Asia Myanmar Peace talks with several smaller ethnic armed organizations have been promoted by Myanmar’s military government as evidence of ongoing national reconciliation; Critics argue the discussions exclude many of the country’s most powerful resistance groups
Europe Bulgaria Following the traditional Christmas campaign of the Agriculture and Food Ministry for the purchase of Christmas trees, 62.000 saplings will be planted in Bulgarian forests
America El Salvador President Nayib Bukele took his presidential reelection campaign beyond El Salvador's borders to capitalise on his rising profile across Latin America, and he affirmed that he doesn’t aspire to indefinite reelection
Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo The Electoral Commission wrote off 82 candidates for fraud in December elections for national, provincial and municipal assemblies, the results of which have not yet been published; it did not concern the presidential vote, that took place on the same day
America Trinidad and Tobago The preliminary rounds of the national Junior Panorama competition are taking place, with eighteen steel orchestras in three regions to be judged between 8 and 10 January
Africa Central African Republic The government has worked hard to ensure that free healthcare is not just a slogan, but a reality, as President of the Republic emphasised in his end-of-year address to the nation; the number of doctors in hinterland is at 122 in 2023, up from 27 in 2016
Oceania Australia Nazi salutes and the display or sale of symbols associated with designated 'terrorist' groups have been criminalised with the enactment of legislation drafted last summer, government's response to the increase in hate incidents in recent months
Africa Botswana Giyani Metals Corp, developer of the K.Hill battery-grade manganese project in Botswana, has received the Environmental Authorisation and submitted its Mining Licence application
Oceania New Zealand The average price of a new uniform for the last year in Auckland was $468 (267€), including 2 shirts, 1 skirt or pair of trousers, 1 jumper and a jacket or blazer
Africa South Sudan A three-day workshop to build mediation skills of 20 female community leaders from across Western Bahr El Ghazal State has been recently held by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan together with local partners
Europe Slovakia The Slovak National Theatre is temporarily being led by Jozef Svolik, head of the department of art and artistic institutions at the Culture Ministry
Africa Republic of the Congo A project to build a power plant in Pointe-Noire was discussed between the Minister of Hydrocarbons and the President and CEO of the Chinese group Yunnan Linkun Investment, which intends to finance it
Asia Jordan 18,5% of vehicles in Jordan are electric or hybrid and accounted for over 50% of car customs in the first ten months of 2023; with growing demand for electric cars, instructions for the management of consumed batteries and their trading have been issued
America Paraguay The exports of pork and its derivatives from Paraguay increased by around 172,8% in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to a report from the National Service of Quality and Animal Health