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
Oceania Australia Qantas airlines has been fined $100 million for misleading customers by selling tickets on flights that had already been cancelled over two months before; this misconduct affected over 86.000 customers across more than 70.000 flights between 2021 and 2023
Europe Czech Republic Vágner, a renowned figure in Czech sports fishing, caught the largest catfish ever recorded in the Czech Republic with a rod, 2,64 metres long, breaking the national record
Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo The ban on night navigation on the waters of Lake Kivu was imposed a week after yet another tragic shipwreck claimed at least 78 lives
Africa Central African Republic A joint mission of the government, UN and diplomatic corps took place in Kaga Bandoro, in the region controlled by armed groups for a decade, to see the progress made so far
Africa Egypt The Autumn Flower of the International Flower Expo 2024 was held at the El-Horreya Garden in Zamalek, Cairo; the Expo has a history of over 90 years and attracts major exhibitors
Asia Qatar The initiative 'My Values Design My Identity', promoted by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, saw the participation of over 30.000 public school students in the first phase
Africa Somalia Egypt has offered to deploy peacekeeping troops in the country as part of a security partnership that is taking shape as the mandate of a long-standing African Union peacekeeping force comes to an end
Oceania Vanuatu A new forensic laboratory is set to strengthen the Vanuatu Police's investigation of serious crimes; officially opened in Port Vila, the facility will enable the collection and development of stronger evidence for prosecution
Europe Slovakia Bratislava Transport Museum opened an exhibition on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the launch of the Vienna Tramway
Europe Portugal Six locations in Lisbon have seen a simultaneous noise protest against uncontrolled tourism under the motto “For Lisbon, make yourself heard!”; many people have been priced out of their city, or they can't bear their city changing so much and so fast
Africa Burundi A hydroelectric power plant in Rusumo is providing a stable supply of electricity to a hospital in Gitega; Burundi is one of the least electrified countries in the world, only 10% of the population has access to electricity
Oceania Tonga African tulip tree beetles were brought to Tonga to control the growing invasive weed called the African tulip tree, which is spreading in indigenous forests and farmland, causing a reduction in natural biodiversity and agricultural productivity
Asia Thailand Chiang Mai University is set to develop blue hydrogen technology, endorsed by the government; the process extracts hydrogen from coal through coal gasification and produces cleaner energy while enhancing the efficiency of coal use