Portugal is weeping, Geert Wilders Says Netherlands Would Be Better Off if It Left 28-Nation Bloc, France can't compete with Germany, Merkel is pissed at Obama, Belgium is ousting Afgans. Is anybody happy?

In train news:

The Swedish government announced on Thursday (23 July) night train routes that will link the cities of Stockholm and Malmö with Hamburg and Brussels, in the latest indication that sleeper services are on the cusp of a renaissance in Europe.

A couple years of #flygskam and a pandemic has to be good for something. Now all that remains is not to end up at your destination station at four in the morning or afternoon, or leave at half past one.

 The only really good night train was the one between Amsterdam and Prague. Perfect timing.

Perfect it was't, but I liked the Scandinavian system for night trains between Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm. They all left for Gothenburg late evening (11-ish). Then, when in Gothenburg, they rearranged the train cars (ka-KA-klang-KANG!) to go to Oslo/Copenhagen/Stockholm, so depending on the car you were in you'd end up in either one of the destination cities.

As a life long railway (and rail simulator) fan most interesting news!

The Swedish government announced on Thursday (23 July) night train routes that will link the cities of Stockholm and Malmö with Hamburg and Brussels, in the latest indication that sleeper services are on the cusp of a renaissance in Europe.

I remember very well the Wagon-Lit service. We had it abroad the Lusitania Express.

Overnight trains never ceased to be a thing in Russia. You're all welcome to go try them out.

You're all welcome to go try them out.

Better to send Rjhowie first.
I'm certain it will be a wonderful experience for him with all the love he feels for Trains, Putin and Mother Russia.
Kind of an Holy Trinity.

Me? thanks but I'm not masochist.

Yeah dear man I would say you are not masochistic enough to cope with being Portuguese!

Clever you worked out I liked Putin and by the way Tsarism as well - last Tsar is on my wall.....! 

Clever you worked out I liked Putin and by the way Tsarism as well - last Tsar is on my wall.....! 

This one?

I do make allowances for your limitations ersi seeing you are European.

nodded to my imperial picture (next General Robert e lee the impressive army commander of the Confederates during the civil war in nutjobland - opps America.

It looks like another stunning victory in Belarus for Alexander Lukashenko, his sixth. Preliminary results have it that he won 80% of the votes, while his main opponent, the recent Lithuanian resident Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, got 10%.

Possibly due to poor handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, his popularity has slipped notably compared with his fifth victory in 2015, when he got 84.1% of the votes.

It would also be worse than his fourth victory in 2010 (80.4%) and his third victory in 2006 (84.4%), but better than his second victory in 2001 (77.4%), and far better than his first victory in the first democratic election in Belarus in 1994, when he only got 45.8% in the first round, though 80.6% in the second round.

From 2006 or so:

Lukashenko later stated that he had rigged the election results, but against himself, in order to obtain a majority more typical of European countries. Although he had won 93.5% of the vote, he said, he had directed the government to announce a result of 86%.

Might a similar statement appease everyone this time too?

I do not have much time for the man as President but I think the woman who led opposition and now left the place should try to indicate what the wrongs are instead of just claiming something.

On that passing picture from ersi which stole the last Tsar's corner at least Nicholas 2 was a decent man. The stuff we constantly get here in the West about Putin is a groan i must also say.