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
Europe Slovenia This year Slovenia dropped one place in the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index ranking, placing 10th among 180 countries, according to the indicator published by SolAbility
Asia Turkey Approximately 5 million people suffer from serious diseases defined as rare, occurring in one in 2.000 individuals or less, said a senior executive of a Turkish pharmaceutical company; one of the causes could be frequent consanguineous marriages
Asia Israel Lgbt partners of fallen soldiers will be recognised as war widowers with a law passed by the Knesset after the case of reservist Captain Sagi Golan, who was killed while defending kibbutz Be'eri
Africa Republic of the Congo The US contribution to environmental protection will be increased to $50 million, announced AmbassadorEugene Young
Africa Seychelles The country will introduce trade legislation to protect against dumping, which will also help protect local producers of items like beer, soft drinks and snacks
Asia Saudi Arabia The Saudi Coffee Expert training programme, an initiative of the Ministry of Culture and the Culinary Arts Commission, is running throughout Saudi Arabia seeking to boost the coffee industry
Europe Luxembourg For the third year in a row, Luxembourg residents' knowledge of English has worsened, according to a global survey, despite the population becoming more cosmopolitan, scoring 575 out of a possible 700 points in the 2023 English Proficiency Index survey
America Trinidad and Tobago The government of Antigua and Barbuda is in talks with a desalination business based in Trinidad and Tobago to provide water as it works to alleviate the shortage, but it is not purchasing water from Trinidad and Tobago, as some media headlines claim
Asia Myanmar Ethnic minority insurgent groups attacked security posts in Myanmar, residents, rebels and an official said, as fighting broke out on two new fronts and thousands of people crossed into neighbouring India in search of safety
Asia Oman The Centre for Preparatory Studies at Sultan Qaboos University inaugurated its IELTS Open Centre, affiliated to the British Council of Oman, thus strengthening the long-lasting partnership between the BC and the SQU
Europe Norway After 11 years of political wrangling and opposition from sheep farmers fearing wolves, state officials established a new national park in southern portion of the hills and forests on Oslo's east side, which aims to protect wildlife and nature
Asia North Korea North Korea's recent electoral reform, which introduces a primary-like competition between two candidates, would be "far from" an effective democratic move to ensure suffrage, South Korea's Unification Ministry declared
Asia Uzbekistan Samarkand will host the second forum of university rectors from Uzbekistan and Turkey today and tomorrow, 13 and 14 November, with heads of the Council for Higher Education and the rectors of over 40 leading universities in the country