Africa Ethiopia Drivers in Ethiopia face a fuel crisis due to disruptions from the Iran war driving a booming black market; Diesel prices reach 300–500 birr (5-9 $) per liter with illegal resale networks and long queues straining transport and businesses
Africa Morocco The country voted for the first time in the UN assembly in favour of the moratorium on the application of the death penalty; Morocco's adherence to this moratorium had been announced on 9 December in the House of Representatives by the Minister of Justice
Europe France The court of Avignon sentenced Dominique Pelicot to 20 years in prison for aggravated rape of his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot over ten years; "I fought for my children and grandchildren; I fought for all victims of violence," said the woman
Europe Ireland PM Harris says Israel's decision to close its embassy in Dublin is 'deeply regrettable' and a sign of the 'diplomacy of distraction', adding Ireland will continue to engage diplomatically, but keep affirming its position on the war in Gaza
Europe Portugal Wolf presence decreased over the last two decades notwithstanding efforts of conservation that failed to reach their goals: latest census shows the area of presence in Portugal was reduced by 20% and the number of packs decreased by 8% to 58
Asia Israel Israel has announced the closing its embassy in Dublin, Ireland, in protest against Ireland’s decisions to recognize Palestinian statehood and to accuse the Israelis of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip
Europe Serbia From 2025, public transport in Belgrade will be completely free of charge, said the mayor, Aleksandar Šapić, who called it 'the biggest public transport reform' with the aim of solving the traffic problem
Europe Spain The working week will be shortened for equal pay from the current 40 hours to 37 ½ hours by the end of 2025 following an agreement reached by the government with the country's two main trade unions
Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo The country has filed a complaint against Apple's subsidiaries in Belgium and France accusing them of sourcing the minerals essential for the production of devices from the many illegal mines in the country, and thus being complicit in those crimes
Africa Gambia The West African Economic Community ECOWAS approved the establishment of a special tribunal to try crimes committed in The Gambia during the military dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh
Asia Yemen In response to the Houthi launch of a missile towards Israel, which was intercepted by Israeli defence systems, the Israeli army carried out a series of attacks in Yemen against several Houthi-controlled areas
Africa Uganda A Ugandan court ordered the government to compensate with USD 2.740 each victim of Thomas Kwoyelo, a commander of the Lord's Resistance Army who was sentenced to 40 years in prison for war crimes in October
Africa Burkina Faso The first 44 gold bars from the processing of the fine coal from the Essakane gold mine have been handed over in Ouagadougou, destined to the national reserve; the Transition authorities envision to create wealth through the expertise in mining processing
Africa Angola After an inspection of sports and social facilities, a hosting agreement with the Angola Olympic Committee was signed, assigning to Angola the hosting for the 4th African Youth Games scheduled for December 2025