Africa Seychelles Parents whose autistic children didn't meet medical assessment criteria for support in November 2024 - June 2026 will now be eligible for assistance under the Children Neurodivergent Disorder Needs Scheme CNDNS, introduced by government in July 2026
Oceania New Zealand A collection of century-old artifacts being auctioned internationally is raising questions about whether they are ethical to buy and sell; they include moa leg bones, a golden huia beak brooch, a kiwi skeleton, a taxidermied bird, two types of Māori clubs
Asia Kuwait Flamingos in migration are dotting Kuwait Bay beaches amid the moderate weather; Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences is involved as part of “Kuwait Month of Sciences,” educating the public about biodiversity and birds conservation
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
Oceania Tonga Today is the last day of the Tonga Police's annual Christmas and New Year holiday operation that began on 22 December with the aim of preventing crime and ensuring public safety
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 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
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 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 Iceland The New Year’s Eve swim in the frozen sea held in Nauthólsvík saw over hundred people participated, all in fancy dresses, at about -2°C reports the Reykjavík Sea Swimming Association
Africa Zimbabwe All lithium exports have been banned after the government said it was losing 1,7 billion euros from exporting it as a raw mineral and not processing it into batteries in-country
America Peru The country's Constitutional Court has ordered the demolition of a 10-kilometre wall that separates a rich neighbourhood of Lima from a poor one, ruling it discriminatory and unacceptable to divide its people by social classes
Asia Cyprus Turkish Cypriot medias report the police seized several packets containing a total of 75 kilograms of cannabis that washed up on the beach between Dec 18 and Jan 1; authorities ask the public not to handle any such packets they may spot on the beach
Africa Madagascar Since reopening borders in April 2022, tourism in Madagascar is slowly regaining momentum; despite an undeniable attraction as a destination for its one of a kind biodiversity, the island only welcomed three times less visitors than pre pandemic