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
Europe Finland The Finnish Medicines Agency received 2.676 drug shortage notifications from pharmaceutical companies in 2024; most cases were resolved by replacing unavailable drugs with equivalent alternatives in pharmacies
America Dominican Republic As part of the 2025 patronal festival 'La Altagracia', a 'Rice, Sea and Land' dish for over 2.000 participants has been cooked in Pedernales to set a national record and celebrate Dominican gastronomy and cultural traditions
Asia Israel Israel's military chief Lt Gen Herzi Halevi has resigned, admitting in a letter that the Israel Defense Forces had "failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel" on 7 October 2023, when Hamas carried out the attack that triggered the Gaza war
Europe Estonia Enefit Green and AFRY signed a contract to provide Front-End Engineering Design services for the 1.000-megawatt Liivi Bay offshore wind farm in Estonia, which could cover half of Estonia's current electricity consumption
Asia Cyprus Citizens over the age of 18 will be able to apply for a new national electronic identity card as of 27 January; the issuance of the first 100.000 eIDs will be subsidised by the government: 30.000 of them given out for free and 70.000 available for €15
Africa Gabon The transitional parliament approved a new electoral code, after days of deliberations, allowing members of the security forces and magistrates to participate in elections as candidates; opponents see it as favourable to junta leader Brice Oligui Nguema
Europe Denmark The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of trade union FOA in a case against the Danish Labour Market Insurance and the Appeals Board, a decision that could lead to damages of up to DKK 2,5 billion (€335.059.000) for around 25.000 workers in flexible jobs
America United States Attorneys general from 22 states sued President Trump to block an executive order declaring that children born to mothers legally but temporarily in the US, i.e. foreign students, or born to undocumented immigrants would no longer be treated as citizens
Africa Liberia The funeral of Prince Johnson, the former Liberian warlord who became an influential politician after the end of the civil war, who died in November at the age of 72, was attended by a huge crowd of thousands of people in a ceremony that lasted 5 days
Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development invested €213 million in 23 developing projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2024, with a focus on green energy, sustainability, and transport connectivity projects with neighboring countries
Europe Belgium According to a new report by the Belgium Court of Auditors, the Belgian court system's long-running project to digitize paper documents is not going as planned
Africa Seychelles The Confucius Institute of the University of Seychelles hosted an afternoon celebration of the Chinese Spring Festival to welcome the lunar new year that will take place on January 29
America Cuba The Cuban government announced the gradual release of 553 prisoners in response to a direct appeal by Pope Francis in a decision tied to the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year 2025