Allowing cats to go outside uncontrollably is illegal. That is the opinion of lawyers Arie Trouwborst and Han Somsen of Tilburg University. They base themselves on European rules for nature protection. The domestic cat (Felis catus) is therefore not allowed to go outside at all, while that happens en masse and is tolerated. “Actually, the government is already obliged to …

Long an important source of revenue for telecom companies, roaming charges will be lifted in Europe starting June 15, raising pressure on operators in a tight market. Roaming charges within and outside Europe account for an average of around five percent of sales for telephone operators in Europe, estimates Sylvain Chevallier of BearingPoint. But the impact of the new measure …

New rules introduced on July 1st mean that people who have lived in Denmark for over three years will have to pay for interpreters if required during medical treatment. The new rule means that patients that have lived for Denmark for more than three years and do not have the necessary Danish language skills to speak to medics will be …

An apprenticeship scheme for refugees introduced by Denmark’s government in 2016 now has 1,500 participants, the ministry for immigration has announced. Introduced by minister Inger Støjberg’s Ministry of Immigration and Integration in 2016, the ‘basic integration education programme’ (integrationsgrunduddannelse, IGU) provides opportunities for refugees to take short-term jobs at an apprentice salary level of between 50 to 120 kroner (6.70–16 …

Samsung Austria is teaming up with the national motor vehicle association (ÖAMTC) to develop a programme which enables new and aspiring drivers to practice using virtual reality technology. Known as “Samsung Drive”, the app has the aim of providing more secure conditions in which more dangerous aspects of driving can be demonstrated and effective counter measures learned and practiced. Its …

Denmark has an undisclosed agreement with Somalia to return individuals to the Northeast African country, according to reports. The agreement provides for up to 12 people to be returned to Somalia by Denmark annually, Politiken reported last year, but it has not been officially confirmed and details of individual cases have not been disclosed. But one of the deportations that …

In a small town in northern Austria, Sylvia Hochstoeger never imagined she would become the figurehead for a protest movement. But it was the threat of expulsion hanging over Shafi, an Afghan apprentice training at her business, which forced her to fight against an “absurd” situation. “They tell you that integration is the most important thing, that you have to …

A 46-year-old Moroccan asylum seeker has been sentenced to 13 years in prison in Vienna for the attempted murder of his roommate at an asylum centre in Simmering. In his defence the man said that he thought the 27-year-old Syrian man and a group of other men were planning to rape him. He told the jury that he had been …

A migrant died Sunday and 19 others were hurt after around 200 people scaled a fence to enter Spain’s Melilla enclave from northern Morocco, local Spanish authorities said. The man was among the migrants who climbed over two barbed wire fences and appeared to have died of a heart attack, they said in a statement. “Unfortunately, one of the migrants …

The Conservative and Danish People’s parties say that people awarded citizenship in the Scandinavian country must be required to shake hands. New rules require people who have been awarded Danish citizenship to take part in ceremonies in their local municipalities. Participants at the ceremonies are required to sign a document promising to respect Danish values. That must be considered to …