Asia Kyrgyzstan The flag of Kyrgyzstan will not be changed, as some asked, as the procedure would mean spending billions of som; PM Tazabek Ikramov had pointed out earlier this month that the money could be used to build hospitals and kindergartens instead
Asia Vietnam The investor behind the controversial construction of an urban project that would encroach on the Hạ Long Bay buffer zone has been ordered to pay a fine of about $5.140 for environmental pollution
Asia Bangladesh A $1,3 billion wind farm has been approved; the 500MW offshore plant will be connected to the country's national grid via an onshore substation, an answer to the current dangerous levels of pollution
Asia Bhutan The Bhutan Bird Festival will return after a three-year hiatus from 13 to 15 November in Tingtibi, Zhemgang
Asia India The emergency closure of schools in New Delhi has been extended for a week as no sign of improvement are seen in the toxic pollution levels in the megacity of 30 million inhabitants; smog is attributed mainly to stubble fires in neighbouring areas
Asia Iran An Iranian court ordered a five-year prison sentence against a French citizen tried on national security charges; France called the sentence 'unacceptable' as there appears to be no evidence to support it
Asia Israel Amnesty International reported a dramatical increase the use of administrative detention since the beginning of the war against Hamas, while turning a blind eye to cases of torture and degrading treatment in prisons
Asia Japan The country is set to issue nearly 9 trillion yen ($59.8 billion) in bonds in its second supplementary budget to finance an economic package to ease rising living costs
Asia Cyprus A message from Cyprus’ law commissioner urging for unaccompanied minors to be kept in premises away from other children sparked a wave of ire on Wednesday, that also embroiled the country’s deputy welfare minister
Asia South Korea Recent reports of bedbug infestations in public spaces have raised alarms of an impending nationwide outbreak across South Korea, prompting the government to launch a multi-agency task force and pushed investors to buy stocks of pesticide manufacturers
Asia Taiwan Greenpeace Taiwan called for the full adoption of a reusable cup system, arguing that doing so would save the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as taking 240.000 fuel-powered scooters off the roads
Asia Turkmenistan The country has reached the regional target in the fight against hepatitis B through vaccination, as confirmed by the certificate of the European Technical Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation
Asia Syria The Syrian Network for Human Rights published its monthly report summarising the situation in October; among other topics it highlights that Russian-Syrian alliance forces carried out at least 85 attacks on vital civilian facilities in north-west Syria