Oceania New Zealand 'Our Freshwater 2026' report highlights worsening quality of groundwater, rivers and lakes, with increasing levels of nitrates, E.coli above legal limit, and nearly half of New Zealand's river network unsafe for swimming due to faecal contamination
Asia Vietnam Vietnamese investors launched 10 new overseas projects in January 2025, with total outbound investment of over $83 million, over 5 times higher than the same period in 2024
Oceania Kiribati The newly crowned Miss Pacific Islands, Miss Samoa Litara Ieremia-Allan, has pledged to support Miss Kiribati, Kimberly Tokanang, in raising awareness and promoting climate change action in the Pacific region
Europe Vatican City Pope Francis, 88, was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital yesterday with a severe respiratory infection that caused pneumonia in both lungs and requires evolving treatment
Europe Italy Italy is under investigation by the International Criminal Court for non-cooperation with the Court in the Almasri case, wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity: it is the first time this happens to a European country
Asia Bangladesh On the night of Saturday to Sunday, security forces arrested over 1.300 persons in the frame of the violent anti-government protests that have been going on for some time within the country
America Dominican Republic Farmers in Hato Mayor asked President Luis Abinader and National Police Director Ramón Antonio Guzmán Peralta to address the growing wave of cattle thefts affecting the livestock sector
Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo In the cemeteries in Goma there is no more room and large pits are being dug for the bodies of the victims of the conflict between the M23 group's military and the army of DRC; a new UN estimate has put the number of casualties at over 3.000
Africa Chad Emergency, an Italian NGO, will support the government with initiatives to improve access to healthcare, particularly in Chad's most remote areas, in an agreement between Emergency and the Minister of Public Health
Africa Mozambique Approximately 100.000 people in Caia district of central Mozambique are facing severe food insecurity due to the effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon, which has created an 'extreme drought'; distribution of food aid to over 5.000 families has begun
Africa Uganda Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, imprisoned since November, began a hunger strike to protest his prolonged detention without trial
Europe Czech Republic The grey wagtail has been nominated as bird of the year for 2025; the Czech Ornithological Society emphasized the crucial role that natural waterways play in sustaining this long-tailed bird
America Canada The “appointment of Kevin Brosseau as Fentanyl Czar will accelerate Canada’s efforts to detect, disrupt, and dismantle the fentanyl trade, in partnership with the United States” stated PM Trudeau commenting the former RCMP deputy commissioner new role
Africa Somalia Parliament is working to ensure that the country moves to a one-person, one-vote electoral system, which would replace the current clan-based power-sharing model, known as the '4,5 system'