Oceania Marshall Islands The fish aggregation devices FADs that fishing boats use to make catches easier, lately equipped with satellite communications gear to pinpoint location, are now being built by drug cartels that wrap packs of cocaine and radio transponders to trace troves
Europe Lithuania The government has approved a three-year action plan on diaspora policy focusing on education, culture and national security; the plan also includes the possibility of conducting a global census of people of Lithuanian origin to take stock of the diaspora
Europe Vatican City The Baldacchino above the tomb of St. Peter was inaugurated after nine months of restoration; from 27 October to 8 December, the ancient Chair of St. Peter will be displayed at the foot of the High Altar before being reinstalled in Bernini's bronze throne
Europe Czech Republic On 27 October CSA Czech Airlines final flight carried passengers from Paris to Prague; this historic journey marked the end of an era for one of the world's oldest airlines: founded in 1923, it continued operations for 101 years
Europe Germany Germany and Israel marked a historic milestone in defence cooperation by unveiling the first Leopard 2 tank equipped with the Israeli TROPHY active protection system during a ceremony in Germany
Africa Burundi Akazehe, a back and forth dialogue in song, is an ancient tradition shared exclusively among women and is a way of greeting each other affectionately between mothers and daughters; the unique akazehe is now in danger of disappearing
America Venezuela Venezuelan opposition party Voluntad Popular has accused state security forces of the abduction and murder of Edwin Santos, a founding member and leader; the party holds the Maduro regime and intelligence agencies responsible
Asia Myanmar Insecurity Insight identified 1500 incidents of violence against or obstruction of health care in Myanmar from the military coup on 1 Feb 2021 to 1 Oct 2024 in which 930 health workers have been arrested and 126 killed, health facilities damaged 327 times
Asia Maldives Import duty on cigarettes and vape will double after the parliamentary committee approved the amendments tabled by the government
America Suriname Starting 2025, Surinamese who lost Dutch citizenship but have resided in the Netherlands in the past ten years can apply for a residence permit under a new temporary arrangement aimed at rectifying a “historic mistake” from Suriname’s 1975 independence
Asia Iraq Weekly oil exports to the US increased last week to 237.000 barrels, announced the Iraqi Energy Information Administration
Oceania Tuvalu The inauguration ceremony of the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project Phase 2 (TCAP-II) was celebrated on the island of Fongafale by the Government of Tuvalu and the Pacific Office of the UNDP, together with development partners
Europe Liechtenstein Prime Minister Daniel Risch informed the heads of the IT and tax administration offices about new services and opportunities in the area of digitisation
Europe Serbia EU criticised the decision to adopt a law declaring Kosovo a 'special protection area' where citizens will receive special social benefits from the Serbian authorities, as it would violate the obligations of the dialogue, calling for reconsideration