat from the air in that way. "The threat has evolved, Russia 's capability and willingness to use ballistic and cruise missiles has become more apparent. "It's been become clear that that peace dividend needs to be reversed, and we need to invest more in our radar capability, in our airborne air defence, and also in, ultimately, our ability to shoot down these drones and cruise missiles.
The European Commission has contacted Swedish authorities after citizens from Ireland were told that their EU passports were not sufficient proof of identity in citizenship applications. Several Irish citizens have contacted The Local to complain of the problem, which has arisen as a result of an order given to the Migration Agency by the Swedish government in January, telling them to increase the security checks in citizenship applications.
In a statement earlier this week, the foundation announced that the project had been abandoned in light of the territorial, urban planning and environmental constraints and limitations. It added: New alternatives will be explored in order to face the challenge of elaborating a proposal that responds to the museum's objective of growing in order to remain a leading cultural institution internationally and a driving force in the Basque Country's cultural, economic and social scene.
The president of the European Economic and Social Committee, tells Mary McCarthy about how much he enjoys his work - and how he still makes time to help on the farm at weekends In October, I was elected president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), one of the five EU institutions created by the Treaty of Rome in the 1950s.
