Africa Sierra Leone A ship departed from Freetown was intercepted and diverted to Canary Islands, in a crackdown on international drug trafficking; Spanish police found aboard 35-40 tonnes of cocaine in what has been called “record-breaking cocaine seizure in the Atlantic”
Oceania New Zealand A dentist with a private practice in Ashburton complained that Māori still receive inadequate dental care and that the coalition government's policies on oral health care remain ambiguous
Asia Kyrgyzstan Reporters Without Borders called on Coalition for Media Freedom to take action against the liquidation of Kloop Media, known for its news website and journalistic investigations, after the Oktyabrsky District Court decided on 9 February to close it down
Asia Iraq A 3D-printed copy of Bull of Nimrud, built in 9th century BC and destroyed by Isis fighters in 2015, donated has been donated by Italy; previously on display at Colosseum in Rome and Unesco headquarters in Paris, it's now relocated at the of Basrah Museum
Asia Vietnam 2023 brought a major breakthrough for science and technology: Vietnam had the first scientist to win the VinFuture prize and saw an explosion in AI with the country's desire to implement ChatGPT
Asia Indonesia The National Food Agency is implementing five measures to ensure the availability of rice and stabilise prices nationwide
Asia Philippines NASA's mission to test air quality through international collaboration will help the Philippines gain access to advanced monitoring techniques to study and combat pollution
Africa Sudan At least one child dies every two hours in the Zamzam camp in Sudan, one of the largest and oldest IDP camps in the country, the medical association Doctors Without Borders declared
Europe Monaco The average real estate price per square metre in Monaco reached €51.418 in 2023, an increase of almost 40% in a decade
Europe Iceland Bus routes will undergo major changes in the coming months due to construction work at Hlemmur, the main bus terminal in the centre of Reykjavík
Europe Luxembourg Single and widowed parents will pay less tax from 2025 and a broader reform to eliminate higher taxes for singles than for married couples will be presented no earlier than 2026
Europe Ireland Almost 30% of new rents across Ireland exceeded €2.000 per month in the third quarter of last year, and in Dublin over half of new lettings exceeded this figure, according to the latest Residential Tenancies Board index
America Saint Vincent and the Grenadines The donation from the East Caribbean Group of Companies was considered a 'beacon of hope' for the Zero Hunger Trust Fund's school feeding initiative that serves 12 schools in the most vulnerable communities
Asia Jordan The number of Jordanians participating in ‘Urdun Jannah’, the program aimed at stimulating domestic tourism, reached 14.199 in January; Aqaba welcomed 11.413 visitors, while Jerash, Dana Reserve and Shobak recorded no visits through ‘Urdon Jannah'