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
Africa Central African Republic The country and Chad signed a memorandum of understanding to create a 'mixed border security force'; the two countries share a border of almost 1.200 kilometres
Asia Bhutan In Thimphu, five new schools will become 'inclusive', ensuring access to support, resources and tailored education for children with disabilities; the initiative is part of a broader national plan to enhance inclusive education
Africa Guinea-Bissau Family Care and Planning Unit has been inaugurated next to the Maternity Unit of the Simão Mendes Nacional Hospital, with ultrasound equipment for pregnant women, in project to improve access to sexual and reproductive health and reduce maternal mortality
Africa Rwanda Thousands of citizens participated in a mass tree planting campaign in eastern Rwanda, advancing the nation's goal of planting 65 million trees by the end of the fiscal year
Oceania New Zealand A major fire is raging through a protected wetland in the Waikato region of the North Island, endangering its fragile ecosystem and the rare species that inhabit it, many of which are found nowhere else on the planet
America Trinidad and Tobago To address the growing number of vehicle related crimes - fraud, theft and road safety violations - the country will move toward video analytics and registered plate suppliers or manufacturers to build a robust secure vehicle registration system
Asia Japan Halloween celebrations by cosplayers were subdued at Tokyo's Shibuya this weekend, after local authorities strengthened measures to prevent overcrowding and extend the period of alcohol consumption ban on certain streets from seasonal to year-round
Asia Bahrain Stricter technical requirements have been issued for street advertising; the decree aims at ensuring safety standards and guarantee compliance with engineering regulations
Europe Latvia In 2022, more companies were born in Latvia than those that disappeared, better than the EU average for the birth rate of companies, which was 14,3% against 10,5% of the EU, about the double of the company death rate of 7,85%, against 8,7% of the EU
America Ecuador Amid a severe energy crisis with daily 14-hour blackouts, Ecuador’s government extended next week’s holiday to create a five-day break aimed at boosting tourism, despite recent power rationing due to drought affecting the main hydroelectric source
America Grenada The government plans to build a shrine at Fort George to honour former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and others who lost their lives on 19 October 1983 in a power struggle for control of the then ruling New Jewel Movement and the Grenada Revolution
Asia Tajikistan The Integrated Rural Development Project/TRIGGER recognised the invaluable contribution of rural women to agriculture, food security and community development in workshops with 300 people including women, entrepreneurs, government officials and partners
Oceania Tonga Tonga's Department of Statistics team is conducting household surveys to collect data on the lives of women and children; Tonga is the first Pacific island country to conduct such a survey focusing on data on the lives of women and children