America Grenada Toll-free 988 Suicide Hotline for Crisis Response has been launched to guarantee immediate support for people experiencing suicidal thoughts, emotional distress and other mental health crises; an awareness campaign will start soon
Europe Norway Bergen's municipal government has voted to ban overnight camping in public parks, open spaces, along streets, squares and other public areas; critics say the aim is to keep homeless people off the streets
Asia Thailand The head of national parks and wildlife announced the establishment of training centers to discipline aggressive wild elephants, facing growing number of attacks on people; in 16 forest complexes are about 4.000 wild elephants that pose serious problems
America Bolivia La Paz, facing intensified flooding following record-breaking rainfall attributed to El Niño, declared a state of emergency, prompting government assistance as the deluge, which destroyed hundreds of homes, continues to cause chaos
Asia Turkey An accumulation of water in the foundation of a construction site in Istanbul's Kadıköy neighborhood has been falsely identified as a lake on Google, Apple and Yandex digital maps
America Costa Rica Melissa Pérez has become the first female data engineer graduate in Costa Rica; she is aiming to inspire women in STEM fields and urging more female participation in the development of innovative solutions
Oceania Solomon Islands A Red Cross humanitarian operation has kicked off to assist 5.000 of the nearly 14.000 people affected by the current drought; some atolls and islands reportedly had no rain in the first three months of this year
Asia Saudi Arabia The National Talent Identification Program, now in its 14th year, has registered about 100.000 students
Asia Nepal At least 400 foreign mountaineers will attempt to climb the world's highest peak from Nepal in the spring season, Rishi Bhandari, general secretary of the Expedition Operators Association Nepal, told THT
America Trinidad and Tobago The Trinidad and Tobago chess team won the gold medal at the inaugural Caricom Classic, held at the Ramada Georgetown Princess Hotel in Guyana
Asia Syria March 15 marks the 13th anniversary of the start of the civil war; since its beginning, some 600.000 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians, and 13,5 million have been displaced, half of them refugees who have fled the country
Asia Singapore Eight Singapore restaurants have been named to Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2024 51-100 list
Asia North Korea North Korean Foreign Ministry officials visited Mongolia for talks, marking the first country's delegation in five years to the country that has played a role in past nuclear talks
Africa Sudan The number of inhabitants facing emergency levels of hunger, the stage before famine, more than tripled in one year, approaching five million, according to the Integrated food security phase classification, the food security index used internationally