Asia China 10 United States-based companies have been added to China's export control list, government procurement barred from 50 US companies two weeks after the Pentagon blacklisted some of China’s best-known companies for alleged ties to the Chinese military
Africa Guinea Sleeping sickness, transmitted by the tsetse fly and representing for decades a major public health problem, has been eradicated in Guinea according to the Research Institute for Development
Asia Myanmar The UN Secretary-General on Thursday said Myanmar’s military must relinquish power to allow a return to civilian rule through an inclusive democratic transition, as the country marks four years since the junta seized power
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
Asia Maldives The government of the Maldives commissioned the Thai company Control Data to redesign the system for managing civil registration, vital statistics and identification
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
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
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 Jordan A €3 billion Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership was signed between Jordan and EU to upscale cooperation, better tackle common challenges, open up further avenues for investments and enhance business opportunities for European companies
Europe Latvia On 1 and 2 February, Ģertrūdes Street Theatre will host 'Avots' language festival with thematic lectures, discussions and workshops exploring the languages in the context of the relationship between the individual and society, and lesser-used languages
Europe Switzerland The country is set to ban international adoptions: a draft law proposal is to be handed in by the end of 2026; the move aims to prevent potential abuses, as an independent panel of experts found that even the strictest adoption laws can’t fully prevent it
Asia North Korea North Korean soldiers who were fighting alongside the Russian army on the frontline against Ukraine have been withdrawn after numerous losses, according to US and Ukrainian officials heard by the New York Times
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
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