GERMANY

German authorities announced Dec. 10 that they are investigating a Russian businessman in Hamburg after finding traces of polonium-210, the same radioactive substance that killed former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko Nov. 23 in London. The Hamburg traces date to Oct. 28, while the earliest polonium contamination in London dates to Nov. 1. Investigators now speculate the polonium could have been carried from Moscow to London via Germany.

RUSSIA

Forty-five women died of asphyxiation in a fire at a Moscow drug-treatment facility Dec. 9 because they were unable to escape from a locked ward. Officials investigating the case suspect arson and cite gross safety violations as the main reason behind the high death toll. The room's windows where the women were staying were barred. Forty-three of those killed were patients; three were hospital workers.

UK

A tornado tore through northwest London Dec. 7, injuring at least 6 people and damaging some 100 houses. Authorities say the tornado was completely unexpected and lasted about 10 minutes. Approximately 33 tornadoes touch down in the United Kingdom each year.

ITALY

Unmarried heterosexual couples and homosexual couples are allowed to formally register as families as of Dec. 7 in Padua, the first Italian city to grant them this right. The Vatican and Italy's right-wing parties protested the decision, with Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano calling its proponents "hypocrites."

SPAIN

The town of Lepe in southern Spain will have a white Christmas for the first time in more than 50 years. As part of holiday festivities that kicked off Dec. 5, Lepe City Hall officials brought in two specially converted cannons to bombard the town square with artificial snow for 15 minutes every night until Jan. 6.

BELGIUM

The U.S. Army's Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, former overseer of the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and commander of the U.S. Southern Command, was sworn in as NATO's supreme allied commander Dec. 4 at a ceremony in Mons, southern Belgium. Craddock replaces Gen. James L. Jones of the U.S. Marines.

TURKEY

Turkey agreed to limited trade with Cyprus Dec. 7 in an effort to address one of the obstacles that has been stalling talks about its future European Union membership. The move, however, has done little to change the mixed opinion within the EU about Turkey, analysts say. Since the 1974 Turkish invasion, Cyprus has been divided, with Turkey the sole nation to recognize the country's northern government. Cyprus' southern part joined the EU in 2004.

UN

In an effort to placate objections from China and Russia, officials from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, China and the United States agreed on a revised draft UN resolution on sanctions against Iran Dec. 8, following weeks of talks. The revised draft now only mentions activities clearly associated with the making of nuclear weapons, allowing Iran to pursue nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

GREECE

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles agreed Dec. 10 to return a rare fourth-century B.C. gold wreath to Greece. Greek cultural officials claim that the artifact had been taken from the country illegally. Officials say it was dug up by a Greek farmer in 1990 before being sold to Germany, Switzerland and finally the Getty Museum in 1993.

CLINIC

A treatment center for multiple sclerosis, one of only 10 in Europe, will open at the teaching hospital in Prague 5-Motol in January, Mladá fronta Dnes reported Dec. 8. The clinic aims to improve the quality of treatment by using blood samples to determine what types are most effective for each patient. Some 13,000 people have multiple sclerosis in the Czech Republic.

BLOCKED CALLS

The state has earmarked 50 million Kč ($2.4 million) to set up equipment to block mobile phone signals in high-security prisons, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek told reporters Dec. 7. Mobile phones could be used by inmates to plan escapes or control illegal activity outside the prisons, he said. The two-year project will be launched at the beginning of 2007.

BRIBERY

Corruption is worse in the Czech Republic than in other European Union countries, according to a Gallup poll conducted for anti-corruption group Transparency International. Released Dec. 7, the poll found that 17 percent of households report having paid a bribe in the past year. The EU average is 2 percent. Also, 40 percent of Czechs believe the government is ineffective at fighting corruption.

RETURNED

Baroque artifacts stolen from a north Bohemian church three years ago have been returned by Polish law enforcement, a church spokeswoman told the Czech News Agency Dec. 11. The 16 wooden carvings, estimated to be worth 500,000 Kč, were taken from the pulpit and altar of the church in Nová Ves. The thief planned to sell the artifacts in Western Europe, police said.

ÉMIGRÉS

Foreigners now make up 2.5 percent of the population of the Czech Republic. Of the 310,000 foreigners living here, 100,000 are Ukrainians. In the past nine months, 30,000 people settled in the Czech Republic, according to the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ).