Asia Sri Lanka Digital marketplace LilyLanka has been launched to connect small and medium enterprises with customers; the platform includes products, online sales and delivery services and aims to digitalize local trade, expand market access and support SMEs recovery
America Dominican Republic El Seibo will soon inaugurate its new bullring; one of the strongest cultural symbols, its centuries-old bullfighting tradition is unique because the bulls are never harmed: bullfighters engage the animal in a display of agility and endurance
Europe Hungary Oscar-winning Director László Nemes Jeles has been shooting his new film at Budapest’s Nyugati Station; travellers were met with an unexpected setting as part of the station was transformed into wartime France
Africa Ghana 41st Farmers Day was celebrated across Ghana with a number of initiatives ranging from seed supply donations, private contributions from industry players to government, workshops, assessment on the state of waters and soil
Asia Iraq Iraq has become the champion in the Worldwide Mental Arithmetic Competition WAMAS—Dubai 2025, held in the UAE; students of the Iraqi team outperformed over 500 opponents from 27 countries
Europe Finland Over 700 students and staff at the University of Helsinki walked out of classes to protest academic cooperation with Israeli universities; similar demonstrations took place at universities in Tampere, Turku, Kuopio, Jyväskylä, Oulu and Rovaniemi
Africa Lesotho Bishop of Lesotho, Anglican Reverend Dr Vincentia Kgabe, who ended her mandate on 30 November and now serves in Pretoria, has been accused of mismanaging and bringing the church into disrepute by a priest of the Church of Southern Africa- Lesotho chapter
Europe Slovakia A Bratislava court has barred former Slovak National Theatre director Matej Drlička from making any public statements about Culture Minister Šimkovičová from 6 December, granting her request for an emergency injunction following a defamation complaint
Asia Uzbekistan Tandoors used for baking samsa were demolished during air pollution raids in Shakhrikhan district of Andijan province; the district mayor’s office posted photo and video footages of demolishings but later deleted them
Asia Brunei 1.361 citizenship certificates have been granted this year thanks to an update of guidelines and eligibility that came into effect on 31 December 2024 and helped reduce the backlog in applications
Africa South Africa Authorities must do more to tackle “xenophobic” protests that have been blocking access to hospitals to undocumented foreigners; members of group Operation Dudula have for months refused access to non-South Africans at clinics in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal
Oceania Tonga The Tonga National University celebrated about 600 graduates yesterday, receiving high-level qualifications and certificates in tourism management, engineering, and nursing among other curricula
Africa Seychelles On International Day of People with Disabilities, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Family hosted a spa experience for citizens living with disabilities in Victoria under 2025 theme ‘Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress’
Europe Albania A 51-tons shipment of maize for animal feeding imported from Serbia has been blocked as Albania'National Food Authority found traces of aflatoxin B1 in two test on different batches