Asia Iraq New national planning strategy focuses on relocating government institutions and major investment projects from large cities to districts to ease population density and service pressure in major urban centers, especially Baghdad
America Grenada On Petite Martinique, Grenada’s smallest inhabited island, the solar-powered ice facility is now fully restored and operational; it is a critical lifeline for the island’s fisheries sector and the livelihoods of more than 50 local fishers
Oceania Australia Armed carjackings have almost doubled in Victoria, increasing to an unprecedented extent, despite “tough new laws” being introduced to combat the crime in 2016, with rideshare drivers and delivery workers increasingly targeted
Asia Azerbaijan Azerenerji has started building the Zangezur high-voltage power transmission line to connect the enclave of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to Azerbaijan’s main power grid, as well as to establish the Azerbaijan-Turkey-Europe international energy corridor
Europe Estonia Shuttle ships on the Tallinn–Helsinki route are increasing the use of cleaner fuel and will soon be fully powered by renewable energy: in January, 74% of the fuel used was liquefied biomethane and Tallink is set abandon LNG for liquefied biomethane
Africa Lesotho A major coordinated field campaign of Southern African Bird Atlas Project 2, one of the region’s main long-term biodiversity monitoring initiatives, is involving birdwatchers, conservationists, citizen scientists in Lesotho that hosts its highlands leg
Africa Ivory Coast Ivory Coast could be buying its entire stockpile of cocoa beans as stocks pile up in a low of the international market; the move would help thousands of smallholder cocoa farmers, who are the backbone of the world's largest producer
Asia Bhutan Kabesa Local Area Plan is nearing completion after 15-years due to land disputes and revisions; The plan will regulate zoning and infrastructure in an area long affected by unplanned housing, informal land use and stalled construction near the capital
Asia Turkey Adana Mayor and eight other local politicians from the main opposition Republican People’s Party were released from prison; Karalar called for the release of other opposition mayors, including Istanbul's mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu
Europe Montenegro The number of foreign nationals working in Montenegro has almost doubled since 2017 in response to a widening shortage of labour in the country; authorities and employers intensity efforts to fill gaps in the legal framework and the jobs market
Africa Morocco Over 150.000 people have been evacuated from 4 provinces in northwestern Morocco due to flooding danger caused by continued heavy rains and preventive water discharging from dams
Asia Indonesia Sovereign investment fund Danantara, which manages state stakes in strategic sectors will fund a new Krakatau Steel plant, reflecting the recent push to use state capital to revive key industries, cut imports and strengthen industrial self-sufficiency
Asia Lebanon Another building has collapsed in Tripoli, leaving at least 2 dead as rescues fear up to 20 people could be trapped under the debris; Qobbeih, where a building collapsed on an entire family last weekend, is among the neighborhoods most at risk
Asia Qatar The first edition of Art Basel Qatar concluded establishing a new long-term platform for artistic exchange, institutional engagement, and market development in the region; the awaited inaugural edition was met with an enthusiastic response from the public