Europe

Regional rail traffic was heavily disrupted in northern Germany and long-distance rail services fully suspended due to severe weather; services resumed about 24 hours later after trains were repositioned to their operating locations

Homeless people need to be taken care of in winter and local governments are in charge, PM Orbán stated, asking whether the Task Force was dealing with the issue and reminding there are plenty of places in homeless shelters

A hypersonic, nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile was among 36 other missiles and over 200 drones launched in one of Russia's largest attacks on Ukraine; Kyiv and Lviv were hit, homes damaged, water supplies and heating disrupted in freezing temperatures

A series of consultation meetings have begun on proposed reforms to social media regulation aimed at increasing protection for children and vulnerable people, following the launch of a public consultation earlier this year

Bucharest Stock Exchange has begun the trading year confirming the mood of 2025, that closed with its best performance since 2009; the main BET index reached a historic 24.439 points, marking +46% since January with a +55% return dividends included

As ice edge in Pärnu Bay lies about two nautical miles from the breakwaters, 10 centimeters thick, icebreaking activities have started to guarantee the smooth transit of ships while cold weather is forecasted to continue

Criminal proceedings against former Serbian Construction Minister over the Novi Sad railway station disaster have been dropped due to a lack of evidence; the collapse of the newly inaugurated structure triggered mass protest staged throughout 2025

Rok Gašparič has become the first Slovenian to receive the Mary Anning Medal for outstanding contribution to paleontology by researches not professionally dedicated to the subject; he has been awarded for his contributions on decapod crustaceans fossils

A municipal campaign led to about 9.700 residents to declare Vilnius as their residence, adding over EUR 12,5 million to the 2026 city budget, Mayor confirmed, as the city's house prices increased by 10,8% in Q3 2025 compared to Q3 2024

237.500 vehicles have entered Andorra during the Special Traffic period, running from 19 December to 6 January: 172.000 through the border with Spain and 65.500 from France, according to Andorran Mobility Department

Over 40 swimmers, three of them wearing a crown, took part in Prague's traditional Three Kings Swim: boats carried participants to the centre of the Vltava River for a swim back to the shore, with water around 2°C and air temperatures falling to -5°C

The wedge clam, or Atlantic rangia has been named the mollusc of the year 2026; the choice of a non-native species aims to drawing attention to alien and invasive species in the Baltic Sea, according to the Latvian Malacological Society

Over 2.500 flight have been cancelled - nearly 600 yesterday - and 70% of scheduled flights could be cancelled today, Eurocontrol said, as de-icing operations at Schiphol Airport are affected by consecutive days of winter weather and slow supply of liquid