Asia Tajikistan An amnesty law signed by President Rahmon to celebrate 35 years of independence will cover 18.038 convicted people, with full release for 11.305 people, reduced terms for 6.733; of 507 women, 248 will be released, of 134 minors, 99 will be freed
Oceania Samoa A power outage in Upolu exposed the vulnerabilities of Moto'otua National Hospital's emergency power supply, as the backup generator failed to kick in, leaving the facility without electricity for an hour earlier this week
Asia Myanmar Hundreds of people were rescued in recent days from forced-labor facilities that were dedicated to a multibillion-dollar industry of online scams; tens of thousands more remain imprisoned in the fraud factories, lured by false promises of good-paying jobs
Asia United Arab Emirates The UAE Moon Observation Committee announced that today, Saturday 1 March 2025, will mark the first day of the holy month of Ramadan; for the first time ever, drones equipped with artificial intelligence were used to sight the crescent moon
Oceania Tonga The project Upgrading Tonga's International Port, a major investment to strengthen the Queen Salote International Wharf, is being supported by Australia through the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific
America Venezuela Donald Trump announced the revocation of the oil company Chevron's license to operate in Venezuela, citing Maduro's failure to meet agreements on deported migrants, a decision that could severely impact Venezuela’s economy by reducing government revenue
Africa Ivory Coast The Felix Houphouët-Boigny-Unesco Peace Prize is scheduled has been awarded on 24 February in Abidjan in a ceremony that honoured personalities and organisations committed to promoting peace in the world
Asia Singapore Singapore will implement large-scale applied AI projects and expand AI use in healthcare, finance, sustainability and cross-sector research; the final goals include boosting economic growth and improving public services in a responsible AI environment
Africa Tanzania As generative AI continues to transform journalism globally, approximately 53% of newsroom leadership is prepared to adopt AI in Tanzania and only 22% have actually discussed AI policies, a new study on AI adoption in Tanzania’s media sector shows
Africa Sierra Leone A crisis in Gorama Mende Chiefdom shows how entrenched political allegiances and tribal affiliations can fuel conflicts, threatening national cohesion, as ethnic politics and traditional chieftaincy struggles have long shaped the socio-political landscape
Africa Comoros Flight Y61103 Moroni/Mohéli bound for Mwali was reported missing with 14 people on board: air traffic lost contact with the aircraft, unable to land for bad weather and redirected to Ngazidja; rescue teams are patrolling off the coast of Mbatse
Asia Cambodia At the Education Congress, Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron launched Sala Digital, a virtual learning platform, and urged teachers to use ChatGPT and AI to enhance teaching, learning and research; teachers requested training for better implementation
Europe Switzerland Cigarette smuggling at Swiss airports increased sharply in 2024 with 880.000 undeclared items, compared to 690.000 in 2023; Geneva airport was the focus point with over 700.000 undeclared cigarettes discovered, mostly probably intended for sale in France
Oceania Kiribati BPA Radio Kiribati has welcomed Australian Broadcasting Corporation on they visit to Tarawa, announcing a new media partnership with the network