Asia Indonesia After a 7,7 magnitude earthquake hit Flores, the scientific community said consecutive major earthquakes, (like Venezuela, Colombia) are normal: global earthquake rates remain steady, averaging about 16 major earthquakes, magnitude 7 or higher, each year
Africa Madagascar After visiting Nosy Be, the cruise ship Costa Deliziosa docked in Toamasina; this is the second ship after the passage of the luxury vessel Nippon Maru to call at the port since the beginning of the year
Asia Sri Lanka Single-use plastic will be banned after a series of deaths of elephants and wild deer from plastic poisoning; the measure was recommended by a working group appointed 18 months ago to study the impact of plastic waste on environment and wildlife
Europe Latvia Riga Municipality will allocate thousands of euro to reduce the number of beavers to 'necessary volume'; demolition of a beaver dam costs an average of €650 and in 3 years the municipality has invested €27.000 to counteract the damage caused by beavers
Asia Lebanon UNICEF has warned of an educational disaster in Lebanon, urging the immediate reopening of public schools to end the disruption to education
Oceania Solomon Islands The presence of Papua New Guinea police in the neighbouring Solomon Islands, following the anti-Chinese unrest in late 2021, has been formalised by an agreement between the two countries
Europe Luxembourg Luxembourg's national railway company CFL aims to hire more than 500 people in 2023 as complaints about delays and long journeys increase
Oceania Samoa Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Laaulialemalietoa Polataivao Schmidt, predicts an increase in the country's revenues based on the number of events hosted and incoming flights after Samoa’s reopening
Europe Norway Flyr, the up-and-coming Norwegian airline that took off when the pandemic subsided, has been grounded, with the board of directors filing for bankruptcy in the Oslo County Court
America Canada Universities are preparing for the return of Chinese students for the spring semester, as Beijing decided their qualifications wouldn’t be recognized in the job market; immigration data suggests tens of thousands may have returned home during the pandemic
Europe Lithuania Lithuania, like other EU countries, is facing a shortage of antibiotics, with doctors forced to adapt their treatment plans to what is available, while pharmaceutical authorities expect regular supplies in spring
Europe Romania Children from the rural environment of Holod municipality have the opportunity to discover their talents and creative abilities through an educational project called 'Small Talents', implemented locally by the Şinca Foundation with 'Iosif Vulcan' school
Europe Portugal Hotels in the Algarve celebrated the best January in 20 years, with 36,9% of hotel rooms booked in January, a figure close to the record of 40,3% set in 2000
Europe Slovenia Maribor was named the third best destination in Europe this year in a survey by European Best Destinations; the city was also named the best culinary destination in Europe