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 San Marino San Marino is among the first countries in the world to regulate crypto-assets; the Central Bank and the Institute for Innovation of the Republic of San Marino have issued implementing measures
Oceania Solomon Islands Saudi Arabia and the Solomon Islands have formalised an agreement to exempt holders of diplomatic, private and official passports from short-stay visa requirements
Africa Rwanda Testing of the vaccine against the Marburg virus has begun and priority will be given to health workers currently on the front line of efforts to prevent the spread of the disease in the country, where a small epidemic is underway
Asia Taiwan A marine research station on Taiwan-controlled Taiping Island has discovered its first new fish species in almost four years since its establishment, the National Academy of Marine Research said
Europe Slovenia The city authorities in Ljubljana are planning to fell more than a fifth of all the trees on Castle Hill for safety reasons; helicopter will be used to safely remove over 200 trees
Africa Madagascar A collaboration to start the process of repatriating human remains seized during French colonial rule has been announced by the Ministers of Culture of France and Madagascar
Europe Norway Norwegian Airlines has confirmed the closure of its bases in Stavanger and Trondheim because of increased costs and weaker demand; the decision to relocated to Oslo aircrafts and staff has sparked protests among the 250 employees
Asia Mongolia The Mongolian University of Internal Affairs was awarded the Order of Sukhbaatar for contribution to the preservation and protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity, maintenance of peace and security and progress in science and education
Asia Cyprus A total of 1.550 people have left Lebanon via Cyprus since the start of assisted departures on 27 September and as of 8 October, foreign ministry spokesperson reported; the majority so far is represented by Australians, with 1.069 people among the total
Asia Saudi Arabia The Ibex Reserve became the first protected area in the Kingdom to be added to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Green List
Africa Seychelles The Confucius Institute of Seychelles confirmed that some 3.600 Seychellois have used its services over the past 11 years
Asia Cambodia New Le Story bookstore in Phnom Penh aims to create a hub for readers and writers, with weekly events; it also supports Cambodian authors by providing printing services and spaces for book promotion, with a focus on promoting the culture of reading
Europe Romania The Green Registry for Romania project focused on the historical park to show how intelligent tools can be used to keep track of the tree and shrub population