Europe

Serbia's griffon vultures are making a remarkable comeback thanks to decades of conservation work; One foundation allows citizens to adopt birds, and to give it a name, and support their protection

Former Chancellor Merkel presented the painting for the official portrait gallery of Germany's postwar heads of government; the portrait will be displayed at Bode Museum in Berlin from 1 July before being added to the Federal Chancellery gallery

Four new bishops have been ordered, in defiance of an appeal by Pope Leo XIV who described it as a "schismatic act"; They are members of controversial Society of Saint Pius X, or Lefebrvistes, that rejects modernization introduced by the Vatican in '60-70

Following a major security breach that exposed personal data of over 560.000 Croatian students and teachers, National research and education network CARNET launched an investigation and was placed under supervision by the Personal Data Protection Agency

Over 27 million Italians have been travelling within the country in June 2026 (+0.9%), according to estimates by Assoturismo, registering a steady flow of internal tourism in both established and emerging destinations

Funding is now available for anti-racism initiatives; the government issued a call for projects that raise awareness of racial discrimination, micro-aggressions and everyday racism starting from a budget of €10.000

9 out of 10 reforms of the Recovery Plan agreed with European Commission have been implemented, PM Sanchez confirmed, setting 31 August as the date to have deployed "full potential" of RTR Plan, with 2/3 euros channelled into green and digital transition

Architect Ajda Bračič has won prestigious Kresnik Prize for the b of the year for her debut work Kresničevje, a multilayered story where title refers to perennial plant Aruncus dioicus, or goat's beard, and the forest itself is a character in the novel

The International Monetary Fund would be allegedly urging Portugal to reduce the lowest pensions and widows/widower allowance, suggesting the former are “overly generous”, and the latter “too permissive by European standards”

A 33-point plan to reform the pension system has drawn praise and criticism in equal measure, as centrist politicians consider it a good compromise and opposition parties on both the left and the right don't find it satisfactory

Forty people have drowned while swimming in unsupervised areas since June 18th, the prime minister said, as people tried to escape a heatwave that is raising temperatures across France

Notwithstanding the high occupancy rate, experts note that Bratislava is one of the cities in Eastern Europe with the lowest revenues from short-term rentals, despite attracting both leisure and business travellers, according to Trend magazine

A bronze sword dating back to the European Bronze Age, around 900-700 BCE, or at least 2.700 years, has been found in a forest near Gdańsk; The weapon, well preserved beneath a green patina, was discovered by a local amateur detectorist