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 Solomon Islands Opposition Leader Matthew Wale has strongly objected to the government's continued push to extend the life of parliament from four to five years, calling it a self-serving exercise that disregards the trust of the electorate
Europe Switzerland A Groupe Mutuel study reveals the shortcomings of hospital planning, concluding that more than 270 patients die each year in hospitals because they are treated by doctors who do not perform operations routinely enough to achieve an optimal result
Europe Serbia European Anti-Torture Committee report, published on 10th March, notes ‘number of credible and consistent allegations of physical ill-treatment of detained persons by police officers’ and urges Serbia to take action
Asia Myanmar The military junta has exported more than $37 million worth of timber to countries where, in theory, they could not have done so because of international sanctions, according to the US environmental association Forest trends
Asia Vietnam While the pandemic has caused a number of disruptions in the traditional sports industry, it has created a golden opportunity for e-sports and game creators, with the market increasing significantly among the country's youth
Africa Rwanda The country has decided to impose a tax on Netflix viewing - it's the latest African country to announce plans to tax online services consumed within its borders
Asia Afghanistan With 95% of families not getting enough to eat and World Food Programme funds to alleviate the humanitarian crisis are running out, it is estimated that $1,6 billion would be needed to assist 23 million Afghans
Oceania Tuvalu The Australian High Commission in Tuvalu has joined the Fuligafou non-governmental organisation in supporting its work to plant and restore coral in the Funafuti lagoon
Europe Albania The country is working on an offshore wind project supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which is still at a study stage; despite the vast potential, the country currently has no wind power capacity
America Brazil Thousands of protesters gathered in Brasilia after one of the country’s most renown musicians, Caetano Veloso, called a major protest to denounce what environmentalists call a ‘historic assault’ on the Brazilian environment
Asia Malaysia After Malaysian minister for women, herself a woman, suggested husbands beat their 'stubborn' wives for their 'unruly' behavior last month, pressure groups are still calling for her resignation from the government
Asia Uzbekistan In its development strategy for 2022-2026, the priorities of economic transformation have been identified as crucial, with seven specific priority directions and one hundred goals to be achieved in five years
Asia Qatar The Ministry of Education started 2nd phase of the comprehensive educational survey for the academic year 2021-2022, seeking students' opinions on aspects of the educational process such as promotion of religious values, national identity, mixed education