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 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 Egypt A sarcophagus dating back to the Late Dynastic Period of ancient Egypt, smuggled into the United States in 2008, has eventually returned home and handed over with a ceremony in Cairo; the country is also holding talks with the UK for the Rosetta Stone
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"
Europe Norway Oslo was the only major city in the country to drop traditional fireworks displays at midnight on New Year's Eve this year after the City Council voted against funding an official display for several reasons including “to use the money on things that last
Africa South Africa The death toll from an explosion of a tanker truck in the town of Boksburg has risen to 34, including 10 health workers at a nearby hospital; the truck was carrying gas when it got stuck under a low-lying bridge
Africa Tunisia Staff from state-owned public transport firm Transtu have demonstrated outside the prime minister's office yesterday; the strike, called by UGTT union, reportedly froze "the majority" of transport services across the capital of almost three million people
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
Africa Eritrea Eritrean troops are slowly leaving the Tigray region; although their presence is still confirmed in many places in the north of the region, columns of soldiers have been spotted crossing the border
Europe Netherlands An extreme right-wing group calling itself White Lives Matter has claimed responsibility for projecting racist slogans on the Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam during the New Year festivities
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 Tanzania Tanzania Revenue Authority recorded Sh2,77 trillion (€1,1 billion) in tax collections in December 2022, the highest monthly collection recorded since the authority was formed in 1996
Europe Poland Poland has taken in 8.84 million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Polish Border Guard agency reported yesterday