Asia South Korea A South Korean container ship set sail for Europe via the Arctic's Northern Sea Route, testing the passage as a viable alternative to the Suez Canal, as shipping companies seek new trade corridors amid disruptions impacting global maritime routes
Europe Vatican City The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors released its first report; after 10 years of extensive research across five continents, it identifies progress in best practices and steps to be take, calls for more transparency and rigorous response
Asia South Korea For the first time since 2017 South Korea did not experience a typhoon landfall this summer, while powerful storms hit the country in the past two years; experts explain it was due to a North Pacific high pressure system that caused extreme heat in August
Asia Vietnam Media attention raised on Sùng Y Múa, a native Mong, healthcare worker, since 2005 dedicated to enhancing community welfare and health, reducing early marriages and drug abuse; her homestay revived cultural tourism and sets an example for the region
Asia Philippines The canonical coronation of the Our Lady of Fatima de Binakayan in Cavite has been approved by the Vatican; this revered Marian image is the third in the Diocese of Imus, after Our Lady of the Pillar and the Nuestra Señora dela Soledad de Porta Vaga
Asia Taiwan 22 unmanned aerial vehicle accidents have been recorded in one year by the Taiwanese Army, highlighting a shortage of qualified personnel behind most accidents
America Trinidad and Tobago Shell TT employees distributed to local farmers and gardeners the first batch of 1.100 pounds of compost produced with “Platform to Plant” initiative that transforms food waste from its Poinsettia offshore platform into compost
Europe Switzerland The UBS CFA indicator, which summarises expectations of financial analysts and economists regarding the economy over the next six months, remains negative for the fifth month in a row, despite a figure slightly better than expected in the October report
Asia Singapore The Early Childhood Development Agency will work with five key operators to open almost 40.000 new nursery and kindergarten places in Singapore from 2025 to 2029
Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina The World Uyghur Congress, an international organisation of exiled Uyghurs, which held its general assembly in Sarajevo in October, claimed that the Chinese embassy exerted pressure to cancel the event with a “coordinated and aggressive campaign”
Africa Rwanda The Alliance Building, located in Kigali, has been officially handed over by the Ministry of Health; it will serve as the headquarters of the African Medicines Agency that aims to harmonise medical regulations across the continent
Europe Portugal Lisbon has announced new disaster measures; in addition to 86 official meeting points and an online platform with the preventive steps they must follow to protect themselves, residents can register and receive SMS specific to alerts in the capital
Asia Iran An Iranian student was arrested after she stripped off her clothes remaining in underwear in the courtyard of Department of Science and Research at Tehran's Azad University in protest against the headscarf requirement; she has not been heard from since
Asia Palestine The Health Ministry of the Gaza Strip accused the Israeli army of being responsible for a drone attack during which a clinic where polio vaccines were being administered was hit