Africa Cameroon In an unprecedented disruption to academic calendar, the Ministry ordered the immediate rescheduling of all remaining papers for the ongoing 2026 examination session after a severe security breach compromised confidential materials across digital networks
Asia Azerbaijan Only a month after the first UN climate summit, Azerbaijan, the next host, announced a 28-strong organising committee without a single woman; after criticism, it added 12 women to the committee
Africa Republic of the Congo The Conference of the Presidents of the two Houses of Parliament met in Brazzaville with 12 items for Senate and 11 for National Assembly, including bills for the creation of public bodies like the African Artificial Intelligence Research Centre
Europe Austria Thousands of people took to the streets across Austria on Friday to protest against right-wing extremism and racism, inspired by similar demonstrations in neighbouring Germany
Africa South Sudan The country's peace monitoring body, known as Rjmec, has stated that it is necessary to speed up the process in view of the elections scheduled by the end of the year, given the serious delay the country is facing in this regard
Asia Philippines The government will give priority to Philippine-made vehicles in the Utility Vehicle Modernisation Programme, assured House Speaker Martin Romualdez in a message to local manufacturers of modern jeepneys
Europe Luxembourg Over the past five years, the Grand Duchy's car fleet has steadily increased the share of electric vehicles, with the number of new registrations of electric vehicles surpassing that of diesel models for the first time last year
Africa Benin The 27th Chinese medical team, tasked with providing health services and exchanging medical experiences with Beninese health personnel, arrived in Cotonou; the 22-member team will work in Lokossa, in the south-west, and Natitingou, in the north-west
Africa Zambia The reopening of schools has been further postponed to 12 February 2024, a decision that follows advice of Council of Ministers for National Disaster Management and Mitigation; calendar for schools and institutes has been changed to make up for lost time
Oceania Australia In Melbourne, two monuments dedicated to figures considered linked to the country's colonial past were vandalised, a statue of Queen Victoria and one of Captain James Cook, who led several voyages of exploration in the Pacific Ocean in the 18th century
Asia Cambodia The Ministry of Environment plans to establish 4 nursery stations in Kampong Speu, Koh Kong, Siem Reap and Thbong Khmum provinces; each station will accommodate at least one million tree seedlings responsive to different sorts of land and weather
Asia Qatar The country described as 'destructive' leaked audio statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticising Qatar's efforts to mediate with Hamas as 'problematic', complicating the already difficult negotiations
Oceania Fiji Over 10.000 Fijian coffee farmers in the Viti Levu highlands will benefit from a US$25.000 grant that the Indonesian government handed over to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka
Africa Egypt EC Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi announced that EU is Egypt's main trading partner and accounts for 27% of total trade on the occasion of 10th meeting of Association Council between EU and Egypt, marking the 20th anniversary of the Association Agreement