Eurotopics.net

Danish toy manufacturer Lego has unveiled its Smart Bricks as part of the new Lego Smart Play system. With built-in computer chips, Smart Bricks can interact with their surroundings and produce sounds and lights. Is this a breakthrough or an end to creative play?

After US President Donald Trump reiterated his threats to take over Greenland, several European leaders have voiced opposition to the move. "It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland," reads a joint statement by Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the UK and Denmark. Commentators discuss how Europe can respond.

The Slovakian parliament passed a new law in December that makes criticism of the Beneš decrees a criminal offence. In the post-war period, these decrees led to the expatriation and expropriation of the German and Hungarian minorities in Czechoslovakia. In Hungary, there have been protests against the law, but only by the opposition, while Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has remained silent on the issue.

Following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States, his former deputy Delcy Rodríguez has been sworn in as interim president in the parliament in Caracas. Rodríguez condemned the "kidnapping" of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, only to declare her willingness to cooperate with Washington shortly afterwards.