Asia Indonesia Officials in East Jakarta faced backlash after using an AI-generated image to respond to a public complaint, raising concerns over transparency; The fact highlight risks of using AI in public communication without clear disclosure or verification
Europe Greece A bill proposed by the Ministry of Health aims to tighten regulations on the sale of tobacco and alcohol to minors; a key provision is that the supply of alcohol to minors will be changed from an administrative offence to a misdemeanour
Europe Norway 8 months before the elections, the coalition between the two parties that had governed since 2021 broke apart: Centre Party and Labour Party had been squabbling for weeks over the adoption of 3 European directives on environmental and energy issues
Africa Namibia Unemployment rate rose to 36,9% in 2023 from 33,4% in 2018, according to latest data from the country's Bureau of Statistics
Europe Malta A full year of paid leave - between maternity and parental - has been proposed by the Nationalist Party within a package of 10 work-life balance measures to provide flexibility for families
Africa Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam spoke on the phone to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer; the leaders began by reflecting on their first months in office and discussed the relationship between the two countries, which they looked forward to expanding
Africa Madagascar Mineral fertilizer production plants are part of a state plan to give wider access to producers: 90% of whom can't afford it as too expensive; the goal is to produce 30.000 tonnes of organic fertiliser per year to improve agricultural production
Europe Belgium In 2024, 411.021 counterfeit articles were seized in Belgium, almost double the previous year's total of 217.053, announced the Ministry of Economic Affairs
Asia Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had received an invitation to meet the US president at the White House on 4 February; he would be the first international leader to visit Trump in his second term
Europe Ukraine The historic buildings at the centre of Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa, a UNESCO World Heritage site, were damaged by Russian missiles that also injured seven people, in what President Zelenskyy calls “a deliberate strike”
Europe Luxembourg The Marga Centre, a new women's shelter in Neudorf, offers drug addicts a space where they can feel safe with an all-women team providing support
Africa Uganda The Butabika Psychiatric Hospital is raising the alarm about a deep mental health crisis impacting communities across the country, where young people under the age of 17 are particularly affected, mainly due to drug and alcohol abuse
America Jamaica Before the end of the fiscal year 2024/25,work is scheduled to begin on 100 roads under the Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network programme
Africa Burkina Faso The first passport issued with the logo of the Alliance of Sahel States is the one of the president of Burkina Faso, general Ibrahim Traoré, who is also the youngest head of state in the world