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 Lithuania A new military facility was officially opened in Rokantiškės, built in 3 years under a public-private partnership agreement worth €74 million; it will house the Duke Vaidotas Infantry Battalion and is the first of three facilities to be opened this year
Africa Egypt Nevin Al-Kilani, Minister of Culture, yesterday opened the activities of the 'Day of Palestinian Culture and Heritage' at the 55th Cairo International Book Fair, organised by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, in support of the Palestinian cause
Europe Kosovo Germany will double its contribution of around 100 troops to the NATO-led peacekeeping forces in Kosovo
Asia Iraq The country imposed a ban on eight local commercial banks preventing them from participating in dollar transactions, with the aim of reducing fraud, money laundering and more illicit uses of the US currency
Europe Vatican City Pope Francis expressed his condolences for the death of Antonio Paolucci, former director of the Vatican Museums and prominent art historian
Africa Guinea-Bissau The Guinean civil society organisation expressed its concern to the Minister of the Interior and Public Order, Botche Cande, about the existence of traces of a large number of drugs in Guinea-Bissau
America Dominican Republic The Consulate General of the Dominican Republic in New York received a diploma of recognition for being named the Best Digital Communication System of 2023
Africa Sao Tome and Principe The country, among the 49 states considered, is the seventh least corrupt in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a report published by the non-governmental organisation Transparency International
Europe Bulgaria A memorial ceremony was held on board the Bulgarian naval research and survey ship Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) for the Argentinian researchers who lost their lives in Antarctica in 1976
Africa Gambia Girls' Pride Gambia concluded a 20-day training programme for 25 Home Science teachers in the Lower River Region on how to make handmade reusable sanitary napkins and on menstrual health and hygiene management through games
Europe Croatia The new Rijeka University Hospital complex, worth €158 million and the largest government investment in healthcare since Croatia's independence, was inaugurated; construction began in 2019
Oceania New Zealand A group of students and educators from New Zealand's University of Waikato, consisting mostly of Maori, visited Taiwan in January for a cultural exchange programme and to learn about Taiwan's indigenous culture
Europe Hungary The National Election Office rejected the joint referendum initiative of the opposition party Momentum and Dániel Karsai on end-of-life decisions