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 Andorra The bus routes transported 7,3 million passengers last year, a 19% increase over the previous year and three times the number of people using the transport when the current concession began in 2019
Europe Romania Pets will be able to accompany their owners in Bucharest's public institutions, according to a draft law presented for public debate by the City Hall
Oceania Samoa 76 electric vehicles to be used for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting were presented by the Government of Samoa, in collaboration with the Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme
Africa Ghana A major new mobilisation against illegal gold mining is underway with a call for protest from Thursday to today by a coalition of associations, civil society organisations, trade unions and opposition parties to protect waterways
Europe Estonia The Environment Agency wants to change the law so that it is only obliged to assist protected species in distress, instead of all animals, in order to save resources on reports that do not turn out to be worthy or of help
Africa Seychelles The 39th edition of the annual Creole Festival kicks off on 5 October with the 'Moman Kreative' (creative moment), an event that offers primary, secondary and post-secondary school students a platform to showcase their talents
Oceania Australia Surfing Australia has been awarded a $1 million federal grant for the 'New Wave of Female Boardriders' project over three years to make surfing more accessible to women and girls across the country
Asia China In an effort to regulate Internet news services and improve the credibility of China's mainstream media, Office of the Central Commission for Cyberspace Affairs launched a three-month campaign to 'correct' online news services
America Belize The Belize Fisheries Department has officially reminded the public of regulations for the Queen Conch season, which runs until June 2025; the restrictions include a ban on harvesting or possessing conch
Europe San Marino The San Marino Personal Data Protection Authority fined the TikTok platform €3,5 million because it did not adopt any suitable methods for verifying and detecting the age of users
America Chile This week Chile celebrated World Tourism Day 2024 with a historic record, having welcomed nearly 3 million foreign tourists this year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels
America Costa Rica In Costa de los Pájaros, a group of 15 women are turning discarded fish skins into leather for sustainable fashion, creating jewelry and hoping to expand into items like handbags and shoes, with aspirations to reach international markets
Europe Czech Republic The population decreased by 21.500 to 10,88 million in the first half of 2024, with deaths exceeding births and a negative migration balance contributing to the decline, shows the Czech Statistical Office