Africa Uganda Uber has ended its operations in Uganda after having been a commodity in the local urban transport for over a decade; the exit takes immediate effect and follows extensive review of Uber's business priorities across Africa
Oceania Vanuatu The 'Strengthening Resilience to Disaster and Displacement Risks' project in Vanuatu, will be supported by a grant from Japan signed in Port Vila between the Japanese government and the International Organisation for Migration
Asia Bahrain The Saudi Arabian National Centre for Land Cover Development and Combating Desertification has initiated the planting of 100.000 trees as part of its initiative to plant 1 million trees in several proposed locations in Bahrain's capital, Manama
Europe Sweden One in three Swedish elected officials have experienced some form of threat, violence or harm from ordinary citizens and more frequent perpetrators dubbed 'systemic threat actors' in previous year, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention found
Europe Germany A major exhibition has been open at the Hamburger Kunsthalle to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840); Berlin and Dresden will also be dedicating thematically independent exhibitions next year
Africa Gambia The Cabinet approved the review of licence fees for fishing boats and fishmeal factories; the activities of foreign fishing boats and factories are criticised and accused of illegal and unregulated fishing activities that threaten livelihoods of Gambians
Africa Central African Republic The Central African League for Human Rights denounced the violence of Wagner Group mercenaries and the inhuman treatment of local drivers working for the Russians, in a statement by the League's president, Joseph Bindoumi, interviewed by Deutsche Welle
Africa Cameroon Hadidjatou Dairou for research on cardiovascular health benefits of garcinia kola and Sabine Adeline Fanta Yadang for research on pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases have won the L'Oréal-Unesco Young Talent Prize for Women and Science
Europe Slovenia A bill on post-flood reconstruction and development was voted for reconstruction after the August floods; to help fund the effort, corporate income tax is being raised and a tax on bank assets introduced over a five year period
Oceania Tuvalu Today marks the death of Saufatu Sopoanga OBE, who served as 8th PM from 2 August 2002 to 27 August 2004; he attracted international attention for his speeches warning of the effects of sea-level rise on Tuvalu and other low-lying island countries
Africa Kenya As of January, foreign visitors entering will no longer be required a visa, a move to boost tourism; the government has adopted a digital platform to ensure that all travellers entering the country are identified in advance through an electronic platform
Europe Estonia Local authorities are considering whether to continue paying teachers during the strike, with teachers going on strike as of 22 January; the city of Tallinn has decided to continue paying teachers even during the strike
America El Salvador 'Freedom VISA’ initiative has been launched, offering long-term residency to a maximum of 1.000 individuals annually who invest at least US$1 million in Bitcoin or Tether (USDT) in the country
Africa Cape Verde The Mindelo Oceanarium project, which has already been hypothesised a few times by government officials and also presented publicly, is currently 'not in the government's main plans' until 2026, the Minister of the Sea confirmed this