Europe Spain A massive counterfeit perfume factory has been dismantled; the plant produced tens of thousands of liters of counterfeit fragrances, imitations of around fifty luxury brands, to be marketed to the rest of Europe via France
Europe Slovakia Construction in Slovakia opens 2026 under pressure from inflation and investment decline; experts have outlined the impact of rising costs and uncertain automotive demand, underlining that diversification is essential for sustainable growth
Europe Greece Thousands of travelers have been stranded and airport operations across Greece were in a virtual standstill for several hours yesterday as a collapse of radio frequencies disrupted air traffic communications bringing to the shutdown of Greek airspace
Europe Monaco In his New Year’s message, Prince Albert II highlighted the human dimension of 2025 Monaco's achievements, as the country showed its strength in unity, wishing 2026 would enable the spreading of Monegasque model of progress and common good
Oceania Micronesia VP took part in the official kick off of the 74th Operation Christmas Drop, a tradition begun in 1952 when aircrew dropped a bundle of supplies attached to a parachute to waving islanders; OCD involves over 60 islands in FSM, Palau, Marshall Islands
Africa Niger Niger Basketball Federation has celebrated New Years' festivities with women's and men's National Cup; organized at the municipal stadium in Zinder, a city with a vivid basketball tradition, it saw the participation of authorities and fans
Oceania Solomon Islands Hon. Hou, MP for Small Malaita Constituency, appealed to all landowners and community leaders in his region to allow development projects to proceed on their land, as land disputes still hinder and delay essential services and infrastructure delivery
America Jamaica Despite being ravaged by Hurricane Melissa two months ago, several schools in St James are set to resume full classes today; administrators say the situation will not be perfect but reopening schools is a key step towards normality
America Suriname Suriname, with Guyana, focused on training and strengthening defense forces in 2025, supported by donations of military equipment and supplies from allied nations
Asia Turkmenistan Turkmenistan has taken over the chairmanship of the Commonwealth of Independent States CIS; President Berdimuhamedov has stated that the country intends to contribute to the full realization of the organization’s potential during its chairmanship
Africa Equatorial Guinea Ciudad de La Paz, capital of the province of Djiploho, was proclaimed as the new national capital on 2 January 2026 by presidential decree signed by H.E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo; Malabo had been Ecuatorial Guinea's capital city since independence in 1968
Asia Tajikistan The list of public officials required to declare income and assets was extended in an anticorruption effort, including employees of the National Bank, staff of state-owned financial institutions, officials working in Tajik embassies or government missions
Africa Guinea The Transitional Government decreed a halt to industrial fishing in waters under Guinea's national jurisdiction for January 2026, under the motto “Nó djunta mon, pa nó pis kirci”, or "Together to make our fish grow"
Europe Ireland Authorities are monitoring the passage of a Very Large Crude Carrier VLCC through Irish waters or EEZ; the ship, on its way to a Russian North Sea port, is being pursued by the US military as part of its crackdown on Venezuelan oil