Asia China Unilateral zero-tariff treatment is now applied to all African countries except Eswatini, which maintains ties with Taiwan; duty-free policy for 33African countries was introduced in 2024, now covers 53 countries and will be in place until 30 April 2028
Africa Angola In December 2023, APOPO, with over two decades of history in humanitarian mine action, reached an extraordinary milestone by achieving a total of 100 million square metres of landmines cleared over the years
Europe Andorra The entity running the canteen at the French school in Sant Julià will go bankrupt due to financial difficulties it has been unable to remedy
Europe Austria The pigments in 12 million-year-old fossil snail shells from Austria are the oldest preserved dyes of the polyene group, as scientists from the Natural History Museum in Vienna and the University of Göttingen have shown
Africa Guinea-Bissau The Minister of the Environment of Guinea-Bissau, Viriato Luis Soares Cassamá, presented the candidature of a group of islands in the Bijagós archipelago to become a World Heritage Site at the Unesco headquarters in Paris
Asia Afghanistan The Afghan power company Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat settled a two-year debt with Uzbekistan for the supply of electricity
Asia Vietnam The government has introduced incentives to encourage investment in the development of hi-tech parks, which will be eligible for investment incentives equivalent to those applied to locations with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions
Oceania Fiji The newly built hospital in Rotuma was officially handed over to the Ministry of Health by the military forces of the Republic of Fiji and is now ready to serve the public
Africa Comoros The results of the last examination for teachers in November 2023 are still awaited by the many candidates who sat it
America Antigua and Barbuda The Department of Youth Affairs launched its inaugural Entrepreneurship EDGE programme, aimed at empowering young people and improving their entrepreneurial skills
Africa Djibouti The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation signed a USD 90 million Master Murabaha agreement for the Republic of Djibouti, with the International Hydrocarbons Company of Djibouti as executing agency
Africa Liberia Kula Bonah Nyei Fofana was appointed to head the President's press and communications office: for the first time in Liberia's history, a woman will lead the communications team of the President
Africa Cape Verde A study presented concluded that child labour affects 4,2% of Cape Verdean children between the ages of 5 and 17; 2,5% work in hazardous conditions, but the majority work for family members
Europe Albania Italians are the leading group of foreign tourists in Albania in 2023, compared to other European or regional countries, excluding Kosovo, which traditionally outnumbers other areas; around 1 million Italians visited Albania last year, 9% of the total