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
Oceania Solomon Islands Hon. Hou, MP for Small Malaita Constituency, appealed to all landowners and community leaders in his region to allow development projects to proceed on their land, as land disputes still hinder and delay essential services and infrastructure delivery
Africa South Africa Barrydale has earned the title of South Africa’s Best Small Town to live in, followed by White River and Jeffrey's Bay, according to the 2025 Daily Maverick survey: readers nominated their favourite small towns across the country
Europe Slovakia Construction in Slovakia opens 2026 under pressure from inflation and investment decline; experts have outlined the impact of rising costs and uncertain automotive demand, underlining that diversification is essential for sustainable growth
Asia Japan Clothes waste will be reduced by 25% by 2030 through recycle and reuse to address the environmental impact of emissions-heavy garment production; textile industry waste has become a major issue worldwide, with 92 million tons of carbon dioxide annually
Africa Niger Niger Basketball Federation has celebrated New Years' festivities with women's and men's National Cup; organized at the municipal stadium in Zinder, a city with a vivid basketball tradition, it saw the participation of authorities and fans
Oceania Micronesia VP took part in the official kick off of the 74th Operation Christmas Drop, a tradition begun in 1952 when aircrew dropped a bundle of supplies attached to a parachute to waving islanders; OCD involves over 60 islands in FSM, Palau, Marshall Islands
Africa Equatorial Guinea Ciudad de La Paz, capital of the province of Djiploho, was proclaimed as the new national capital on 2 January 2026 by presidential decree signed by H.E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo; Malabo had been Ecuatorial Guinea's capital city since independence in 1968
Europe Greece Thousands of travelers have been stranded and airport operations across Greece were in a virtual standstill for several hours yesterday as a collapse of radio frequencies disrupted air traffic communications bringing to the shutdown of Greek airspace
Asia Turkmenistan Turkmenistan has taken over the chairmanship of the Commonwealth of Independent States CIS; President Berdimuhamedov has stated that the country intends to contribute to the full realization of the organization’s potential during its chairmanship
Europe Monaco In his New Year’s message, Prince Albert II highlighted the human dimension of 2025 Monaco's achievements, as the country showed its strength in unity, wishing 2026 would enable the spreading of Monegasque model of progress and common good
America Dominican Republic Air arrivals in the Dominican Republic grew by 10%, reaching 960k tourists December, the highest monthly record ever achieved by the country; closing 2025 with 11,6 million visitors, figures consolidate the best result in the history of Dominican tourism
America Jamaica Despite being ravaged by Hurricane Melissa two months ago, several schools in St James are set to resume full classes today; administrators say the situation will not be perfect but reopening schools is a key step towards normality
Asia Tajikistan The list of public officials required to declare income and assets was extended in an anticorruption effort, including employees of the National Bank, staff of state-owned financial institutions, officials working in Tajik embassies or government missions