America Brazil 180,1 million tonnes of soybeans are expected to be harvested in the 2026/27 season, with exports forecast to reach a record 110 million tonnes; Domestic crushing is expected to rise to 63,5 million tonnes, also driven by stronger biodiesel demand
Europe Netherlands The country is confident that it will meet the national gas storage targets set by the European Commission to ensure security of supply next winter
Africa Sudan Date lovers attended 4th International Date Festival, that opened its doors in Khartoum on 30 November; with an annual production of around 330.000 tonnes, the country ranks eighth among the world's most important date-producing countries
Oceania Samoa Twelve constituencies have signed their grant agreement to access the first $1 million district development fund, which will be officially released in phases
Europe Slovakia According to a recent survey, people in western Slovakia are more likely to buy a live carp for Christmas than those in the east, for the traditional dinner on 24 December; however, the number is down on previous years
Europe Finland The Finnish Nature Conservation Association and Greenpeace claim that the government has not met its carbon neutrality target and will take the matter to the Supreme Administrative Court
Oceania Vanuatu The acting CEO of the Vanuatu Foreign Investment Promotion Authority, Minnie Bani, stated that Vanuatu is not as dangerous as other Pacific nations, after a foreign investor labelled Vanuatu as dangerous after his shop was looted in Korman
Europe Vatican City Pope Francis will travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan from 31 January to 5 February 2023, after having postponed a visit planned for the summer of 2022 due to health problems
Asia Thailand Environmental crimes police shut down 16 illegal dumps in Bangkok and arrested seven people for operating them
Asia Taiwan The Council of Ministers has approved a draft amendment to the Commodity Tax Act that, if approved, will extend the current period of reduction of the commodity tax for buyers of new and heavy diesel vehicles who dispose of old ones until the end of 2026
Asia Sri Lanka State-owned liquefied petroleum gas supplier Litro Gas plans to distribute 100.000 cylinders of LP gas per day to the market without any shortage during the festive season
Africa Zimbabwe The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has accused a group of data analysts, Team Pachedu, of using 'terrorist tactics' to try to hack into its system and destabilise the country's electoral processes
Europe United Kingdom For the first time since the Middle Ages, Christians are falling below 50% in GB, with a boom in the number of people describing themselves as 'non-religious': from 25,2% in 2011, when they were 14,1 million, they are now as high as 37,2%, or 22,2 million
Europe Switzerland Federal government's request to downgrade the wolf from 'absolutely protected' to 'protected' species was rejected by Bern Convention; Federal Department of Environment wanted to give member states more room for manoeuvre in the event of attacks