Asia South Korea A traditional rainmaking ritual called giuje was performed by the Gangneung Danoje Preservation Committee as severe drought is gripping the coastal city of Gangneung; water at Obong Reservoir stood at 18,3% and is projected to last other 22 days
Asia Cambodia The first 2025 human death from avian influenza H5N1 was reported; 28 years old, the man from Kampong Cham province lived in an area with ongoing poultry outbreaks and had been involved in raising and feeding chicken
Africa Liberia The Minister of Finance and Development Planning described the World Bank as 'Liberia's largest multilateral partner', emphasising its key role in post-conflict recovery and ongoing development efforts
Asia Bangladesh Local authorities opened criminal proceedings against British Treasury Minister Siddiq, allegedly abusing her position as an MP to gain influence and illegally acquire land together with her aunt Hasina, the ousted prime minister; Ms. Siddiq resigned
Asia Turkey The Istanbul Transport Coordination Centre approved a 35% increase in fares for public transport, taxis, school buses and employee shuttles
Europe Monaco The Centre Scientifique de Monaco officially appointed Sylvie Tambutté, a distinguished marine biologist known for groundbreaking research on coral calcification and the challenges they face in the era of climate change, as its new scientific director
Asia South Korea SK’s space program, part of the Lunar Codex, is sending 11 traditional sijo poems, including Kim Dal-ho’s “Dream of a Meteor” and Koo Choong-hoe’s “To the Moon,” to the moon via Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander, set to reach the Mare Crisium in March
Asia Malaysia Kedah state will mandate the inclusion of Jawi script on all billboards, effective immediately, to preserve the traditional Malay-Arabic script, reflecting the state’s cultural heritage; businesses must incorporate Jawi alongside existing scripts
Africa Mali The junta began seizing gold stocks from the Loulo-Gounkoto mine operated by the Canadian company Barrick Gold, in the face of promises of fairer distribution of the proceeds of the lucrative mining industry with more pressure on foreign companies
Africa Lesotho Major Bokang Melato, Defence Force Youth Development Programme coordinator, urged the government to invest in the armed forces to ensure the nation's progress
Africa Kenya The Kenya-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement CEPA, newly signed, is the first agreement of its kind signed by the UAE with a mainland African country and marks a historic milestone in the economic relations between the two nations
Africa Mozambique Frelimo party candidate Daniel Chapo was sworn in as the new president during a ceremony in the capital, becoming the fifth president of Mozambique since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975
Asia Laos A coffee processing station in Mokvat, built with support from Korea International Cooperation Agency and Wonders International, processes 900kg-1 ton of cherries/hour and boosts the coffee value chain by enabling farmers to produce higher-value products
Asia Iraq Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani and UK Prime Ministers Keir Starmer unveiled a £12.3 billion ($15 billion) UK-Iraq investment and trade package aimed at strengthening prosperity and bilateral economic ties