France: Macron shifts to the right
On 16 January Emmanuel Macron made a notable shift to the political right during a televised press conference, signalling a change in his political stance. One week earlier, he had appointed Gabriel Attal as the youngest…
Sweden: alarm after warning to ‘prepare for war’
Civil defence minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin and commander-in-chief Gen Micael Byden have issued warnings to prepare for the possibility of war in Sweden, raising concerns and accusations of alarmism. Byden urged all Swedes to prepare mentally for…
Serbia: rescue efforts to save livestock trapped on island
An operation is under way to evacuate livestock trapped for days on an island in the River Danube. Last week up to 200 cattle, calves and horses were stranded on Krcedin island, northwest of the capital…
Ukraine / Russia: prisoner exchange
On 3 January Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, in the biggest such swap since Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned to…
