David Mac Dougall

Finland

'A taste of security': NATO beer flies off the shelves in Finland

The owners of Olaf craft brewery in the eastern city of Savonlinna say they can't keep up with demand for the new brew.

20/05/2022

My Europe Series

Sea changes: How NATO's expansion could stabilise the Baltic region

One expert says that if Finland and Sweden join NATO, it will turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO sea.

19/05/2022

Europe Decoded

Why does Turkey want to block Finland and Sweden from NATO?

NATO envoys failed to reach a consensus on Wednesday on whether to start membership talks with Finland and Sweden, as Turkey renewed its objections.

17/05/2022

Culture news

Five things we learned from the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final

Ukraine triumphed, but there were huge comebacks for Spain and the United Kingdom, and disappointment for other countries as the public votes came in.

15/05/2022

Culture news

Ukraine wins Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin

The UK came second, with Spain third, and Sweden fourth in the annual song contest.

14/05/2022

Culture news

Eurovision versus Intervision: the Cold War song contest

Meet the last winner of the Intervision Song Contest, the Eastern Bloc rival to Eurovision which ran from 1977 to 1980.

12/05/2022

Culture news

Meet the Eurovision Song Contest’s first ever female conductor

The year was 1973, the venue was Luxembourg, and Swedish composer and conductor Monica Dominique was about to make musical history.

10/05/2022

United Kingdom

UK investigation after complaint about MP watching porn in parliament

Green MP reveals there are currently 56 politicians including three cabinet ministers under investigation for sexual misconduct.

27/04/2022

Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein takes on the world's most powerful countries at the UN

The European micro-state wants to see more accountability from USA, Russia, China, France and Britain.

26/04/2022

Culture news

St. George's Day: Morris dance tradition finds a new female rhythm

A revival of English cultural heritage traditions after WWII saw Morris dancing's popularity reach a peak in the 1960 -- and it's gaining new fans in the 21st century.

23/04/2022

Culture news

Touts les hits! French songs that made it big in Britain

The 1970s and 1980s were the peak of French musical crossovers into mainstream British music but there hasn't been a hit in a while.

20/04/2022

Finland

Finnish 'loopholes' allow imports of Russian coal and oil to continue

Activists and politicians have raised the issue of state-owned companies still involved in bringing raw materials from Russia into Finland.

11/04/2022

Ukraine

Ukraine war: Zelenskyy says he still wants peace, despite atrocities

The Ukrainian leader has also renewed his plea for more weapons ahead of an expected surge in fighting in the country’s east.

10/04/2022

Ukraine

Ukraine war: Zelenskyy demands tough response to "Russian war crimes"

The Ukrainian president says any future tribunal must hold Russia accountable for the attack on Kramatorsk train station, mass killings in Bucha, and other atrocities.

09/04/2022

Estonia

Estonia charters Baltic ferry to house Ukrainian refugees

The Isabelle was previously used on a ferry crossing from Latvia to Sweden, but will now be anchored in Tallinn as a temporary home to several thousand Ukrainian refugees.

08/04/2022

Finland

Activists block ship trying to unload Russian coal in Helsinki

Helsinki's energy company says they needed to take delivery of the coal from Russia because it was already agreed in a contract - despite earlier pledges to the contrary.

05/04/2022

My Europe Series

A slow burn: Ukraine war sees Sweden warm to NATO membership

As political and public support for joining NATO continues to grow, Sweden's Social Democrat government looks set to change its foundational resistance to membership of the military alliance.

04/04/2022

Hungary

Key takeaways as Viktor Orbán wins fourth consecutive term

Nationalist PM Viktor Orbán has won another two-thirds majority in Hungary's parliament for his Fidesz party, as the unified opposition failed to unseat him.

03/04/2022

Finland

Finns warn Russia could meddle in NATO debate

The Finnish intelligence services issued new warnings this week about likely Russian interference in the Nordic nation's debate into joining NATO: using old fashioned blackmail or new deep fake tech.

30/03/2022

Culture news

What's in the Oscars swag bag that's causing controversy in Scotland?

Scott Wortley, a lecturer in commercial law at the University of Edinburgh Law School, gives us the lowdown.

27/03/2022