Europe

The artists of the Fandax Collective have brought a new form of art to Brussels streets by highlighting odd marks on the walls with tiny picture frames, then adding a title to the random shape they have framed

The Austrian Catholic Church reported a decline in membership, with the number of Catholics dropping by about 1,6%, from 4,91 million in 2020 to 4,83 million

Poland's unemployment rate, at 3% in November according to Eurostat, is the third lowest in the 27-nation EU, where the average for November was 6,5%

For the second year in a row, Christmas shopping increased: Norwegians spent almost 130 billion Norwegian kroner (US$ 14 billion) on Christmas shopping in November and December 2021

The Prosecution of Tirana said four people had been arrested in connection with the massive leaks of people’s data that have raised questions about public security in the country

The Nationalist Party at the opposition unveiled a package of 12 legislative Bills to fight corruption and mafia-style crimes that will include the creation of a special inquiring magistrate to focus solely on corruption by public officers

Kiskunság National Park has reported the rare sighting of two pink flamingos in its reserve, making it only the sixteenth sighting of the species in the country since 1910

Police intensified raids against recently outlawed crypto-mining over the weekend, confiscating more than 350 items of equipment

ICE-SAR (Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue) teams were called out 1.196 times in 2021 and the biggest cases were related to the Fagradalsfjall eruption, from March 19 to Sept 18; the average between 2005 and 2020 is 1.082 calls per year

The nominees for the Estonian Music Awards 2022 have been announced; the initiative is a cooperation of the Estonian Music Council and the Estonian Association of Phonogram Producers

Bosnians and Herzegovinians in the UK, Italy, Sweden, Belgium and 14 other countries organised protests in favour of maintaining peace and stability in the country, urging the EU to react against those who question its survival as a nation

A solar power plant will be built on the site of the former coal mine Trbovlje-Hrastnik; with a capacity of 1.5MW, it will be among the largest in the country; work will start soon, depending on weather conditions