Africa eSwatini 11 000 jobs have been added in 2023-25; though it may appear as a positive development for Eswatini’s economy, economists fear that Eswatini’s labour market is expanding in low-productivity jobs rather than sectors building long-term economic security
Europe Romania A political agreement with Ministries of Internal Affairs of Austria and Bulgaria for the country's entry into the Schengen Area with air and maritime borders from March 2024 has been reached; negotiations for land border accession will continue this year
Asia Oman The Sultanate of Oman will host the annual meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) in November 2024
Europe Bulgaria The disassembled bronze figures of the Soviet Army Monument were transported to the storage site and a technical specification for the restoration of the figures was also initiated, said the Sofia Regional Administration
Europe San Marino Stop bombing Gaza now is the appeal of the San Marino Green Festival, reproposing on the Palazzo Pubblico the message that appeared on the façade of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, verbatim "Cease fire now"
Europe Serbia The construction of long-announced biotech campus officially started and should be ready in 3 years; it is expected to harness Serbian scientific expertise and private partners from among the world’s biggest pharma, genetics and healthcare companies
America Saint Kitts and Nevis A MoU with Southern University was signed by the government to further boost the Federation's agricultural sector, to improve agricultural methods and bolster the farming community with advanced knowledge and techniques
Asia Armenia The commission responsible for television and radio announced that the licence of Tospa, Sputnik Armenia's broadcaster, has been suspended for 30 days starting December 20 following remarks made in November by Russian TV personality Tigran Keosayan
America Dominican Republic Despite the advances in 2023 risk rating, there is still some way to go to reach investment grade, especially responsible tax reform that leaves no room for precarity and waste
Africa Chad The results of the referendum for a new constitution have been definitively validated by he Supreme Court of Chad, with the 'yes' vote for a unitary form of state winning with 85,9% of the votes while the 'no' vote received 14,10%; the turnout was 62,8%
Europe Croatia A project for new trains for the Zagreb-Split service and a pilot-project of free travel for Croatians above 65 have been unveiled: in 2024, €2 million will be set aside to enable pension recipients and citizens above 65 to travel by train free of charge
Asia Japan Japan Airlines is preparing to launch its first direct flight from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to Doha, Qatar, from 31 March 2024, becoming the first Japanese airline to provide a non-stop service to the Middle East
Africa Seychelles Visitor arrivals from 1 Jan to 24 Dec 2023 exceeded 2022 figures by 6%, according to the latest releases from the National Statistics Office; the largest number of visitors, 53.887, came from Germany, followed by France with 41.696 visitors
Africa Senegal Karim Wade, former minister and son of former Head of State Abdoulaye Wade, Senegalese opposition leader in exile, said he had filed papers to participate in February's presidential elections