America Grenada Toll-free 988 Suicide Hotline for Crisis Response has been launched to guarantee immediate support for people experiencing suicidal thoughts, emotional distress and other mental health crises; an awareness campaign will start soon
Europe Finland In an important environmental action, more than 1.500 Finnish artists joined in a petition calling for greater protection of forests
Europe Iceland Damage to homes and infrastructure in Grindavík could amount to 10 billion Icelandic kroner ($71,4 million), according to Iceland's director of natural catastrophe insurance
Asia Singapore Departure of first Singapore-born panda cub to China to participate in conservation programme has been postponed to January 2024; last public appearance at Pavilion Capital Giant Panda Forest in the River Wonders park is scheduled for today 13 December
Europe Czech Republic According to data published by the Czech Statistical Office, in the first three quarters of this year the Czech population increased by 54.700 to 10,88 million; the reason behind the increase being foreign immigration, mainly from Ukraine
Europe Hungary The subsidiaries of Gloster Infocommunications, Gloster-Minero IT and FF Next Technologies, have signed a cooperation agreement with the German Red Cross to develop special software for electronic data recording of bone marrow and stem cell donors
Africa Ghana The anti-homosexual bill will be passed before the Christmas holidays, said the Speaker of the Ghanaian Parliament, Alban Bagbin; the bill envisages a 10-year prison sentence for Lgbtq+ supporters and three years for people who identify as homosexuals
Asia North Korea A delegation of Russian Far East officials has arrived in Pyongyang, according to North Korean state media, on a visit that is expected to include bilateral talks on topics ranging from revitalising tourism to joint construction projects
America Belize In Belize's Valley of Peace, students built an eco-friendly Christmas tree in four days using repurposed plastic bottles, with the annual tree lighting event symbolising the importance of recycling and reducing single-use plastic in the festive season
Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo The spread of monkeypox, which has killed nearly 600 people, mostly children, in DRC this yea, leaves the WHO 'very concerned'; the country reported over 13.000 cases in 2023, where the last peak in 2020 was less than half
Asia Myanmar Opium cultivation in the Golden Triangle has expanded significantly over the past year, with Myanmar experiencing the largest increase due to ongoing civil unrest
Europe Ireland A closure order has been issued for Pizza Max in Oldcastle after food inspectors found evidence of people living and sleeping in its food preparation area, uncovering mattresses, bedding, medicines, clothes and personal food
Africa Lesotho His Majesty King Letsie III, Chancellor of the National University of Lesotho, opened the Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Development Trust values-based leadership conference in Rome, Italy
Africa Zimbabwe Dozens of elephants have died of thirst in Zimbabwe's popular Hwange National Park and conservationists fear more will be lost to droughts caused by climate change and the global El Nino weather pattern that dries up waterholes