Europe

Holy See reaffirmed commitment to stop child labor and promote right to grow through education and opportunities at UN dialogue 'Childhood With Dignity' with a quote from Rerum Novarum, the encyclical on Capital and Labor that inspired the new Pope’s name

5,43 million Franks, or 5,7 million euros, have been approved as budget to build the new library Landesbibliothek in Vaduz; the project passed with over 64% of the votes

PM Fico held negotiations with US officials and nuclear energy company Westinghouse regarding the construction of a new reactor at the Jaslovské Bohunice site; the next-generation reactor could be built near the existing Soviet-designed nuclear facility

About 17.000 voters were called at the polls yesterday to elect mayors in several localities; the elections have been monitored by 21 national observers accredited by the Central Election Commission

Bulgarians should be allowed to vote on whether the country ditches the lev in favour of the euro, according to President Rumen Radev; critics say the proposed plebiscite is more about his post-presidency political ambitions

Former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrilla Pjeter Shala appealed against the ICC Hague Trial verdict jailing him for 18 years for war crimes; the prosecution and victims’ representative insisted the sentencing was fair

Within the plan to extend the high-speed railway Rail Baltica up to 114 km in Lithuania by 2025, a new tender has been issued for a 12,4 km stretch

A cultural cooperation programme until the year 2029 has been signed with Ukraine at mInisterial level

The two former directors of a COVID-19 modular hospital in the city of Tetovo were given jail sentences for endangering public safety over a fire that on 8 September 2021 killed 14 patients for a lack of fire extinguishers

New, large offshore areas in the Arctic have been offered for more oil and gas exploration, as Norway seeks to pull more money out of its Oil Fund: the money, oil and gas revenues of the past 30 years, would be used mostly to cover extra aid to Ukraine

The Dutch National Theater will use new technology LiveText to improve accessibility for non-Dutch speakers or hearing impaired: the theater plans to introduce smart glasses that display real-time subtitles in 223 languages during performances

International state owned investors, including sovereign funds, public pension or social security schemes, will be able to take up to a 15% stake in UK newspapers and news magazines under new laws that would guarantee media plurality and vital funding