Oceania Palau A historic $15 million financing agreement has been signed with Saudi Arabia, marking a shift in how Palua's National Development Bank will now operate, as the loan will be directly invested into building affordable housing
America Saint Vincent and the Grenadines The Youth Agriculture Training Project was launched; the initiative, mostly funded by Taiwan government, aims to attract young people to participate in agriculture, addressing both the need for recovery and the aging farmer population in SVG
Asia Georgia Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was sentenced to a further four years and six months in prison for illegally crossing the Georgian border in 2021
Europe Portugal Abundant rainfall has brought dams throughout Portugal near full capacity; the warning that controlled, temporary discharges of water from Odeleite and Beliche dams will be carried out, was saluted with curiosity and surprise as it didn't happen for years
Asia North Korea Kim Jong Un inspected Pyongyang's newest skyscraper and declared that the 10.000-home project is ready to open in about a month's time
Europe Netherlands The introduction of the 'lump sum' pension withdrawal option, initially planned for 1 July 2024, will be postponed until July 2026; the measure would allow pensioners to withdraw up to 10% of their pension savings in an una tantum lump sum
Asia Maldives The 'Hulhumale' Anex-2 power plant was inaugurated by the State Electricity Company, ahead of the peak electricity consumption season
Europe Belgium In response to the "alarming political interference" in academic research in the United States, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is opening 12 postdoc positions for international researchers, namely American scholars working in socially significant fields
Africa Ethiopia The Ethiopian government has appealed to the international community to prevent a new escalation of the conflict in the Tigray region in the north of the country
Europe Hungary Hungarian Civic Alliance, the right-wing populist and national-conservative led by PM Orbán, has submitted a proposal to legally ban Pride, the set of events and demonstrations in favour of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community
Africa Madagascar 50,51% of Tananarivians are ready to demonstrate to defend freedom and democracy, according to an opinion poll conducted in February 2025 by the Collective of Citizens and Citizen Organisations in the city of Antananarivo
America Saint Lucia Patrick Gilo Bernadin, musician, one of Saint Lucia’s cultural icons, was laid to rest; the Belle Vue community with La Rose groups, musicians, singers, government officials, and family members, gathered for a procession and paraded through the streets
Europe Serbia Saturday's demonstration in Belgrade was the largest ever organised against President Vučić in the four months of protest, with some 107.000 people arriving from all over Serbia; according to others, the number may have been three times as many
Africa Malawi At least 11.370 people were affected by the heavy rains and flooding caused by Tropical Cyclone Jude in nine districts of Malawi; the worst affected districts are Phalombe and Nsanje, both bordering Mozambique