Asia Philippines An Air Quality Index has been issued amid temporary haze from Indonesian forest fires; The Health Department advised residents to wear masks, limit outdoor activities, and remain indoor if possible
Europe Romania Romania's Anti-Corruption Directorate arrested its own investigator for taking a €6.000 bribe; the amount is more than half the average year's salary in the country
Europe Greece Ambitious new energy and climate sectoral targets will be included in the country's first climate law, including the decommissioning of all lignite-fired power plants by 2028
Asia Pakistan Sex offenders convicted of multiple rapes could now face chemical castration after lawmakers approved new anti-rape legislation to speed up convictions and impose harsher penalties, in response to a mass public outcry over a recent increase in rapes
Asia Uzbekistan Citizens can check the amount of their pension savings through the recently launched online service on the single portal of interactive state services my.gov.uz
Asia Philippines Huawei Philippines continues to empower future ICT talents with Seeds for the Future program, joined by over a hundred students
Europe Lithuania The country has become one of the co-founders of the NATO Innovation Fund, which will invest in start-ups in member countries and help develop and apply emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence or biotechnology, for security and defence
Africa Sudan After more than 3 weeks of intensified repression and the authorities cutting off telephones, internet connection has now been restored; activists used social networks to invite people to post videos or information to witness the demonstration's violence
Africa Ethiopia Israeli citizens of Ethiopian origin demonstrated to ask the Israeli government to save the remaining Jews in the country; among the demonstrators was also the Ethiopian-born Minister of Integration, one of over 140.000 Jews of Ethiopian origin
Asia India The ban on construction work ends today, while the ban on schools, imposed last week due to worsening air pollution levels, continues; the air quality index has reached values 20 times higher than WHO warning values
Africa Tanzania After Miami and New York promised to welcome Bitcoin BTC and cryptocurrency companies in the US, Zanzibar plans to follow suit and become the next stronghold of the country's cryptocurrency community
Asia Tajikistan The International Energy Agency has released a new roadmap examining ways in which the country could maximise the potential value of its hydropower surplus through cross-border trade, helping to promote renewable energy across Central Asia
Europe United Kingdom Lidl is to become the supermarket with highest pay in the country, with the announcement of a pay rise from March 2022 to £10.10 an hour; earlier this year, Morrisons became the first supermarket to pay a minimum of £10 an hour
America Suriname The state expanded its bilateral relation with Vietnam; a formal declaration was written stating how both countries will cooperate more in the agriculture and fishing industries to help boost their commerce