Europe Ireland A sharp increase in people with multiple addictions (62% vs 48% last year), including cocaine and alcohol, was reported by Rutland Treatment Centre; as 16% of users seek help for cocaine addiction, the creation of a dedicated resource is a 'key objective'
Europe Lithuania The Seimas, the Lithuanian Parliament, will not vote on the civil unions bill on 18 July, the last day of the spring session, thus postponing the vote until after the summer
Europe Albania Albanian authorities are set to receive strong criticism at the upcoming meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in India later this month after concerns over the management of several Albanian heritage sites
Europe Andorra Andorra Research + Innovation, in the conclusions of its study on the impact the partnership agreement negotiated with the EU would have, shows that it would imply sustained GDP growth, which would be 5% higher in 2050
Europe Croatia 116.296 first registrations of new and used vehicles of all categories have been registered by the the Croatian Vehicle Centre in the first half of 2024; the average age of all vehicles in Croatia was 14,8 years
Europe Romania Baia Mare, Cluj-Napoca, Iași and Oradea will host this year's Orange Weekends caravan, a programme of film screenings and game competitions to be held in symbolic areas of these cities
Europe Kosovo 1.586.659 citizens live in the territory of Kosovo according to preliminary data from the population census published by the Statistical Agency of Kosovo
Europe Malta The Oceanography Malta research group at the University of Malta has launched a new app, ANDROMEDA, to help spread awareness about the problem of microplastics in the sea; it focuses on the collection, analysis and monitoring of microplastics
Europe Iceland The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs intends to introduce a mileage tax for petrol and diesel vehicles, applied to electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen vehicles at the beginning of the year, to replace the current taxes on oil and petrol
Europe Netherlands 16 hospitals reported an increase in number of requests for endometriosis examinations, with family doctors increasing referrals to specialists; gynaecologist Klinkert has patients with endometriosis symptoms in first half of 2024 equal to whole of 2023
Europe Russia Parliamentarians who want to travel abroad not for work can only do so after being granted permission, on pain of losing their seats, according to new law signed by President Putin
Europe Vatican City Pope Francis sent a message to the Hiroshima conference on 'AI Ethics for Peace', emphasising the symbolic importance of discussing peace and reconsidering the development of lethal autonomous weapons in a city scarred by the atomic tragedy
Europe Spain The Spanish national team won its fourth European title, a record never achieved by any other team in history, relying on a multicultural and very young team