Africa Somalia New EU VISA restrictions make it more difficult for Somalis to travel to the bloc; the recently approved measures intensify an ongoing dispute with Mogadishu over the return of Somalis living irregularly in the EU
Africa Mauritius Bhamini Sreekeessoon, a PhD student in electrical and electronic engineering at the Université des Mascareignes, is conducting innovative research that could soon see the island generate electricity from ocean waves
Asia Azerbaijan Chingiz Farzaliyev, Azerbaijani artist and professor, director of the National Art Museum of Azerbaijan, was awarded the 'Sharaf' Order for outstanding services to the development and promotion of Azerbaijan's fine arts
America Nicaragua Miss Nicaragua, Sheynnis Palacios, has won the 2023 Miss Universe contest, becoming the first ever Central American to win the title
Europe Belgium Belgian DJ Charlotte De Witte has been voted 'best techno DJ' in the world by the British magazine DJ Mag for the fourth year running
Asia Cyprus The government is taking “steady steps” to modernise and strengthen the National Guard, Defence Minister has declared, stressing Cyprus’ defence forces are passing through a “particularly difficult period”
Africa Ethiopia A work of art by Ethiopian-born, US-based artist Julie Mehretu, 52, sold at auction in New York for $10,7 million, making it the work by an artist of African descent with the highest selling price ever
Oceania Australia The Western Australian Department of Health has reinforced the requirement to wear a face mask in all public hospitals in the state in response to an increase in cases of COVID-19
Europe Latvia The European Court of Human Rights found no violation in Latvia's move to state language education; subjects taught in Latvian, the national language, have been increased in state schools, thus determining fewer lessons in Russian
America Paraguay Venezuela and Paraguay have decided to restore diplomatic and consular relations after being broken since 2019, as announced in joint statements by both foreign ministries
America Uruguay Uruguay secured an unprecedented US$350 million ecological loan from the World Bank, offering reduced interest rates contingent on achieving specific environmental goals, particularly a verifiable reduction in methane emissions
America United States Jewish-led peace organization IfNotNow helped organize a protest at the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.; protesters held hands to block the entrance to the building and were met with pepper spray and police use of force
Oceania Micronesia Micronesians with parental ties to the Federated States of Micronesia can claim dual citizenship in their home country while remaining in the United States, after President Wesley Simina signed the change into law on 20 October
Europe Germany The reintroduction of the grey wolf in Germany, which began 23 years ago in Lusatia, is the subject of research published in the journal Diversity and Distributions by a team from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research