America Panama A tanker paid a record $5,3 million for priority passage through the Panama Canal before the number of daily transits will be reduced due to the El Niño weather phenomenon; rainfall deficits and drought deplete water reserves needed to operate the canal
Asia Azerbaijan Working closely with Turkish-speaking countries, the country has started broadcasting a new radio, Radio TMB, which will contribute to the development of the interstate information space by covering all districts of the country
Europe Lithuania The PM has welcomed a proposal by the Finance Minister to introduce a universal property tax from next year, saying the country needs a European property tax - its implementation could be left to local authorities
Asia United Arab Emirates Dubai will consider lowering government taxes on business activities to keep the business environment attractive after the ministry announced plans to introduce a federal corporate tax on corporate profits from June 2023
Europe Estonia According to the Minister of Economy and Infrastructure, the agricultural target of the European climate package is not even theoretically achievable for the country; other areas of concern are the transport and maritime sectors
Europe Czech Republic Prague has the highest cost of living among the 50 monitored cities in Central and Eastern Europe, with the price of rent, food and energy contributing the most to the dearness, according to current data from the global Numbeo database
Africa Morocco Researchers at the Mascir Foundation have completed a molecular test for the detection of tuberculosis, the Mascir Tb Ss-Lamp, the first entirely Moroccan diagnostic test that provides results in 30 minutes
Africa Mali In the growing tension with France, the coup authorities decided to expel the French ambassador, Meyer, who was ordered to leave the country within 72 hours
Africa Niger The Ministry of Regional Planning and Community Development stated that there are shortcomings, in the field of NGOs and development associations, in terms of non-compliance with the creation and operation protocol, as only 26% have signed it
Africa Somalia A solar-powered medical oxygen system, installed a year ago, is proving effective in saving lives in central Somalia's Hanaano hospital, according to Somali doctors and the World Health Organisation
Asia Saudi Arabia The country has regsitered one of the highest adoption curves of contactless payments in the world over the past three years, with the overall share of contactless payments reaching 95% during the period
Europe Sweden The country is trialling a system to improve its emergency response services; it features drones delivering defibrillators, with drone developer Everdrone collaborating with researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm from 2019
Oceania Australia Dryandra Woodland National Park, the newest in the country, has been created in Western Australia with the aim of protecting rare and critically endangered wildlife species, including the numbat, the iconic marsupial native to the area
Africa Libya The parliament announced the opening of nominations for the post of prime minister, replacing Hamid Dbeibah as head of the interim government; the new premier will reportedly be selected on 8 February