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 Micronesia Ocean shipping company Matson Inc. announced that Patrick Bulaon has been promoted to VP and general manager of Guam/Micronesia, starting today; he will oversee all operations and sales activities in the Western Pacific and Micronesia region
Asia Indonesia An extremely rare Sumatran rhino was born at the Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park, a triumph for the efforts to save the critically endangered animal from extinction, with only 80 individuals left according to International Rhino Foundation
Asia Iran President Raisi ordered an investigation after 2.000 ticketed women were denied entry to Mashhad stadium for World Cup qualifiers; the country now risks elimination from the World Cup
Asia Afghanistan The Taliban have ordered airlines in Afghanistan to prevent women from boarding flights unless accompanied by a male relative; the latest restriction on women follows the closure of all girls' secondary schools
Africa Morocco The 9th edition of the Global Forum on Combating Modern Slavery was held in Marrakech, with more than 75 leaders from 30 countries, bringing together civil society, UN representatives, government officials, academic researchers and former victims
Europe Croatia Over 951 lawsuits are active against media and journalists, Croatian Journalists' Association said, calling the number "worrying" and part of a "culture of suing journalists and media and systematic aggression" to intimidate and force self-censorship
Africa Central African Republic The reconciliation dialogue ended with over 600 recommendations, including the revision of bilateral and multilateral agreements, the strengthening of the army, the reform of electoral institutions and the search for new revenue for public finances
Oceania Solomon Islands The PM defended the possible security agreement with China, which has raised alarm among regional leaders wary of the growing Chinese presence, calling the critics' protests as "very insulting" as they consider the country unfit to handle sovereign affair
Africa Senegal The 9th edition of the World Water Forum in Dakar-Diamniadio ended Saturday with the theme "Water security for peace and development" to put water at the heart of multilateralism and international policies and build effective crisis response mechanisms"
Asia Yemen More comprehensive peace talks involving Yemen's warring factions began Wednesday in Riyadh, with GCC secretary general, US and UN envoys calling for end of conflict by Ramadan; Houthis refused to participate
Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo The country joined the East African Community (EAC), an organisation formed by six other countries (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda), which aims at regional economic integration
Europe Moldova As of today, April 1, the pension index will be calculated on the basis of the inflation rate at the end of the year and will be 13,94%
Africa Togo Gilbert Houngbo, who was elected Director-General by the International Labour Organisation's Board of Directors, will take office in October, becoming the first African to hold the position