America Canada Canada has become a significant player in the illegal wildlife trade according to an investigation by the Globe and Mail and the Pulitzer Center that give evidence of black-market activity propped up by vast wilderness, patrol blind spots, weak penalties
America Belize The Belize Fisheries Department has officially reminded the public of regulations for the Queen Conch season, which runs until June 2025; the restrictions include a ban on harvesting or possessing conch
Europe San Marino The San Marino Personal Data Protection Authority fined the TikTok platform €3,5 million because it did not adopt any suitable methods for verifying and detecting the age of users
Europe Bulgaria An underwater training at 1.000m, with a water temperature of 1°C, was conducted by the Bulgarian military at the Iskar dam focusing on reconnaissance, setting up and passing water fences
America Costa Rica In Costa de los Pájaros, a group of 15 women are turning discarded fish skins into leather for sustainable fashion, creating jewelry and hoping to expand into items like handbags and shoes, with aspirations to reach international markets
Europe Estonia The Environment Agency wants to change the law so that it is only obliged to assist protected species in distress, instead of all animals, in order to save resources on reports that do not turn out to be worthy or of help
Europe Romania Pets will be able to accompany their owners in Bucharest's public institutions, according to a draft law presented for public debate by the City Hall
Africa Equatorial Guinea The fifteen pre-selected projects of the Total Energies Startupper competition were presented; the contest is organised every two years to support young entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 35
Europe Andorra The bus routes transported 7,3 million passengers last year, a 19% increase over the previous year and three times the number of people using the transport when the current concession began in 2019
America Chile This week Chile celebrated World Tourism Day 2024 with a historic record, having welcomed nearly 3 million foreign tourists this year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels
Africa Sierra Leone 21% of teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have already had pregnancies, and 30% of young women get married before the age of 18, while 9% of young girls have even married before the age of 15, according to ActionAid
Asia Bhutan The country will need $26 billion to build hydropower plants to meet domestic demand by 2040; it is estimated that domestic energy demand will increase to 4.000 megawatts by 2040 from the current requirement of 1.000 megawatts
Africa Seychelles The 39th edition of the annual Creole Festival kicks off on 5 October with the 'Moman Kreative' (creative moment), an event that offers primary, secondary and post-secondary school students a platform to showcase their talents
Europe Moldova 20 school minibuses were donated from Romania to schools in Moldovan districts, part of a larger effort to ensure every child has access to quality education