Europe Iceland With the highest show up ever recorded in Reykjavik, 52,8% of 225.031 of Icelanders voted against the government's proposal to resume talks on joining the EU after 13 years; Around 12.600 votes separated the figure from the 47,2% who voted in favor
Europe Portugal Tokio Gas will buy a 21,2% stake in the floating wind farm in Viana do Castelo; the project by Windfloat Atlantic currently belongs to the French-Spanish join venture Ocean Winds
Europe Kosovo NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo issued a stern warning urging all parties to avoid unilateral actions that could escalate tensions amidst growing controversy over the reopening of the main bridge in the divided city of Mitrovica
Africa Rwanda President Paul Kagame was sworn in as head of state of Rwanda, beginning his new five-year term (2024-2029) in front of tens of thousands of Rwandans and international guests at Amahoro Stadium in the capital Kigali
Africa Tanzania Three of its members and hundreds of supporters of Tanzania's main opposition party, Chadema, with a conservative orientation, were arrested ahead of a rally; the leaders were released but some supporters are still in prison
Asia Sri Lanka A programme to conserve 30% of the country's land and ocean by 2030 has been launched by the government, with the aim of attracting $1,5 billion in green investments between 2025 and 2030
Africa Egypt Nature Conservation Egypt, an NGO, is launching a major project to protect thousands of migratory birds from threats posed by power lines in the Gulf of Suez
Africa Senegal Taking up the issue of the use of the Islamic headscarf in French-speaking schools, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko relaunched a sensitive debate, advocating the inclusion of Arab students who face difficulties integrating into the mainstream curriculum
Asia Singapore Eligible Singaporeans will receive between US$200 and USD 400 next month as part of measures to help them cope with cost-of-living increase
Europe Norway A team of researchers from the University of Oslo, NTNU Trondheim and the University of South Florida studied the skeletons of the Norwegian and Danish Vikings, concluding that the Norwegian ones had more weapons and can be considered more violent
Europe Netherlands A Dutch study suggested testing saliva instead of blood to determine the severity of a respiratory infection in children who suffer from it regularly
Africa Mali Mali's bishops have threatened to suspend the activities of all state-subsidised Catholic schools if the state withdraws its subsidy; the bishops plan to dismiss all teaching staff for economic reasons as of 31 October 2024
Oceania Samoa A proposal was made to set up a Drug Control Council, with the task of monitoring drugs entering national borders, with particular attention to ingredients used in the production of illicit drugs
Europe Slovakia Thousands of people gathered in the streets of Bratislava to protest against the actions of the government, sounding an alarm on culture, criticising staff changes in cultural institutions and expressing their concerns about the rule of law