Oceania New Zealand A women meeting in Wellington marked a year since changes to pay equity extinguished some 180.000 claims for equal work of equal value; a request to the UN was made to investigate whether the move amounted to systemic discrimination towards women
Europe Norway Over half of Norwegians believe that 'everyday racism', characterised by derogatory comments related to ethnicity, is widespread in Norway while only 2% think it's not widespread, a new poll indicates
Asia Oman Many strategic road projects will be prioritised this year, including those planned to provide connectivity to important and popular tourist areas - the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology stated
Asia Tajikistan Under the amendments to the country's education law, school attendance in grades 10-11 (upper secondary education) became compulsory, whereas previously only education grades 1-9 were compulsory
Africa eSwatini The country became one of the first three COMESA Member States to successfully integrate their national systems with the e-Co system, a major step towards facilitating cross-border trade within COMESA
Asia Sri Lanka Diana Gamage, Minister of State for Tourism, emphasised the critical role of nightlife in driving economic growth, citing it as the cornerstone of the night economy as it accounts for as much as 70% of revenue
Africa Mauritania The President, together with the President of Algeria, inaugurated two land border crossings after detailed presentations of their structures, of their advantages and perspectives
America Chile Chile's Court has ordered the reopening of the investigation into the death of poet Pablo Neruda; the court aims to determine if Neruda, originally thought to have died of prostate cancer, was actually poisoned by a secret agent of the dictatorship
Europe Poland The EU executive will unlock a total €137 billion in recovery and cohesion funds for Poland, which had been frozen due to concerns about the rule of law
Europe Sweden Approximately 62.000 people are active or have connections to criminal networks in Sweden, according to recent Police estimate
Europe Albania Painting in Darkness', a documentary on Lulzim Beqiri, a painter imprisoned during the communist regime because his art did not conform to the ideology of the ruling party, was screened for the first time in Tirana
Asia Philippines The 4th Philippine International Dive Expo, to be held at the World Trade Centre in Pasay City, is aimed at facilitating new partnerships for the development of the country's diving industry
Asia Singapore Singapore hotels and airlines report a surge of up to 30% in regional demand in anticipation of the arrival of American pop star Taylor Swift, who will stop in Singapore for six sold-out shows
Asia United Arab Emirates Mini home farms have a huge impact on psychological well-being and family unity, health and organic farming experts said, urging Emirati residents to grow one in their own home