Asia Bangladesh Recent studies demonstrated that microplastics are present in water, sediments, fish, salt, soft drinks, milk, edible oil and more products in Bangladesh, underscoring the growing concern that these pollutants are transferred to humans through food
Europe Montenegro Malta's Medicines Authority will serve as a model for Montenegro's, so that it will reach the standards set by the European Commission, which the country must meet to facilitate its accession to the EU
Europe Kosovo PedaKos project, focusing on early childhood education in Kosovo, which began in 2018, has concluded; it was supported by the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development and implemented by Volantari nel Mundo RTM with the support of the Italian Embassy
Oceania Vanuatu Paul Pio has been appointed as the new director of the Department of Tourism by the Public Service Commission
Asia Saudi Arabia The first group of transit visa holders have arrived in Saudi Arabia; the four-day visa allows holders to make Umrah and travel throughout the kingdom
Europe Russia Some 40 countries could boycott the Olympic Games to be held in Paris next year, nullifying the entire event, after several countries rejected an International Olympic Committee plan to allow Russians and Belarusians to participate in the event
Asia Palestine The Palestinian organisation Boycott4Pal explained why and how Lacoste supports and finances Israel, renewing its calls to boycott the French iconic brand
Europe Moldova President Maia Sandu presented the awards to 53 people of culture for their outstanding achievements in their creative work and for the high professionalism with which they contribute to the promotion of the nation's spiritual values
Oceania Palau The Palau International Coral Reef Centre celebrated its 22nd anniversary with a gala fundraising dinner, which raised $88.000
Asia Iran Jafar Panahi, the film director imprisoned on charges of carrying out anti-government propaganda with his work and banned from making films for 20 years, has been freed; the release came 48 hours after he began a hunger strike in protest
Africa Lesotho Central Bank of Lesotho, noting the negative impact of the South African energy crisis on Lesotho's economy, has decided to moderately raise the interest rate by 25 basis points, from 7 to 7,25% per annum, to counter the inflation rate
Asia Cyprus Over 470.000 passengers travelled through Larnaca and Paphos airports in this January, +105,6% on 2022 and +12% on the passenger traffic of January 2019, a record year; the largest traffic was coming from Greece, the UK, Israel, Poland and Germany
Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina The city of Mostar will build a solar power plant for its own needs to reduce electricity prices; it will be the first of its kind in the country, which was granted EU candidate status in December