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
Africa Egypt The Egyptian government, facing a record inflation, has agreed with producers and private retailers to reduce prices of basic foods by 15-25% and exempt them from customs duties for six months
Africa Morocco Western Union grants commission-free international money transfers for Moroccan earthquake victims and relief donations; consumers can use money transfer services to send donations directly to the Moroccan government's special fund
America Peru Peruvian courts have sentenced Vladimir Cerrón, leader of the Peru Libre party, to over three years in prison for corruption charges related to his time as regional governor, a move denounced by party members as abusive and politically motivated
Africa Gabon General Brice Oligui Nguema, Gabon's leader, has appointed members of the new national assembly and senate for a transitional period, ahead of promised elections at an unknown date
Europe Portugal Nuvem, a new transatlantic subsea cable system to connect Portugal, Bermuda and the US, has been announced; named after the Portuguese word for “cloud,” it will improve network resiliency across the Atlantic
Africa Chad The staff union of the Ministry of National Solidarity has issued a one-week strike notice, from 9 to 17 October 2023, demanding payment of their bonuses for their work in the catastrophe zones last year
Asia China China intends to increase the country's aggregate computing power by more than 50% by 2025, with Beijing focusing on innovations in supercomputing and artificial intelligence
Africa Benin Nigerian Yoruba separatist Sunday Igboho has been released in Benin, where he was arrested after fleeing the Nigerian police two years ago, and has left the country
America Paraguay Security for Israeli institutions and citizens will be enhanced through the National Police, aligning with the government's condemnation of terrorism against Israel
Asia Cyprus Cyprus remains committed to improving the state of fish stocks; sustainability of the fishing sector is especially crucial for small-scale fleets and to eliminate illegal fishing
Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina Several companies exhibited their products at the Bosnia and Herzegovina pavilion at the Anuga Fine Food 2023 trade fair, running from 7 to 11 October 2023 in Cologne, Germany
Africa Comoros 6th dialogue with EU focused on monitoring cooperation programmes for Comoros Plan, preparations for elections and signing of a cooperation agreement on Green and Blue Pact and support for women, youth and civil society
Asia Bahrain Bhageria Industries Limited, a leading specialty chemicals and renewable energy company, announced the completion of a solar engineering, procurement and construction project in Bahrain