Africa Eritrea The Arbaete Asmara sub-zone has been declared free of female genital mutilation after authorities verification that followed years of local monitoring, community reporting systems and coordinated action by health workers and local administrations
Europe Denmark An anti-opioid plan that includes a ban on 8 synthetic opioids, increased anti-drug police, tougher penalties for selling them and the development of more addiction and harm treatments has been organized by the Danish government
Africa Cape Verde The Migration Observatory has been launched with a physical space in Praia and a website gathering information on migratory movements; it aims at producing and analysing statistical data on migration, enabling research and scientific studies
Africa Gambia The Medicines Control Agency and stakeholders conducted a mass disposal operation of a large quantity of seized, illegally imported or expired medical products found in unauthorized premises
Europe Ireland In the first three months of the year, the housing agency Threshold received almost 12.000 calls related to housing issues, with tenancy security continuing to be the main concern
Asia Kazakhstan Sales volume in the e-commerce market in 2023 reached $5,3 billion according to a study by Strategy&, +79% on 2022
Asia East Timor Two warships are planned to be sent to East Timor, as well as Cambodia, from mid-May to mid-June, revealed the Chinese Ministry of Defence, to facilitate the training of local naval cadets and promote mutual trust between the two navies
Asia Cambodia Plans to phase out the use of flatbed trucks to transport factory workers to and from work have been announced; by 2027 they will be implemented to reduce the rate of road accidents by using appropriate means such as buses
America Canada A “major geomagnetic storm” provided a rare look at the beautiful aurora borealis — the northern lights — in southern Ontario and as far south as the Greater Toronto Area, at 43 degrees North, while usually recurring at latitudes between 60 and 75
America Dominica Carlene Frazer secured the coveted top six spot in the Creative Young Entrepreneur Competition for the Americas; the entrepreneur will now represent Dominica at the CYE Conference of America competition in Paraguay
Asia Iraq Iraq has demanded that the UN assistance mission, established after the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, ends its work by the end of 2025, saying it is no longer needed because Iraq has made significant progress towards stability
Asia Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu arrived in Madinah to pray at the Prophet's Mosque while on official visit to Saudi Arabia
Africa Ghana Abubakar Tahiru, a 29-year-old forestry student from Ghana, set a new world record for the most trees hugged in one hour: 1123 trees, 19 a minute; the record-breaking challenge took place at the Tuskegee National Forest in Alabama, United States
Oceania Australia Australian airline Qantas will pay AUS$120 million ($79 million) to a consumer group after being accused of selling over 8.000 tickets for flights that had already been cancelled by its operating systems