Africa Zambia To support formalized and safe gold mining in Chitambo district, government pledged to provide equipment to registered cooperatives, enabling small scale miners enhance their operations, and to build a district hospital with mortuary services
Europe Belarus The Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus increased financing to the national economy by 4,5 times compared to 2019, increasing at an annual rate of over 50% in 2020-2022 and 24% in 2023
Africa Mauritius A workshop was held at the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council on the results of the project to improve access to financial products through a multilingual virtual assistant with artificial intelligence
Africa Botswana The country has suspended discussions on a passport-free travel agreement with Zimbabwe, despite positive talks last year
Europe Kosovo As Pristina is helding another Sunny Hill festival, Dukagjin Lipa, father of world star Dua Lipa and founder of the event, says he wants to help turn Kosovo into a major cultural attraction
Asia Iran The Iranian authorities have ruled that several public offices and private activities will remain closed on Sunday due to a heat wave in the country; the maximum temperature has reached 45 °C in 10 provinces
America Ecuador The Ecuadorian environmental group Ecoagents has urged China to stop dumping plastic waste near the Galapagos Islands, blaming Chinese fishing vessels for a significant portion of the 160 tons of plastic collected annually along the islands' coasts
Oceania Australia A four-year, $2,2 billion agreement for the repair and maintenance of Australia's Collins-class submarine fleet has been signed by the federal government
Africa Namibia Changes to visa requirements for entering Namibia have been announced and will apply as of 1 April 2025; new rules are expected to streamline the entry process and improve security measures for international visitors
Africa Eritrea All Ethiopian Airlines flights in Eritrea airspace will be suspended as of 30 September; Eritreans had accused the airline of persistent harmful business practices
Asia East Timor The National Petroleum Authority, in collaboration with the Australian Government through the Australian Embassy, organised a conference entitled 'Timor-Leste Australia Energy Partnership: Enhancing Research and Innovation through Knowledge Sharing'
Africa eSwatini The country was urged to digitise the national identification system, taking into account privacy and security risks, as it will bring important socio-economic benefits, said the Association for Progressive Communication
Africa Niger Russia's diplomatic missions in Mali and Niger have issued terrorist threat warnings, officially and categorically advising Russian citizens against travelling to these African countries for security reasons
Asia Malaysia Large crowds flocked to the 'Raja Kita' exhibition at the National Museum to see over 272 personal collections and objects related to Yang di-Pertuan Agong institution; many visitors felt the exhibition brought them closer to His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim