Oceania Marshall Islands The fish aggregation devices FADs that fishing boats use to make catches easier, lately equipped with satellite communications gear to pinpoint location, are now being built by drug cartels that wrap packs of cocaine and radio transponders to trace troves
Oceania Vanuatu The country has decided to reopen its borders to incoming international passenger flights on 1 July 2022, following flight restrictions for almost 5 months due to active cases of Covid-19; in parallel, the vaccination campaign will be intensified
Europe Kosovo Opened in 2004 to meet the needs of a rapidly changing community, "Shtëpia e Diellit" is the first private pre-school in Peja/Peć, a laboratory of new experiences for both parents and their children
Asia Uzbekistan The country's growth is expected to slow in 2022 due to lower investment and remittances from Russia before picking up slightly in 2023, while green financing can support the country's transition to a greener economy, said a recent Asian Development Bank
Europe Slovenia Slovenian defence spending to rise to almost €1 billion by 2026, with the programme set to advance the development and modernisation of priority capabilities and the restructuring of the armed forces and defence system
Asia Kazakhstan Pope Francis has expressed his desire to travel to Kazakhstan on the occasion of the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions to be held at the beginning of September in the capital Nur-Sultan
Africa Gambia Chris Dietrich, co-founder of TukTuk Gambia with Pa Modou Jobe, said TukTuk Gambia is the main distributor of Bajaj motorbikes and motorbikes after a recent agreement with the company
Europe Finland Private investors' investment activity in startups reached a new high in 2021, with 52,3M€ in 626 companies, the majority in companies that received their first investment
Africa Zambia The Zambia Alliance for Tobacco Control recently appealed to the government to consider banning the advertising and sale of tobacco products near schools, which encourages impulse buying of the products by students
Asia Kazakhstan The national investment promotion company Kazakh Invest reported it formed a pool of investment projects at various stages of implementation worth 500 million tenge (1 million euros) in non-primary sectors
Africa Ivory Coast A special unit dedicated to the fight against human trafficking was recently established in Korhogo, involving representatives of various ministries and social organisations, defence and security forces, traditional leaders, youth and women's organisation
Asia Bhutan Bhutan is on track to exit the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group by June 2023, according to senior officials of the Ministry of Finance
America Belize The country prohibited the sale of alcohol during Easter as well as public drinking due the holiday’s religious nature
Africa Morocco 11 years after its recognition as an official language, Tamazigh made its way into Parliament; it is spoken by at least 1/4 of the Moroccan population and has been defended in the face of a central administration that favours the use of Arabic and French