The first jackpot – ?15million – in the EuroMillions lottery was won by someone who bought their ticket in France, the BBC reports

Der Spiegel only seems to have some of the facts about the pretender to the British throne. I have some more information on it here from when the news came out in Britain in January.

If Der Spiegel has its facts right, Elizabeth II is a pretender and the true King a beer-drinking Australian farmer. If so, this would clear things up for the Scots, who wonder how they can have an Elizabeth ‘the second’ when they never had a first one: Good Queen Bess would’ve had as little claim to the throne as her latter-day namesake. The putative King Mike I, though, would just as soon stay on in Oz with his mates. (Report in German.)

Here’s the official website for the Athens Olympics. A three day security drill, dealing with potential terrorist threats to the Games has just been completed

Get your hands on a real fistful of Euros – Europe’s first transnational lottery starts selling tickets today in Britain, France and Spain

New suspicions of avian influenza in Germany, this time in Dresden. (Link in German.) A Vietnamese man living in that city has fallen ill after returning from a visit home, where he worked on his brother’s chicken farm.

Euro 2004 – Unsurprisingly, UEFA have turned down the Welsh FA’s bid to have Russia disqualified from the tournament after a player failed a drugs test. Wales may still appeal the decision.

It takes two to sambo – Stefan Geens explains how Swedes reproduce through binge drinking

Stomach cancer rates are dropping across Europe, according to a new study.

No avian influenza in Hamburg, reports wire service AFP (link in German). The woman in question appears to be afflicted with, em, human influenza.