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
Europe Vatican City The Catholic Church has celebrated the feast day of the 21 victims of Coptic confession killed by ISIS in 2015 for the first time; all 21 men had been proclaimed martyrs by the Coptic Church
Africa Senegal Senegalese took to the streets to protest against the possible extension of President Macky Sall's term of office beyond 2 April, the date for the handover of power, after the Constitutional Council rejected a law to postpone the presidential elections
Europe United Kingdom About a million adults in England unconsciously suffer from type 2 diabetes, putting their health at risk; data from Office for National Statistics also suggests many more - up to five million - are on the cusp of developing it
Africa Mauritania Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani officially assumed the rotating presidency of the African Union for 2024
Africa South Africa The country must begin the transition to a cashless system to curb currency theft, crime experts advise, even though the latest crime statistics show a decline in cash theft
Asia Yemen The Houthi group in Yemen claimed responsibility for the missile attack on what it described as a 'British ship' on Sunday in the Gulf of Aden
America Peru After over two decades, Peru reported its first case of locally transmitted measles, marking a departure from the country's trend of only imported cases since 2000 and prompting a nationwide alert to complete vaccination schedules
Europe North Macedonia As of Wednesday, the exchange of driving licences and vehicle registration certificates will be free of charge due to the obligation under the Prespa Agreement
Asia Thailand Transport Minister Suriya Juangruangreangkit has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand to try to persuade airlines to lower fares on domestic flights, in response to complaints from travellers
Europe Romania Using the Văcărești Natural Park as a model, the founders of the urban nature park are working to provide the city with five more protected areas to serve as biodiversity zones and educational and recreational environments
America Suriname 24 nursing assistant students received certificates from the Labor Mobilization and Development Foundation in Suriname after a year-and-a-half training program; they can now enter the national healthcare workforce
America Venezuela Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has demanded all UN Human Rights personnel in the country to leave within 72 hours, accusing them of a 'colonialist, abusive' attitude, and disregarding their claims of a repressive government
Oceania Micronesia 116.000 litres of fresh water have been delivered to Pohnpei by Australian warship Reliant; usually one of the wettest places in the world, Pohnpei declared a state of emergency on 12 January due to the lack of rainfall