A shooting took place in the centre of Kraków today, leaving at least five people dead and more than ten injured. The suspect has been arrested and hospitalised. The police are investigating the motives behind the attack and the circumstances of the incident.
Buying a home in Serbia is set to become easier: the authorities are bringing order to the property market, where the same property is often advertised in several listings simultaneously, with different prices, floor areas and specifications given. To verify this information, the Serbian authorities are creating a centralised database, which is due to go live in spring 2027.
The People’s Bank of China has been increasing its gold reserves for two years running. In October, it purchased a further 25.8 tonnes of gold, even though prices for the precious metal fell by almost 7 per cent over the month and dropped below $4,000 per ounce for the first time in a long while.
Hundreds of taxi drivers in Moldova were not included in the tax returns of the companies through which they worked. This came to light following inspections by the State Tax Service. As a result, taxi companies added 326 drivers to their records and declared nearly 873,000 lei in taxes and compulsory contributions.
The luxury property market in central London is experiencing a prolonged downturn. Owners are being forced to lower prices to find buyers: in the most prestigious areas, property prices have fallen by almost a third compared with their all-time highs.
The Vento petrol station network has temporarily suspended the sale of petrol and diesel at almost half of its stations in Moldova. The restrictions affect 42 of the 91 stations and have been in force since 4 November. This was prompted by a directive from a government body prohibiting the use of certain fuel metering systems.
At least 13 passenger flights in Europe received bomb threat warnings on 5 November. Several aircraft had to be diverted to other airports, whilst others were escorted by military aircraft. This is the second wave of such warnings in a week.
Representatives of Romania’s HoReCa sector have spoken out against a further increase in the minimum wage unless the government simultaneously reduces labour taxes. In their view, increasing gross wages without changing the tax system will lead to higher costs for companies and increased budget revenue, but will not provide employees with a tangible increase in take-home pay.
Around 50 million people in the European Union cannot afford to keep their homes at a comfortable temperature. A new surge in energy prices has forced ministers to sit down at the negotiating table and discuss ways of reducing household costs.
American billionaire Elon Musk commented ironically on the Republican Party’s defeat in the US mid-term elections. The businessman had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in supporting Republican candidates, yet the Democrats managed to secure control of both houses of Congress.
The National Trade Union Bloc of Romania (BNS) is proposing to raise the minimum wage to 4,652 RON (around €871) per month from 1 January 2027. This is €61 more than the current level. According to trade union figures, around 1.4 million workers, or 27 per cent of all employees in the country, earn the minimum wage or €14 more.
The Ministry of Defence is proposing to oblige citizens abroad to return to the country upon receiving a summons or notification requiring them to report to the military authorities. The new requirement is set out in a draft law on the rules governing the actions of the authorities and citizens in the event of war or a state of siege. If the bill is passed, it will come into force on 1 January 2027.
The German airline Lufthansa has cut its profit forecast for 2026 due to rising aviation fuel costs. The carrier estimates that kerosene costs will reach €9.3 billion this year.
More than 100 shops across several European countries have experienced disruptions to their refrigerators and freezers following suspected cyberattacks. The temperature inside the refrigeration units rose sharply, forcing retailers to remove food from sale that was at risk of spoiling.
Iliana Iotova, Bulgaria’s acting president, won the second round of the presidential election held on 1 November. According to the final results, she received 57.57 per cent of the vote, whilst her opponent, former acting Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, received 39.48 per cent. Iotova will become the first woman to be elected President of Bulgaria.
Romania’s state budget will receive 750 million lei less than planned from gambling taxes. The shortfall is reflected in the draft of the first budget amendment for 2026, published by the Ministry of Finance. One of the reasons is problems with issuing licences to gambling establishments following changes to the legislation; however, the ministry does not directly attribute the entire amount of the shortfall to these issues.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever has submitted his resignation to King Philippe after the ruling coalition failed to agree on the 2027 budget. The monarch has not yet made a decision and has given the parties more time to seek a compromise.
Chinese manufacturers of handbags, footwear and jewellery are poaching customers from European luxury brands. Over the past four years, sales of five Chinese handbag brands on the Tmall platform have grown by 51 per cent annually, whilst the entire handbags and luggage category on the platform has been in decline.
Since the start of the year, Moldovan residents have spent over 1 billion lei on services provided by international online platforms, including Meta, Google and YouTube. Meanwhile, foreign companies have paid over 311 million lei in VAT to the state budget.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki returned urgently from Senegal after a conflict erupted in the country over the Constitutional Tribunal. Police cordoned off the court building in Warsaw, hundreds of people took to the streets in protest, and representatives of the president’s camp and Donald Tusk’s government accused each other of violating the constitutional order.
