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
Europe Slovenia Caver and researcher Jure Tičar and the Slovenian Speleological Association are driving the public attention to caves as a natural treasure - around 14.700 are registered at present in the country - and conducting a survey on their pollution grade
Europe Malta Several former employees of a taxi fleet claim that they have not been paid months’ worth of salaries, with some amounts running into thousands of euros; some of them have opened cases with the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations
Oceania Australia Record rains are provoking floods in Kimberly and Canberra, while Fitzroy River flows breaks the records of 2022; evacuation operations are being performed from homes, hospitals and public buildings, with incessant use of helicopters
Europe North Macedonia Radical Islamist content online in North Macedonia has decreased, but experts say those behind it have grown more sophisticated in their use of Internet propaganda
Europe Lithuania Military assistance to Ukraine will continue in 2023 in six main areas: acquisition of weapons, transfer and repair of military equipment, training, education and rehabilitation of military personnel, expert support in defense reforms, cyber security
America Saint Kitts and Nevis The Nevis geothermal project is pushing ahead its development, with drilling as next step, thank to the recently approved funding of $17 million by the Caribbean Development Bank; it aims at increasing energy security with less emissions and costs
Europe France An audience rebound of +59.2% on 2021 has been registered by the French National Cinema Centre; according to the figures released, audience numbers were three-quarters of their pre-Covid attendance numbers with 152 million admissions in 2022
Africa Burkina Faso 28 bodies were found in Nouna over the weekend: the government started investigation immediately; the Collective Against Impunity and Stigmatization of Communities denounced "abuses" by Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, army auxiliaries
Europe Montenegro Government confirms borrowing 50 million euros from Hungarian-owned CKB bank – days after another Hungarian bank approved major loan to the Bosnian Serb entity, Republika Srpska
Asia Japan Emperor Naruhito offered prayers for people’s happiness and world peace as him and his family waved to crowds of New Year’s well-wishers from the balcony at the Imperial Palace in the celebration halted for the past two years
Europe Kosovo Kosovo will host five persecuted Afghan journalists, a government decision praised by the European Federation of Journalists for 'showing an exceptional sense of solidarity with journalists in distress around the world'
Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo Local sources from Kibumba on Monday, reported that the expected withdrawal of the M23 rebels from Kibumba - 20 km from North Kivu capital Goma, is still "not effective"
America Canada Restaurants and the food industry debut new takeout ware and packaging amid phase-in of federal single-use plastics ban that aims at removing many single-use plastics from the market gradually until 2025