Asia Thailand Rubella has been eliminated in Thailand as a public health threat, achieving the WHO criteria for interruption of endemic transmission; imported cases is now the key concern, especially for infections during pregnancy
Africa Nigeria Nigeria's Supreme Court has recently ruled that Muslim girls can wear the hijab in public schools in Lagos State, upholding a 2016 ruling by an appeals court that had overturned the hijab ban
Asia India From today, single-use plastic will be banned; the Centre has barred the manufacturing, distribution, importing, sale, stocking and use of all single-use plastic, comprising polystyrene and expanded polystyrene
America Mexico To reduce tensions on the US-Mexico border, in a week over 300.000 Mexicans have been granted a temporary US work visa
Asia Pakistan The Finance Minister said a consortium of Chinese banks and Pakistan have signed an agreement for a $2,3 billion loan, underlining the gratitude of the Pakistani people towards China
Oceania Nauru Nauru Airlines has suspended passenger services into the country due to the rise in Covid-19 cases, until further notice
Europe France The Ministry of Economy has confirmed the end of the €38 ceiling for meal vouchers, which will be reduced to €19 from today; the measure was adopted in June 2020 to support restaurateurs
Asia United Arab Emirates The new law that comes into force today envisages a mandatory 25 fils fee on all single-use bags starting today; this decision is the first step towards a total ban on single-use bags within two years
Asia Uzbekistan In a historic first, Uzbekistan's new state-of-the-art gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in the Qashqadaryo region has started producing synthetic oil
Africa Senegal The National Blood Transfusion Centre has launched an initiative to harness the widespread use of social media to encourage more people to donate blood regularly
Europe Monaco The summer sales start today in the country, traditionally set from 1/07 to 15/08; shifted due to the pandemic, the dates are now back to the traditional period
Africa Burkina Faso 6500 tonnes of food supplies recently arrived in the country from ECOWAS to support IDPs fleeing jihadist violence in the country; the loan will be fully repaid, but there is concern about the management of the grain, with fears of theft or corruption
Oceania Solomon Islands IMF conducted a virtual mission to Solomon Islands to discuss recent economic developments and policy plans; the final statement forecasts -4,5% GDP in 2022 but economic recovery is starting and a GDP rebound is expected in 2023
America Guyana Starting next month, government cash grants will be offered to children in private and public schools in order to buy the textbooks and class materials they need