Asia Singapore New cat ownership rules require pet cats to be microchipped and licensed, with limits on the number of cats allowed per household; After a two-year transition period, owners must comply or face penalties, while licences will become chargeable
Oceania Tonga At the end of a five-day visit to Tonga, which included a tour of the tsunami-affected areas, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction declared that more resources are needed
Europe Vatican City Pope Francis telephoned US President Joe Biden to talk about the conflicts in the world and the need to find paths to peace
Asia Singapore Singapore has not yet made any decisions on the use of nuclear energy, but needs to keep its options open and build expertise in the field, said the Minister of Trade and Industry
Europe Switzerland Voters went to the polls to elect a new national parliament in Switzerland on Sunday with results showing a victory of the radical right and a defeat of environmentalist forces
Oceania Samoa The two pig traps in Savai'i earlier this month to catch wild pigs are proving successful; they are installed by a partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Pig Brig Trap Company of the US and the Market Development Facility
America Argentina Argentinians will shortly head to voting amid a severe economic crisis, with leading candidates including Javier Milei, Patricia Bullrich, and Sergio Massa; challenges lie in curbing inflation and restoring faith in governance
Asia Taiwan Sun Yat-sen National University said a Mandarin-language immersive school at its Kaohsiung campus, operated by Vermont-based Middlebury College, will begin enrolling US university students in spring 2024
Oceania Vanuatu One month after the conclusion of the national games in Vanuatu, state teachers employed by the Teaching Service Commission are still fighting to receive their daily subsistence allowance
Asia Uzbekistan Last year, agriculture consumed 39 billion cubic metres of water, of which 36% was lost in canals and ditches with earthen beds; in the past two years, subsidies have been allocated to the water sector also to inroduce water-saving technologies
Asia Yemen Tropical Cyclone Tej is expected to arrive in Yemen this week, bringing significant rainfall and a risk of flooding to the east of the country; Al Ghaydah area could receive 500-750 mm of rainfall, compared to the annual average of 50 mm
Europe Iceland A one-day nationwide strike is planned for today against the pay gap between men and women and sexual and gender-based violence, in what is expected to be the largest women's strike in the country's history; PM Katrín Jakobsdóttir has also joined
Europe Spain Cepsa, Compañía Española de Petróleos, began developing projects for the construction and operation of biomethane production plants from agricultural and livestock waste to decarbonise its industrial activity replacing natural gas with this renewable gas
America Saint Kitts and Nevis The IMF forecast economic growth at 5% for the country, lower than the 8,8% recorded last year; next year's figure would be at 3,8%