Asia Myanmar Peace talks with several smaller ethnic armed organizations have been promoted by Myanmar’s military government as evidence of ongoing national reconciliation; Critics argue the discussions exclude many of the country’s most powerful resistance groups
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
America Dominica The Dominica Chess Federation held its first Queens Gala, a women-only chess tournament, at the UWI Open Campus, with 10 women participating in six rounds of chess matches
Europe France Smoking will be banned on all the country's beaches, in public parks, forests and near schools, after Emmanuel Macron promised to create 'the first tobacco-free generation'; 7.200 smoke-free zones already exist in France
Africa Algeria The second edition of the Treg Algeria Trail has kicked off, a race and trek in the middle of the Algerian Sahara, with 4 categories with lengths from 50 to 182 km; participants are self-sufficient in food and self-navigating via GPS
Europe Serbia Novak Djokovic and his Serbian teammates at the Davis Cup finals sang a song seen by many as support for so-called Greater Serbia, calling for the Serbian tricolour to be flown over parts of neighbouring Kosovo and Montenegro
Africa Burkina Faso The country lost almost 47,5% of its forests between 1992 and 2014, according to a study conducted in 2022; another study conducted in 2018 showed that there were almost 15.600 square kilometres of degraded land in the country
America United States The Internal Revenue Service is restoring training for its employees and replacing one of its oldest IT systems, with a focus on improving service to taxpayers; budget comes from the $60 billion modernization fund under the Inflation Reduction Act
Asia Japan The country plans to join a multinational mine-clearing project in Ukraine; the Japanese Self-Defence Forces are expected to supply demining equipment to Ukraine and collaborate in the training of personnel
America Peru Nationwide activities throughout 2024 have been announced to commemorate the bicentennial of Peru's independence; President Boluarte emphasized historical locations like Junín and Ayacucho and invited citizens to join the program
Europe North Macedonia North Macedonia has decided to allow Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's plane to land in Skopje, which will allow Lavrov to attend the OSCE ministerial meeting
Africa Republic of the Congo The capital will host an international conference under the auspices of the African Union and the United Nations Forum on Afforestation and Reforestation, part of the actual launch of the World Decade of Afforestation and Reforestation initiative
Asia Indonesia State-owned power company PT PLN has set February 2024 as the deadline for the commissioning of the solar power plant currently under construction in the new capital Nusantara, East Kalimantan
Europe Norway Health workers, hospital administrators and residents in northern Norway are raising the alarm about staff and funding shortages, which may even force some hospitals to close altogether