Asia Laos New rules for intellectual property protection wereintroduced, allowing businesses to protect industrial designs internationally through a single application under the Hague System; It simplifies registration and administrative procedures, reducing costs
America Nicaragua The Nicaraguan government shut down 9 NGOs, including a Catholic and 3 evangelical organisations, and endorsed the closure of a private university, marking a crackdown on society, educational institutions and raising concerns about diminishing freedoms
Europe Czech Republic The Czech Lower House approved a bill on same-sex marriages that would give same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples, with the exception of the adoption of children
Africa Senegal The Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, one of the largest in West Africa with more than 90.000 students, has reopened after months of closure due to political unrest
America Honduras The trial against former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández has started in New York, where a jury was selected to determine his guilt or innocence in conspiring to introduce tons of cocaine into the US over nearly 20 years
Europe France The 'steak' label on vegetarian products has been banned in a new government decree in response to a long-standing complaint from the meat industry that consider terms such as 'vegetarian ham' or 'vegan sausage' confusing for consumers
Asia East Timor Mozambique's ambassador to East Timor and Indonesia, Belmiro José Malate, expressed Mozambique's willingness to support the Timorese authorities in the training of Portuguese language staff and teachers
Europe Lithuania The Central Lithuanian Project Management Agency is purchasing four light trucks for demining work for the State Emergency Service of Ukraine
Asia Israel Thousands of artists from around the world, as well as thousands of citizens via an online petition, called for the exclusion of the song 'October Rain', representing the country at Eurovision, which makes strong allusions to what happened on 7 October
Europe Italy According to report by Autostrade published by economic newspaper Sole24Ore, 2023 marked an all-time record for heavy goods vehicles: lorry traffic increased by 6% compared to 2007, when there had been another record for heavy goods vehicle traffic
Africa Djibouti 1.400 tablets to carry out the country's third population census - scheduled for 2024 - have been handed over to the Ministry of Economy and Finance by Egyptian Ambassador to Djibouti Khaled al-Shazly
Oceania Solomon Islands Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Manele and H.E. Yoshiaki, Ambassador of Japan to the Solomon Islands, reaffirmed the growing friendship between the two countries at a reception to celebrate the Japanese Emperor's 64th birthday
Europe Ukraine From the White House to London, from Berlin to the EU, everyone has excluded direct involvement in the conflict in Ukraine, except French President Macron, criticised by some geopolitical experts, who see it as a dangerous escalation of the conflict
Asia Iran On the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, the country launched an ambitious environmental initiative with the inauguration of 67 projects, covering 17 provinces, to combat pollution and promote sustainable practices