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
America Haiti Haiti was yesterday the featured country at the Dubai World Expo 2020, with the theme "a land of resilient people turning to renewable energy"
Asia Afghanistan Taliban rulers unexpectedly decided against reopening schools to girls above the 6th grade, reneging on a promise and opting for their hard-line base; the international community has urged to reopen schools and give girls their right to public spaces
Asia Maldives Registration closed last night for the eleventh season of Ooredoo Masrace by Ooredoo Maldives, a fishing tournament held every year during Ramadan and an integral part of Ramadan in the Maldives
Europe Czech Republic Czech scientists have discovered a way to isolate only healthy sperm to help combat male infertility, being able to identify defective sperm and remove them from sperm samples using magnets
Africa Gambia The 8th African Islamic Finance Summit will be held at the Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre today to explore the African financial market potential; ultimate goal would be the socio-economic benefit of the region
Africa Ghana After the president was engaged in an emergency meeting with cabinet ministers and members of the Economic Management Team, the salaries of ministers, heads of state enterprises and heads of municipal and district assemblies could be cut by up to 30%
Europe Estonia The European Commission has decided to allocate more than €2 billion from the Brexit adjustment reserve to 12 member states, of which Estonia will receive a total of €5,2 million to mitigate the negative effects of the UK's withdrawal from the EU
Europe Romania Romanian company Re.flex has developed a digital assistant for physical therapy, allowing users to run rehabilitation exercise programmes before or after knee and hip surgery anytime, anywhere
Europe San Marino This weekend the Sports Fishing Federation awarded its champions for the 2021 season, postponed due to the pandemic; the president of the San Marino National Olympic Committee, Gian Primo Giardi, attended the awards ceremony
Europe Switzerland The Swiss are divided on the question of increasing the financial resources for the army; according to a recent poll, 45% believe there should be an increase, 41% are against and 8% would like to see a reduction
Europe Albania The country extended a national holiday for one day as demand for electricity outstripped domestic production and low water levels paralysed hydroelectric power stations across the country, with the energy emergency continuing since October
Africa Togo 17 African Heads of State and Government have confirmed that they will participate in the first African Cybersecurity Summit that opens today in Lomé; more than 700 participants, including private sector and civil society leaders, have also registered
Asia United Arab Emirates The UAE has approved a federal scheme for crowdfunding platform operators to fund innovative business ideas for both the public and private sectors, with the Securities and Commodities Authority to be the regulator of the activity