America Cuba International investors can now build and fully own tourism facilities: to reverse the dramatic fall in tourism, authorities have eliminated the requirement for foreign groups to form a joint venture with the Cuban state to manage their tourism activities
Africa South Africa A decline in the number of people living with Aids-HIV was recorded in a study conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council, with 12,7% of the population infected with the virus compared to 14% in the last survey conducted five years ago
Asia Kyrgyzstan Hundreds of vendors in markets across the country demonstrated to protest the government's plan to introduce a new taxation system as of 1 January, which will increase taxes, demanding that the previous system, based on a fixed annual amount, be retained
Asia Cyprus The government and US Oil&Gas Company Chevron have agreed on the terms for developing the Aphrodite gas field in block 12 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone; the government had initially rejected proposed amendments submitted by the company
Africa Uganda A 70 years old woman, Safina Namukwaya, gave birth to twins in Kampala after in vitro fertilisation treatment; the woman commented this as a 'true miracle' and the hospital emphasised not only the medical success, but the 'resilience of the human spirit'
Europe Portugal The President of the Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro has called for early regional elections, following the rejection of the archipelago's budget for 2024 as he considers the presentation of a new budget to be pointless
Europe Norway Norwegian government officials are back in court, trying to fend off another legal challenge to their refusal to stop oil and gas exploration, sued by local environmental organisations demanding an immediate halt to the development of more oil fields
Africa Benin In order to open and operate a party venue in Benin, formal authorisation is now required, following a decree setting out the conditions to be met, including having adequately sized parking spaces and meeting sanitation requirements
Oceania Palau Twenty-three Palau High School students experienced what it means to produce, publish and tell a story as journalists during a six-day workshop conducted by members of the Palau Media Council as part of a project called "Nurturing Future Journalists"
America Canada As nations agreed to a landmark deal to create a global climate damage fund on the first day of climate talks at COP28, Canada pledged its own support with a contribution of $16M; other countries have pledged between $10M and $100M US
America United States Sandra Day O’Connor, retired Justice and the first woman to serve on Supreme Court (associate from 1981 to 2006), died yesterday 1 December 2023 in Phoenix at 93
Asia Malaysia The country will grant Chinese citizens a 30-day visa waiver from 1 December this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Malaysia and China
Europe Kosovo A group of young people from Belgrade and Pristina has created a new dictionary highlighting how much Serbs and Albanians have in common, with over 2.000 entries of shared words and surnames bridging ethnic and national divides
Africa Mauritius Mauritian Wildlife Foundation has signed an agreement with US-based biotechnology and genetic engineering company Colossal Biosciences to help bring back to life the dodo, an iconic bird that used to live on Mauritius, extinct for more than 300 years