Africa Sao Tome and Principe Conceição Lima died yesterday; she was a symbol of identity, ambassador of culture, the most translated author from Sao Tomé with German, Arabic, Spanish, French, English, Italian, Dutch, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish versions and prizes won in Brazil and USA
Asia South Korea One-third of tourists who visited Korea in 2023 were 30 years old or younger, according to the Korea Tourism Data Lab, the online information platform of the Korea Tourism Organization, and 42,3% came from Japan, a 15,7% increase from 10 years earlier
Asia Cyprus The interior ministry is in the process of examining and evaluating the entire lifeguard system to ensure it is managed more efficiently; the announcement came just a day before the lifeguard’s plan to go on strike
Asia Malaysia Malaysia ranks eighth on the list of best places to retire according to International Living's Annual Global Retirement Index 2024, and is the only Asian country to make it into the top 10
Africa Cameroon The President of the Republic of Cameroon, Paul Biya, has turned 91; since the death of Queen Elizabeth of England, he is the oldest leader of a state in the world and he has been president of the country for 42 years
Europe Serbia The European Parliament called for an international investigation and the dispatch of an EU expert mission on alleged fraud in the 2023 parliamentary elections in Serbia and the Belgrade City Assembly
Asia Laos The 'Couples Counselling' project, supported by UNFPA and funded by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, offers to help couples with a reproductive health counselling service
Europe Russia Moscow said it was ready to consider the African initiative to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's African department, Vsevolod Tkachenko, told Tass news agency in an interview
Europe Switzerland The man who took over 13 hostages on a Swiss regional train, before being shot dead by police, has been formally identified as a 32-years-old Iranian asylum seeker, who repeatedly tried to contact with a member of staff at an asylum centre
America Jamaica Total fertility rate has decreased from 4,5 births per woman between 1973 and 1975 to 1,9 in 2021, contributing to a decrease in population estimate, as shown by Reproductive Health Survey Jamaica 2021 officially released by National Family Planning Board
Africa Zambia Schools in Zambia reopened for the first time this year, after several five-week delays after the Christmas holidays following an ongoing cholera epidemic in the country
Europe Slovenia At the end of February, the country will expand neonatal screening tests to detect more than 45 different diseases, up from the current 20; the new programme is expected to be launched on Rare Disease Day, which falls on 29 February
Europe Hungary The number of visitors to the Fiumei Street Cemetery, the Jewish Cemetery on Salgótarjáni Street and the National Mourning Park in the New Public Cemetery is increasing year by year, turning Budapest's historical cemeteries into tourist attractions
Africa Libya Abdoulaye Bathily, UN Envoy to Libya, emphasised the possible role of the African Union in achieving national reconciliation based on lessons learnt from similar experiences in member states, according to the UN Support Mission in Libya