Asia Japan Proof of proficiency in Japanese will be required to apply for a working visa for engineering, humanities or international services; policy will be revised tightening screening after workers entered Japan under a specialized job visa but do unskilled jobs
America Cuba Cuba submitted an official request to join the BRICS as a partner country in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin
Africa Liberia The director of the Liberia Media Empowerment Project, Samuka Konneh, urged journalists to emphasise fact-checking in their work to ensure that accurate information is provided to the public
Oceania New Zealand Three New Zealand universities dropped in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 and none of the eight New Zealand featured universities improved their ranking this year
Asia Afghanistan Song Wenbing, the head of the contracting company of the Aynak copper mine, revealed plans to invest over five billion dollars in the first phase of the project after meeting in the presence of the Taliban authorities
Asia Palestine Since October 2023, 659.000 children have been unable to attend school in Gaza because of damaged or completely destroyed facilities, UNICEF reported
Africa Eritrea A national workshop to improve farmers' and food processors' understanding of food safety was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture
America Peru In the first eight months of 2024, Peru set a new record in avocado exports, shipping 539.313 tons worth US$1,129 billion, making it the highest value yet recorded
America Paraguay New NGO reports reveal that collagen trade is a contributor to deforestation in Paraguay's Gran Chaco forest, particularly impacting the Ayoreo Totobiegosode indigenous territory, where it caused 18.000 hectares of deforestation from 2021-2023
Europe Kosovo The decision to scrap a ban on imports of Serbian finished goods at the Merdare border crossing - a key demand of the EU and a measure Kosovo imposed citing security reasons - was welcomed by the European Union’s office in Pristina
Asia Armenia Twenty-eight young people, representatives of the Armenian diaspora from various countries of the world, participated in training sessions in Armenia as part of the 'Young Diaspora Ambassador' programme"
Africa Algeria President Tebboune stressed the need for private school curricula to be in line with national ones; the note came from the Council of Ministers he chaired on 6 October and indirectly hits to past issues on francophone curricula
Africa Chad The government appealed to the population to help tackle the deadly floods caused by torrential rains and rising waters of the Chari River, which runs through the capital N'Djamena
America Uruguay Advanced scanning technology has been in introduced at Montevideo's port to enhance efforts against drug trafficking, with President Luis Lacalle Pou inaugurating three new X-ray scanners, a move expected to improve security