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
Africa Burkina Faso Russian mining company Nordgold closed its Taparko mine and declared force majeure due to security concerns in the country; the mine, which produced 53.500 ounces of gold in the first nine months of 2021, has witnessed several militant attacks
Europe Croatia Postal Service, in a vote of Croatian and international enthusiasts, chose as winner of the traditional competition for the best stamp of 2021 a postal block with two stamps entitled 350th anniversary of the death of Petar Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan
Asia Taiwan Although Taiwan is slowly easing restrictions, the impact of the pandemic will remain severe until September, said epidemiologist Lee Ping-ing of National Taiwan University
Africa Sao Tome and Principe URBE will train more than 40 students from the Autonomous Region of Principe in the next academic year as part of the current partnership between the Autonomous Region of Principe and the training institution
Africa Seychelles The provision of more space for the University of Seychelles functions at its Mont Fleuri campus, the India-Seychelles Centre for Excellence in ICT, and in Anse Royale, is receiving top government attention
America Trinidad and Tobago Having begun its expansion into the Caribbean almost a decade ago, Starbucks Corporation will see the addition of four new licensed shops in Trinidad and Tobago during 2022
Africa Djibouti Spaniard Jorge Barahona has been appointed as UN Resident Coordinator in Djibouti, with the approval of the host government
Africa Central African Republic A fire simulation exercise involving detainees was performed in detention centres by the Central African Ministry of Justice with the support of the judicial and penitentiary affairs section of MINUSCA and the EU Advisory Mission EUAM-RCA
Africa Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau has plunged into an information blackout after 79 radio stations were shut down by the government for failure to renew their licences by an almost impossible deadline
Africa Angola The process of distribution of drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis, in the province of Luanda, resumed this month, about 15 days after the breakdown recorded in the care centres, forcing many patients to stop treatment due to lack of drugs
Africa Chad The "Agence de développement des technologies de l'information et de la communication" has organised a workshop in N'Djamena to create an Internet exchange point in Chad
Europe Switzerland The Swiss army has decided to strengthen its cyber defence, with the government aiming to create the technical prerequisites for the digitisation of the troops by equipping them with modern ICT systems
Asia Tajikistan The government of Tajikistan plans to allocate 7.500 work quotas to foreign workers this year, according to the official website of the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Employment