Africa Cameroon In an unprecedented disruption to academic calendar, the Ministry ordered the immediate rescheduling of all remaining papers for the ongoing 2026 examination session after a severe security breach compromised confidential materials across digital networks
Africa Morocco Morocco’s Lower House has adopted the 2024 Finance Bill in second reading, with approval by 87 MPs and rejected by 31 others
Oceania Samoa Samoa's 60 Tala commemorative banknote was awarded 'Best commemorative banknote of the year' at the High Security Printing Asia event in Sri Lanka
Europe Iceland Reykjavík City Council approved a 3-year pilot project to delay school start times for teens: from autumn 2024, classes will begin no earlier than 8.50AM; this is the result of studies on teen sleep duration linking mental health decline and sleep deficit
Asia United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates announced the launch of the Women in Nuclear Middle East Chapter, a non-profit organisation for women working professionally in the nuclear energy and technology sector
Europe Denmark The horses of Faroe Islands are endangered and the idea of using Icelandic mares as surrogates is being considered; in 2018, the Faroe Horse Association and the Icelandic Farmers' Association created a family tree and digital registration system
Europe Ukraine 'If the world gets tired of helping us, it will simply let us die' Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska said in an interview with the BBC
Asia South Korea National Assembly voted to discard a set of bills aimed at giving the state broadcasting regulator more power in choosing heads of public broadcasters, proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which controls the parliamentary majority
Asia Thailand To contrast the proliferation of counterfeit products online in order to safeguard property rights and uphold its international reputation, Thailand is stepping up its efforts
Oceania Solomon Islands The Central Bank of Solomon Islands will collaborate with Soramitsu to explore technical standards and functionalities for its experimental Central bank digital currency system
Africa Senegal American multinational soft drinks company Coca-Cola, through its local bottling partner, Industries de Boissons du Senegal, opened a new bottling plant in Diamniadio bringing 500 direct and 2500 indirect jobs
Asia Palestine The Palestinian NGO Sada Social has detected over 3.000 digital violations against Palestinian content on social media platforms during November 2023. This brings the number of recorded violations against Palestinian content to 14.000 since October 7
Oceania Fiji A defence mission will soon be opened at the French Embassy in Fiji; representing the French Ministry for the Armed Forces, the defence mission will be tasked with strengthening exchanges on defence policy and military cooperation
Oceania Tonga Craftswoman Lu'isa Nau uses only local materials to authenticate the handicrafts, criticising the imported counterfeits with which local artisans have to compete; her creative work, in line with sustainable development goals, was recently given a grant