Oceania Nauru The first Nauru citizenships have been granted under new Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program: announced at COP29, it allows investors a second citizenship while supporting climate adaptation and sustainable development in the South Pacific
Africa Burundi Burundi signed agreements with the World Bank on three grants for a total USD 168,3 million that will finance a climate resilience project and two energy projects
Africa Cape Verde Spanish Bishop Fernando García Cadiñanos emphasised the enriching contribution of immigrants to host societies, urging the abandonment of fear-based narratives at a public conference at the Catholic University of Cape Verde
Asia Thailand In Bangkok, public transport will be free for a week to try to counteract the heavy smog enveloping the city these days; pollution has also led the local government to close 352 of the 437 schools in the metropolitan city
Africa Guinea-Bissau The government urged the Chinese company GMG Internacional SA, which operates the Varela heavy sands mine, to commit to fulfilling its social responsibility by rehabilitating schools and improving the road section serving the premises
Africa Ghana A new set of words, relating to cooking, dance, music, but also expressions of popular slang, from Ghana and Nigeria have made it into the latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary; one example is 'Ghanaian banku', a paste of fermented maize and cassava
Europe Ireland 800.000 households, including homes, offices and shops, were left without electricity after the passage of storm Éowyn; according to ESB, the company that manages the electricity grid, some buildings could remain without electricity for a week
Europe Iceland The use of tanning beds has steadily decreased: only 5% of people said they had used them in the past 12 months, compared to over 30% in 2004; the number of tanning beds has also decreased, with 86 beds in 2023, compared to 97 in 2020
Asia Iraq The country is witnessing a steady increase in patent registrations, a sign of growing scientific and research activity, according to Fadhil al-Gharawi, head of the Strategic Centre for Human Rights
Africa Rwanda The Plenary Sitting of the Chamber of Deputies called for immediate action to address challenges in Rwanda's agricultural sector, emphasizing the necessity for increased productivity and sustainable market solutions, particularly focusing on rice harvest
Europe Hungary Prime Minister Orbán, speaking on Kossuth radio about the main current political issues, stated, among other things, that 'Hungarians were Trumps even before Trump'
Africa Kenya A young Kenyan, Joseph Nguthiru, proposed to turn an invasive plant on Lake Naivasha into biodegradable packaging; his company, HyaPak, works together with fishermen at the lake who are affected by the phenomenon
Africa Chad An ordinance introducing measures to prevent and suppress violence against women and girls was passed 72 hours after the launch of an online petition, initiated by the Ligue Tchadienne des Droits de la Femme
Africa Algeria The authorities ordered the closure for six months of Frantz-Fanon Editions, a publishing house located in Boumerdès, known for its progressive commitment and symbolic reference to the famous psychiatrist and anti-colonialist militant Frantz Fanon