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If you live in Europe, whether in a European Union Member State or not, you will definitely be affected by the EU." Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life," as Humphrey Bogart said in the film Casablanca. He wasn' t referring to the EU, since it didn' t exist in the 1940s when the film was made. But more recent European history has been largely shaped by the development of the EU, and in the future the EU' s influence can only increase.

The old year is drawing to a close, and a new one is looming on the horizon. That is the time when we all tend to look back at the preceding 12 months and start thinking about what may lie ahead in 2004. Some of you have been with us for quite some time, others have begun reading The World of English© only just recently, but wondering about the future is something everyone has in common.

Next year Scotland will be welcoming Prince William, a brave new royal, to study at St Andrews University, and history will be made.

One of television's lasting legacies is that work of art known as the sitcom. Art? Plain folks may laugh during the funny bits, but smart people like critics are quick to condemn sitcoms as "junk food for the brain."

Close study of sitcoms reveals, however, that they are shaped by a clear set of rules with an aesthetic purpose. In other words, a sitcom can be just as much a work of art as a Shakespeare tragedy or a Moliere comedy.

Amelia(Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain) was one of the definite highlights of this year's 17th Warsaw International Film Festival. This long awaited feature by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of Delicatessen, was a great hit with critics and audiences alike, and has now been released in cinemas across Poland. Amelia is a must-see for all demanding cinemagoers who expect more from a film than merely entertainment. Posters advertising the film claim that the film's heroine, Amelia, could change your life. And this might actually be the case.

"This is the place" were the now famous words uttered by Brigham Young in 1846, establishing the Mormon Church in the area of Salt Lake City, Utah. Recently the location of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, this is also the first time the Mormon Church in Utah has had widespread exposure in the international media. Known for not drinking tea or coffee, and for men having many wives, the reality of the Mormon faith is even more complex and interesting.

"Time to die," says Roy Batty in the final scenes of the film Blade Runner. This seems to be the motto of all artists who envisage the future. As the third millennium begins we take a look at some scifi images of the world to come.

"Charity Begins at Home" or so the old axiom goes. But does it really? For the many homeless of Britain it begins where they live - on the street.

Different countries have different traditions when it comes to charity. Christmas is a time when attention is particularly focused on the notion of philanthropy. In Poland on Christmas Eve many households leave a place set at the table for the lonely or those without a family of their own. How often does the seat get filled? Who can say?

Carnival isn't over yet. As many of you are no doubt spending a lot of time dancing at parties and discos, we present here a few profiles of young people who really know how to get down and boogie.