Asia Bahrain 394.000 visitors have been registered in state-run heritage sites in January-August 2026, with the Bahrain Fort accounting for 246.409, nearly two thirds of the total, and foreign visitors prevailed with the presence of 187.567 people
Asia Thailand The Phuket zoo, described by animal rights activists as 'a great spectacle of human cruelty', closed its doors not because of petitions but because of economic problems; the animals must now be relocated, with further financial and logistical difficulties
Asia Turkey 2021 was a record year for annual wind installations, with wind farms reaching a capacity of 1750 mwatts; the country generates 56% of its electricity from fossil fuels, coal and natural gas, and the rest from renewable sources, including hydroelectric
Africa Nigeria The World Bank expects the country's growth to strengthen by 2,5% in 2022 and 2,8% in 2023, in the face of global growth expected to decelerate markedly from current 5,5%
Europe Poland Poland's unemployment rate, at 3% in November according to Eurostat, is the third lowest in the 27-nation EU, where the average for November was 6,5%
Asia Sri Lanka The Ministry of Environment has hired 136 new environmental officers who will be assigned to the district secretariats to assist in the work carried out by the Ministry, the Central Environment Authority and the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau
Africa Togo The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has said it will help the country develop its industrialization projects, including the development of integrated industrial parks
Oceania Solomon Islands Temotu Vatud constituents will benefit from a $300.000 fishing and transportation project thanks to a donation of outboard motors from Fleet Solomons, a local company
Asia Qatar 9 embassies will participate in this year's Doha International Book Fair, which starts today at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center; there will be 37 participating countries in total, united under the theme "Knowledge is Light"
Asia United Arab Emirates A new law has been introduced in Dubai to ensure the inclusivity of people with special needs in various fields and sectors in the emirate, including the access to education
America Barbados The country is currently not accepting rapid antigen tests for entry, only PCR; the number of people who have turned up with the wrong tests has exceeded 300
Asia Nepal Two new bird species have been spotted in Nawalparasi during the ongoing waterfowl census, species not found in last year's census, while 10 bird species that were found last year have not appeared so far
Africa Liberia A veteran Liberian athlete, Junior Siaquiyah Davis, has donated sports equipment and prize money to the Liberia National Table Tennis Association as his way of contributing to the growth of the sport in the country
Europe Norway For the second year in a row, Christmas shopping increased: Norwegians spent almost 130 billion Norwegian kroner (US$ 14 billion) on Christmas shopping in November and December 2021