America Canada "Lake Ontario – then, now and always” Prime Minister Carney posted, saying the name comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, pre-dating the foundation of both Canada and the USA, who proposed Lake America as a new name following Canada's retaliatory tariffs
Africa Namibia Approximately 400 timber planks were confiscated in the Kavango West region in August according to Kavango West police regional commander Julia Sakuwa-Neo, who said planks were seized after establishing that no permits or authorisation was granted
Asia India The country is considering sourcing cheetahs from Somalia, Sudan and Tanzania and no longer from South Africa and Namibia, as cheetahs imported from southern Africa have struggled to adapt to the Indian climate due to differences in circadian rhythms
Africa Somalia The militant group Al-Shabaab is now 18 years old, as it emerged in 2006 as an alternative to the degradation of the state; born out of a network of Islamic fundamentalist movements, it joined al-Qaeda in 2012 and counts between 7.000 and 12.000 soldiers
Africa Morocco More than four thousand people convicted, wanted or facing prosecution for cannabis-related activities have been granted a pardon by King Mohammed VI, enabling a massive accession of cannabis farmers, producers and cultivators to the regulatory process
Europe Vatican City For the first time in history, a ship financed by the Italian Catholic Church, the sailing boat Migrantes, assisted the crew of the Mare Jonio during the rescue of 182 migrants shipwrecked in the stretch of sea between Sicily and North Africa
Africa Nigeria Interpol arrested more than 300 people as part of an international investigation against one of the world's largest criminal networks, the Nigerian Black axe, seizing $3 million in illicit assets and freezing more than 700 bank accounts
Europe Switzerland The city of Basel will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2025: the contest was born in Lugano, in 1956 and will return to its birthplace almost 70 years later
Europe Russia Most of Russia is set to experience prolonged periods of 'high' and 'extreme' fire danger this year, according to forecasts by the State Hydrometeorological Centre based on climate and weather data
America Dominican Republic A new record for energy demand was set i in the Dominican Republic in August 2024, reaching 3,729 megawatts, an 8,9% increase compared to the same period last year
Africa Mauritania PM Mokhtar Ould Ajay met with the Ambassador of Qatar to Mauritania to discuss cooperation actions between the two countries and the means to develop them; diplomatic relations had been re-established last March after a break of almost four years
Asia Afghanistan The Taliban have formally codified into law a rule on the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice that places severe restrictions on the appearance, behaviour and movements of women and also imposes constraints on men
Asia Turkey 2.500 new taxi licenses have been approved by the Transport Coordination Centre of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality to alleviate the chronic shortage after years of delays; they can only be booked via a digital App and drivers can't choose passengers
Europe Kosovo Kosovo's flag flew for the first time at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, with athlete Grevist Bytyqi becoming the first to represent the country at the international games in the 1500-metre running event