America

25 years of national management of the Panama Canal - a symbol of sovereignty and pride for Panamanians - was celebrated with a campaign honoring its history, achievements, sustainability commitment; it was transferred from US control on 31 December 1999

The La Casita Hispanic Cultural Centre together with several embassies held a walk through the streets of Arima and a football match under the programme 'transforming realities'; the initiative was focused on ending gender based violence

The Dominica Geothermal Development Company Limited invited residents of Fond Colé and surrounding areas to a community meeting to receive an update on the construction of the geothermal power plant and the new electricity transmission grid

The long-awaited construction of a 27 km road linking Port-de-Paix to Anse-à-Foleur officially began after three years of planning and land expropriation issues; it is entirely financed by a donation from the Inter-American Development Bank

Iconic Salcedo ice cream is facing collapse as daily power outages up to 14 hours are shutting down factories, forcing businesses like Polar Bear to slash production, lay off staff, and rely on family labor, threatening a cultural and economic staple

Diplomatic relations with 16 new countries will be established in 2025, including opening an embassy in Egypt; the plan aims to boost trade, attract foreign investment, and enhance international cooperation on security

The San Francisco Javier Human Development Center in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, has been inaugurated by Spain; this €300.000 project will provide education, psychosocial support, and basic services to 350 youth and 120 families from marginalized communities

The FAO warned of severe soil degradation in Guatemala due to climate change, with record heat causing major crop losses, and highlighted local efforts like the Guatemalan Alliance for Soil Management to promote conservation

The SWM Programme has launched a biodiversity monitoring initiative in Rupununi area, integrating indigenous knowledge and advanced tools like eDNA analysis and camera traps for wildlife, with EU funding and global scalability to track biodiversity trends

President-elect Trump, on his first trip overseas since winning the election, met in Paris with French President Macron and Ukraine's leader Zelenskiy for talks on 7 December, before the ceremony for the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral

Congress has approved creating the Ministry of Public Security, set to begin operations by June 1, 2025, to oversee public order, crime prevention, and police forces, marking a milestone in reorganizing the nation's security structure

A ransomware cyberattack on Costa Rica's state oil refinery RECOPE forced a switch to manual operations, marking the second major government-targeted cyber incident in the past month