Hanoi: Vietnam has introduced a new population law aimed at encouraging higher birth rates through financial support, extended maternity leave and other benefits for families with children.

Prague: The Czech Ministry of the Environment has completed a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of a proposal for acceleration areas intended primarily for the development of wind and photovoltaic power plants.

Prague: The Žofín Primeval Forest National Nature Reserve has been expanded to 441.44 hectares.

Muscat: The National Cardiology Centre at the Royal Hospital has successfully performed the first five transvenous pacemaker lead extraction procedures. These are the first procedures of their kind in the Sultanate of Oman, marking a significant milestone in the development of highly specialised cardiac care.