Europe Sweden Visit Sweden, the agency that promotes tourism, has applied to the European Union's Intellectual Property Office to register the trademark 'Sweden': the fact that numerous locations around the world have the same name can potentially create confusion
Europe Bulgaria Foreign direct investment recorded a positive net inflow of €1,24bn in the first nine months of 2024, equivalent to 1,2% of the GDP, according to data from the Bulgarian National Bank, a decrease of 63,3% compared to the same period in 2023
Europe Norway Oslo city officials hope that the Christmas tree sent as a gift for London's Trafalgar Square will arrive in good condition this year, after critics in past years; it is a symbol of Norway's gratitude for the help Britain offered during World War II
Europe Lithuania Lonely Planet, one of the world's leading guidebook publishers, named Lithuania the second best tourist destination for 2025 and presented the country with an award for the recognition
Europe Montenegro Valentina Pavlicic is the new president of the Supreme Court, elected by the Judicial Council of Montenegro; the post was vacant since December 2020
Europe Moldova The OSCE Transnational Threats Department organised in Chisinau A workshop on cyber incident classification for 14 technical and political cyber security experts,
Europe Latvia The Latvian Ministry of Defence published what it called a 'White Paper' of its spending plans for 2025, calling next year's defence budget 'the largest in Latvia's history', reaching 3,45% of gross domestic product
Europe Belarus The film “Time chose us” was aired by the Belarus 1 TV channel, showing how Lukashenko’s opponents used parapsychologists, hypnotists and unfounded rumors to prevent him from winning the first presidential election in Belarus in 1994
Europe Spain Workers in Spain will be granted up to four days of paid leave if they are unable to travel to work due to extreme weather conditions, in new 'climate leave' approved by the Council of Ministers
Europe Netherlands More than 1.100 religious leaders in the Netherlands have signed a petition against the 'strictest refugee policy ever' of the Dutch government
Europe Norway Residents of Oslo have been warned to prepare for severe disruptions to the tram and underground system next year, as upgrades and expansion will require the closure of lines and stations, including Majorstuen, one of the main hubs of the system
Europe Malta WasteServ employees will benefit from annual salary increases of between €1.000 and 2.000 thanks to a collective agreement just signed between the company management and UHM Workers' Voice
Europe Greece Athens has been awarded 'World's Leading Cultural City' for 2024 by the World Travel Awards, surpassing 14 cities including London, Paris and New York; Mayor Doukas emphasised commitment to initiatives to celebrate its historical and contemporary identity