Asia Bangladesh An auto-fine system will be launched today on Dhaka-Chittagong highway: it will automatically detect speeding, illegal parking, driving against traffic with AI-powered cameras; police urged transport owners, workers, stakeholders to support the initiative
Europe Ukraine Ukraine rejected US demands for $500 billion in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for wartime aid, saying the United States had supplied nowhere near that sum so far and offered no specific security guarantees in the agreement
Oceania Palau The Senate is again considering a proposal to lift the ban on the export of reef fish, with a bill that would allow limited shipments abroad of certain species for personal use
Europe Moldova The tree planting action, initially scheduled for 1 March, has been postponed to 15 March 2025 due to the current weather conditions and excessive cold
Asia India Indian authorities have banned two drugs containing highly-addictive and toxic opioids in response to a BBC investigation that found they were fuelling a health crisis in parts of West Africa
America Cuba The NGO Amnesty International accused the Cuban government of 'irregularities' and 'lack of transparency' in the process of releasing 553 prisoners, announced following the agreement between Washington and Havana
Europe Montenegro The Montenegrin parliament voted to open an investigation and form a commission of enquiry into the role of state authorities in the politically motivated murders and attacks on journalists since the 1990s
Oceania Fiji The Fiji National Provident Fund is in negotiations with the Government to allow its members to make voluntary contributions after they reach 55 years of age, the age of entitlement to retirement for FNPF members
Europe Luxembourg 265 falsified sickness certificates were filed last year to Luxembourg's health insurance fund, said the Minister of Health
Europe Norway Almost 90% of all new car sales in Norway involved electric or hybrid cars last year, and the numbers continued to grow in the new year
Europe Russia An ice fishing event held in Brazhnikov Bay of Vladivostok saw the participation of hundreds of people; families gathered for the flounders catching competition in a bright sunny day
Asia Kazakhstan Value-added tax rate could be raised from 12% to 16% in a a package of amendments to the draft Tax Code submitted by Kazakhstan's Ministry of National Economy to the lower house of parliament to improve tax administration
Africa Niger A national convention was held 15-19 February to map out Niger's long-awaited political transition following the July 2023 coup, set governance priorities and determine transition timeline, set at five years from now; international response was positive
Europe Malta A total of 45 concerts and around 700 artists will benefit this year from a €1 million fund for Rock'N Malta