Europe

The Smart Photonics chip plant in Eindhoven, which specialises in the production of photonic chips, will receive a €100m investment from a consortium consisting of the Dutch government, banks and several semiconductor companies

The government's goal is to double Hungary's GDP from HUF 80.000 to 160 million by 2030, PM Orbán said; Hungary's development level stood at 78% of the EU average in 2022, up from 66% in 2010, and the government aims to raise this ratio to 85-90% by 2030

An enquiry to revise the Swedish penal code will be set up in order to address rising crime rates and focus more on victims; it could lead to an increase in prison space, tripling the number of cells

The Spanish People's Party, the main conservative camp, won the elections by winning 136 seats against the 122 of the Socialist Party led by the outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, but not enough to have a majority

Former Montenegrin police chief Veselin Veljovic has been arrested on the orders of the Special Prosecutor's Office for alleged abuse of office and membership of a criminal organisation

After Putin called Poland's western territories a 'gift to the Poles' from the Soviet dictator, the Deputy Foreign Minister labelled the claims as 'pseudo-historical', denying any desire for Warsaw's intervention in Ukraine

Work has begun on the restoration of the Greek Gate and the adjacent medieval fortifications; the Greek Gate is the second most important entrance to Mdina and the oldest, built in the medieval period

The Service of Attention to Victims of Violence attended to 176 cases during the first half of this year, according to data provided by the government, which specifies that 87 are new cases, not previously known to the service

A group of 22 Afghan refugees has been welcomed as part of the Humanitarian Corridors initiative organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio and other church organizations in agreement with the Italian government

2023 was a difficult year for country's universities: the government wants to reduce some master's degrees from 2 years to 1 and University of Copenhagen dropped in QS world university rankings for 2024 from 82nd to 107th place

Cytrox AD in North Macedonia has been added to Entity List for trafficking in exploits used to gain access to computer systems, often to threat privacy and security, by the Bureau of Industry and Security of US Department of Commerce

A new poll indicates that seven out of 10 Norwegians now support euthanasia, or what they call aktiv dødshjelp (literally, active help to die); to receive it, however, they still have to travel abroad, because euthanasia remains illegal in Norway

Amnesty International denounces in a new report on repressive laws and practices in Russia that over 20.000 people have been subjected to heavy reprisals and the authorities are using increasingly vicious tactics to crack down on anti-war activists