Asia Philippines A persistent infestation of soft scale insects continues to threaten Philippines’s sugar industry, damaging crops and reducing yields in key producing provinces; Authorities are expanding monitoring and pest-control measures to contain the outbreak
Oceania Fiji Port Denarau Marina's chief executive officer has advised boaters to keep an eye on warnings issued by the Fiji Meteorological Service in light of the heavy rains that are affecting the Fiji Group
Asia Iran The country has drawn huge international condemnation after executing two young civilians - karate champion Mohammad Mehdi Karam and volunteer children's coach Seyed Mohammad Hosseini- for participating in anti-regime protests
Europe Estonia The Ministry of the Environment urged that the large number of used batteries should be disposed of in special collection containers and not together with general waste under any circumstances
Europe Hungary In Forbes Hungary list of billionaires, for the first time in several years, Mészáros did not take first place, occupied instead by Sándor Csányi, CEO of Hungary's largest bank, OTP; he is the first person to cross the 500 billion threshold
Asia Thailand Over 3.000 elephants are used for tourism in the country, more than anywhere else, almost all privately owned; the collapse of tourism during pandemic had a crucial impact on their owners, many of whom no longer earn enough to care for them
Africa Djibouti The National Gendarmerie celebrated the 46th anniversary of its creation at the Cheick Moussa training centre, presided over by Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed
Asia Iraq A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the American Concrete Institute to increase cooperation and coordination in the field, announced the Iraqi Ministry of Construction
Asia Bangladesh The country has been declared free of the dangerous pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT
Africa Burundi Junior national team players from several countries have left for Burundi to represent their countries at the East African U14 and U16 individual and team championships
Asia Georgia McDonald's Georgia continues to expand, with 21st restaurant opened on Rustavi Highway in Tbilisi
America United States Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected House speaker on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot early Saturday
Europe Czech Republic The Czech retail market once again proved its attractiveness for retail brands, with 38 new arrivals last year, the same figure as in 2021 but an increase of around 50% compared to 2019 and 2020
Africa Guinea-Bissau The government has decided to change the name of the Bafatá stadium to Estádio Pelé, in response to Fifa president Gianni Infantino's call for a worldwide tribute to the former Brazilian footballer