Europe

First physical and commercially usable quantum computer was inaugurated at Uptown Basel competence centre in Arlesheim; it will be available to companies, academic institutions and start-ups in areas such as simulation, optimisation and machine learning

National laws may be compliant with international standards but weak oversight, corruption and cash economies hamper an effective battle against money-laundering, says new report on illicit finance in the Western Balkans

The Austrian statistical office reported that the country's GDP contracted for the sixth consecutive quarter in the July-September period, continuing the recessive trend that began in Q2 2023

Banks and their branches in Latvia will have to pay a solidarity contribution - 60% of excess profits - over the next three years after a new law on bank super-profits will be introduced next year

A pilot project for the deployment of additional police officers on the streets of Luxembourg's two largest cities will soon be extended to Differdange

The new cabinet will be formed without the Ministers of the Environment and Justice after Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda signed a decree approving the move

French government fell in historic no-confidence vote uniting far-left and far-right as Marine Le Pen’s party backed a motion proposed by the hard left short after the formation of a minority government; President Macron said he will end his term

Journalist Anatoly Kurmanaev wrote in NYT on 2 December that while the Russian economy is experiencing a slowdown, “the economic strains are still far from provoking the kind of crisis that might compel Mr. Putin to curtail his ambitions in Ukraine.”

Kuty Kalmenson, who settled in the Principality together with his wife Rochel and their five children, will be in charge of organising the Chabad Lubavitch of Andorra, a meeting place for Jews, becoming the country's first rabbi

According to the Association of Driving Schools, almost 18.000 17-year-old drivers are driving on Czech roads under the supervision of tutors; contrary to fears, only 8 accidents have been recorded so far, of which only five were caused by young drivers

Maximum fees for paid medical services - appointments and consultations with medical specialists - have been regulated in a Resolution of the Ministry of Health

The Brussels Court of Appeals has found Belgium guilty of crimes against humanity for the colonial-era abduction of five little girls in Congo, a colony between 1908 and 1960