Europe Finland The mushroom season began early and shows strong potential in several regions, according to experts, with mushroom foragers confirming a satisfactory harvest has begun: the cool, wet start of summer is an ideal condition for fungi
Europe Italy Tennis player Jannik Sinner, number 1 in the world ranking - defeated Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to win his first Wimbledon title, an historic victory for Italy as he his the first Italian man to win a singles title in the tournament
Europe Czech Republic The Czech army plans to create a territorial defense battalion in every region within ten years, with new bases for logistics and air defense; the military, downsizing in the 1990s and 2000s, will grow by several new garrisons, in a reverse trend
Europe Iceland 36 potential victims of human traffic, mostly women trafficked for prostitution, were offered appropriate assistance after the police conducted a search checking on 250 people in a coordinated operation with Europol, Frontex and Interpol in 43 countries
Europe Ireland Rules for pay gender gap reporting expanded or will be required to more Irish businesses in 2025: employers with 50 or more staff will now have to share their pay gap, in a bid to make workplaces fairer for everyone
Europe Russia Russia formally recognized government in Afghanistan on 3 July 2025, becoming the first country to do so since the Taliban's return to power in 2021; the decision followed Russia's removal of the Taliban from list of banned terrorist groups in April 2025
Europe Liechtenstein Christiane Meyer-Stoll has been appointed as the new director of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, effective 1 January 2026; she has been with the museum since its foundation in 2000, initially as a curator and later as a member of the Executive Board since 2006
Europe Latvia Changing the system of service pensions, said Prime Minister Evika Silina, is necessary to restore equality with other recipients of retirement pensions; the retirement pension age was raised some time ago, but the age for service pensions hasn't
Europe Netherlands A new maternity hotel opened in Groningen and one is due to begin operations in Hoorn; mothers stay with their newborns under professional supervision instead of receiving postnatal care at home amid a growing shortage of postnatal caregivers
Europe Switzerland Swiss running shoe company On has opened its first production site for the innovative Lightspray shoe: the fully automated robotic process makes a shoe ready in three minutes; equal output with a standard process would require 300 people
Europe Lithuania Construction at the Rūdninkai military training area, a €125 million contract, is 6 months ahead of schedule; Lithuanian defence officials are speeding up operations on the campus that will house part of a German brigade deployed to the country by 2027
Europe Kosovo The construction of new river bridges in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica is deemed by Kosovo Serb party as a political stunt aimed at putting ‘fresh pressure’ on the Serb community
Europe Andorra Andorra Digital, up to now integrated in the Andorra Research and Innovation Foundation, will be transformed into a public company; with its own legal status it will be able to pursue the digitalization of the country more efficiently