Europe Romania With 77 deaths per million inhabitants, Romania still has the highest road accident rate in the European Union, despite a 4% drop in 2024 compared to the previous year
Europe Poland Poland and Baltic states may be leaving the 1997 Ottawa treaty banning antipersonnel land mines, citing security reasons at the borders they share with Russia
Africa Burundi Burundi introduced the life-saving malaria vaccine in the routine immunization program under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and with the support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, the WHO and Dalberg
Asia Oman To create 45.000 job opportunities - including 11.000 for training and qualification, 10.000 in government establishments and 24.000 in the private sector - is one of the goals of the operational plan for 2025
Europe Albania Over 175.000 military bunkers were built during Albania’s communist-era; though many were blown up, thousands remain: used for agricultural storage, wineries, resource for experimental artists, they are now becoming a tourist attraction
Europe North Macedonia In Kočani, where 59 people died in a fire at a discotheque over the weekend, protesters gathered downtown with placards reading 'we are dying from corruption'; about 20 people were arrested, including government officials and the nightclub's manager
Oceania Samoa Power outages and power rationing in several districts of Upolu prompted the hiring of generators to power drilling operations, ensuring the continuity of water supply in the affected areas
Europe Hungary Hungarian Civic Alliance, the right-wing populist and national-conservative led by PM Orbán, has submitted a proposal to legally ban Pride, the set of events and demonstrations in favour of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community
Africa Madagascar 50,51% of Tananarivians are ready to demonstrate to defend freedom and democracy, according to an opinion poll conducted in February 2025 by the Collective of Citizens and Citizen Organisations in the city of Antananarivo
Europe Belgium In response to the "alarming political interference" in academic research in the United States, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is opening 12 postdoc positions for international researchers, namely American scholars working in socially significant fields
Europe Netherlands The introduction of the 'lump sum' pension withdrawal option, initially planned for 1 July 2024, will be postponed until July 2026; the measure would allow pensioners to withdraw up to 10% of their pension savings in an una tantum lump sum
Asia Georgia Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was sentenced to a further four years and six months in prison for illegally crossing the Georgian border in 2021
Europe Luxembourg British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc has decided to buy Belgian biotechnology company EsoBiotec for close to $1 billion to further enhance its oncology capabilities
Europe Portugal Abundant rainfall has brought dams throughout Portugal near full capacity; the warning that controlled, temporary discharges of water from Odeleite and Beliche dams will be carried out, was saluted with curiosity and surprise as it didn't happen for years