Oceania Marshall Islands The Marshallese Christmas is celebrated with Jepta, or 'group', dancing and signing competitions, Wojke - a handmade container filled with small gifts and Biit Dancing - an energetic, modern church dancing, often loud and with amplified music
Africa Seychelles Seychelles has been officially voted the Indian Ocean’s Best Cruise Destination for the fifth consecutive year at the World Cruise Awards Gala Ceremony 2025 held in Bahrain earlier this month
Asia Saudi Arabia Schools in Eastern Province and Hafr Al-Batin governorate have switched to distance learning via the Madrasati platform yesterday, following reports from the National Center for Meteorology of rainfall in the region and snowfall in Tabuk area
Oceania Tonga Laulea Beach in Fatumu, known for its strong currents, has been strictly closed to the public until after the New Year's holiday; Police Deputy Commissioner, said the measure aims to prevent drownings, following the death of a 40-year-old male last month
Europe Slovakia GymBeam, Slovakia’s biggest fitness brand, built a regional e-commerce empire from Košice; now, after attracting investors for €110 million, is moving its headquarters to Austria
Asia Iraq The first European commercial flight landed in Baghdad after a suspension of over 35 years, a recognition of sustained efforts to upgrade operational, technical, and security requirements at Iraqi airports in line with international aviation standards
Europe Romania Two cases of leprosy, the first in Romania since 1981, have been confirmed and two suspected cases more are under investigation according to local press; all four individuals are women from Indonesia employed as masseuses at a spa salon in Cluj-Napoca
Oceania Samoa Aviation safety in Samoa and across the Pacific has improved with a new Automated Weather Observing Station AWOS at Fagali’i Airport; supported by continuous StarLink connectivity, it will provide real-time aviation weather information across the country
Europe Iceland Federation of fishers disagrees with new mackerel agreement that reduces Iceland’s share, pointing out that the agreement does not constitute a comprehensive coastal states agreement, as both Greenland and the European Union are excluded
Europe Andorra "BULLYING PURSUIT", a video game born in Andorra to curb bullying, has been presented with David Aguilar aka "Hand Solo", experts and academics; it is meant to create links between players and raise awareness on the incidence of bullying at school
Europe Albania Judges could raise their retirement age to 75 to help reduce the backlog of court cases; the proposal has been discussed by the parliament commission working on a series of technical amendments to justice reform laws, in the absence of opposition
America Antigua and Barbuda The Supervisor of Elections at the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission, has been appointed as Chief of Mission for the CARICOM Election Observation Mission to Saint Lucia, bringing the country to a leading role in regional election oversight
America Haiti Newly published electoral decree has drawn strong reactions at home and abroad: internationally welcomed as a necessary step to restart democratic processed after four years without elections, locally criticized as the adoption process looks idealistic
Africa Gabon An intensive training in environmental and investigative journalism started in Libreville; organized by NGO WildAid with the Ministry of Communication, it aims to improve media coverage of nature conservation, environmental governance, eco-crimes