Asia Laos New rules for intellectual property protection wereintroduced, allowing businesses to protect industrial designs internationally through a single application under the Hague System; It simplifies registration and administrative procedures, reducing costs
Asia Sri Lanka Due to the high costs of issuance of electronic passports, Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles has decided to call for tenders and suspend the notice of expression of interest
Asia Iraq The country marked the ninth anniversary of the beginning of the siege of Sinjar by the Islamic State group on 3 August 2014, followed by atrocities and massacres against the country's Yazidi minority
Africa Central African Republic Gunmen killed 13 people in a small village in the north-west, with violence resumed in the aftermath of a referendum on a draft new constitution wanted by President Faustin Archange Touadéra, but boycotted by the main opposition parties and civil society
Africa Eritrea More than 50 people were injured and dozens more were arrested in Stockholm when protesters against the Eritrean government forcibly entered an event organised by government supporters
Europe Serbia The Serbian economy registered over 40 million euros losses since mid-June, when Kosovo imposed a ban on trucks with Serbian license plates and Serbian goods entering its territory
Africa South Africa Award-winning South African flutist Khanyisile Mthetwa has been inducted as a voting member of the Grammysh awards
Africa Mozambique President Nyusi has claimed immunity in the US$2 billion 'tuna bond' case, asking London's High Court to block allegations that he accepted illicit payments
Asia United Arab Emirates The Indian expatriate community in the United Arab Emirates will be able to attend public inauguration ceremony for first Hindu temple to be built in Abu Dhabi on February 15, 2024, temple management has confirmed
Africa Djibouti Djibouti's ambassador to Saudi Arabia attended the ritual washing of the sacred Kaaba at the Al-Haram Mosque
Asia North Korea A Russian military aircraft flew unannounced to Pyongyang this week, just days after Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's high-profile visit and talks with leader Kim Jong Un, according to NK News analysis of flight tracking data and satellite imagery
Europe Belarus A coalition of Belarusian investigative journalists based abroad has identified officials collaborating with the Russian authorities in the abduction of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine and their indoctrination
Europe Spain Catalonia has declared a drought emergency in 24 municipalities following the severe lack of rain in recent years with cuts announced for water use for agriculture and industry
Oceania Kiribati UNDP and WHO will support Kiribati, together with Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu - to increase their resilience to climate change, one of the largest and most ambitious projects to date to increase the resilience of health systems in the Pacific