Asia Thailand Rubella has been eliminated in Thailand as a public health threat, achieving the WHO criteria for interruption of endemic transmission; imported cases is now the key concern, especially for infections during pregnancy
Oceania Micronesia Settlement patterns in ancient Micronesia will be studied using state-of-the-art technology thanks to a grant of nearly US$150.000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Europe Netherlands Thousands of volunteers have been helping to clean up the plastic swimming in Friesland's waters during the Skjin Wetter clean-up campaign, which ends today; 30 organisations and six municipalities have been involved in this goal
Africa Burundi The decision by the Ngozi Court of Appeal to uphold the conviction and 5-year prison sentence for a lawyer who had been affiliated with a human rights group was a "travesty of justice" according to Human Rights Watch and 5 other human rights groups
Oceania Marshall Islands The book Our Ocean's Promise tells the story of how the country went from being a bystander in the Pacific commercial fishery to running the world's busiest tuna transshipment port, two processing plants, a net repair yard and a fleet of fishing vessels
Asia Saudi Arabia At least 89 US citizens, legal permanent residents and visa holders and their relatives have been detained by authorities in Saudi Arabia or banned from leaving the country in 2021, according to a new report by Freedom Initiative
America United States Electric automaker Tesla is moving its corporate HQ from California to Austin, Texas, validating the rise of the city to technology hub; CEO Elon Musk said they will be creating ‘an ecological paradise around the Colorado River’
America Colombia The country deployed around 14.000 troops near the Venezuelan border in order to take over a conflicted zone where multiple armed groups are competing for cocaine production control
America Uruguay The country re-entered the European Union’s tax haven “graylist” due to the recent publishing of the Pandora Papers, making the government start discussions in regards as to how the nation can improve fiscal transparency
Africa Somalia Qatar Red Crescent Society will provide medical services to hundreds of low-income patients to help them recover; the organisation will also supply hospitals with essential medical equipment to allow quality services to continue
Africa Sierra Leone Kingho Investment Company, through various donations of equipment to the Information Crimes Unit in the capital has furthered its collaborative work with the security sector; it also donated bags of cement for the construction of a hospital in Makeni
Africa Mali In a country consisting mainly of desert or semi-desert, water is becoming a precious resource in decline and Lake Faguibine has now become a dry bed, with sand dunes replacing the vast expanse of water
Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo Authorities will set up an independent investigation to punish local officials implicated in the sexual assaults described by the WHO investigation; the pledge comes as whistleblowers have received threats for pressing for punishment
Europe Andorra Mobility services expect a record number of entries from the Pilar bridge, with some 50.000 vehicles crossing it from Spain and France