Oceania Australia The chairwoman leading the Commonwealth agency tasked with improving Australia’s housing crisis with social and affordable housing and home ownership has resigned after two years in the position, weeks before a parliamentary inquiry
Europe Bulgaria Contracts for the use and transit of Russian natural gas will be terminated next year, with a complete exit from the Russian gas market planned by 2028, announced PM Rosen Zhelyazkov at UN Assembly, confirming that Bulgaria will align with EU decisions
Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina Police agencies in Bosnia are increasingly using new technology with facial recognition capacity, such as drones and cameras, to fight crime; doubts are rising over the legal frame allowing their use
Africa Liberia The DayLight investigation "How a Family Smuggled Timber for over a Decade" has been recognized by Global Investigative Journalism Network GIJN as one of the best in Africa, highlighting illicit activities and impactful outcomes in Liberia
Oceania Tonga Motions proposed by the Practice Parliament for Women 2025 to the Tonga Legislative Assembly were met with resistance from the House, during its final sitting for the year, which Speaker Lord Fakafanua called "degrading and mocking terms towards women"
Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo Response to the Ebola outbreak is accelerating, with control measures being scaled up leading to quicker detection of the virus, early start of treatment; over 90% of contacts of confirmed cases are monitored and followed up, from just 19% a fortnight ago
Asia Maldives The government is planning to seek public support for major constitutional changes using a new law that the opposition claims is a "tool" for President Dr Mohamed Muizzu to prolong his five-year term beyond 2028
Africa Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, with Morocco, ratified a landmark UN treaty to safeguard marine biodiversity on the high seas known as BBNJ which took over two decades to negotiate; with their vote, it has has met the 60 ratifications required for entry into force in 2026
Asia Syria President Ahmed Al-Sharaa became the first representative of Syria to address world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in almost sixty years
Europe Lithuania 15 people have been charged in Lithuania over an alleged plan for arson attacks through courier services backed by Russian military intelligence service GRU; suspects include citizens from Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine
Asia Turkmenistan President Berdimuhamedov took part in the official celebration for the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN at the Organisation’s headquarters in New York and in the following days he held strategic meeting with a number of foreign leaders
Africa Madagascar Updated 10.000 and 20.000 ariary banknotes have been released to curb counterfeiting; with overall design similar to the previous series, new notes incorporate a two-tone green and red security thread as well as printing changes
Asia Palestine Ten EU countries, including France, Belgium, Monaco, Luxembourg and Malta, announced recognition of a Palestinian state during summit at the UN General Assembly, joining Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal; 157 member states now recognize Palestine
America Honduras National Action Plan to eliminate communicable diseases in Honduras was officially validated; it targets HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria through a people-centered, multisectoral strategy supported by the Pan American Health Organization