Asia North Korea Experience gained by North Korean forces on the battlefields of the Russia-Ukraine war imposes changes in the security calculus on the Korean Peninsula, as NK troops have been exposed to the technology and tactics of modern warfare, UN Commander reveals
Asia Georgia Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was sentenced to a further four years and six months in prison for illegally crossing the Georgian border in 2021
Asia North Korea Kim Jong Un inspected Pyongyang's newest skyscraper and declared that the 10.000-home project is ready to open in about a month's time
Europe Netherlands The introduction of the 'lump sum' pension withdrawal option, initially planned for 1 July 2024, will be postponed until July 2026; the measure would allow pensioners to withdraw up to 10% of their pension savings in an una tantum lump sum
Africa Madagascar 50,51% of Tananarivians are ready to demonstrate to defend freedom and democracy, according to an opinion poll conducted in February 2025 by the Collective of Citizens and Citizen Organisations in the city of Antananarivo
Europe Portugal Abundant rainfall has brought dams throughout Portugal near full capacity; the warning that controlled, temporary discharges of water from Odeleite and Beliche dams will be carried out, was saluted with curiosity and surprise as it didn't happen for years
America Saint Lucia Patrick Gilo Bernadin, musician, one of Saint Lucia’s cultural icons, was laid to rest; the Belle Vue community with La Rose groups, musicians, singers, government officials, and family members, gathered for a procession and paraded through the streets
Europe Serbia Saturday's demonstration in Belgrade was the largest ever organised against President Vučić in the four months of protest, with some 107.000 people arriving from all over Serbia; according to others, the number may have been three times as many
Africa Malawi At least 11.370 people were affected by the heavy rains and flooding caused by Tropical Cyclone Jude in nine districts of Malawi; the worst affected districts are Phalombe and Nsanje, both bordering Mozambique
Africa South Africa SA's ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, has been expelled; it is the latest sign in a recent worsening of relations between the two countries, partly fuelled by Musk's controversial relationship with his home country and its history of apartheid
Asia Turkmenistan A briefing was held at the Foreign Affairs for the announcement of 2025 as International Year of Peace and Trust and 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s permanent neutrality: diplomatic missions, international organizations, national/foreign media attended
Europe Malta Singer Miriana Conte will take to the next Eurovision Song Contest a different song as the one previously chosen featured a word in the refrain of the original version that sounds very similar to a vulgar word in the English vocabulary
Africa Zambia Authorities and environmentalists fear catastrophic consequences and long-term impact from an acid spill at a Chinese-owned mine that has contaminated the Kafue River, with signs detected over 100 km downstream; 20 million people live in Kafue basin
Africa Senegal The first bone marrow transplant ever performed in Senegal was carried out by a team of Senegalese doctors from the Dalal Jamm hospital in Guediawaye, Dakar; the patient is well after the first month of convalescence