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
Africa Uganda A well-known Lgbtq rights activist in Uganda, Steven Kabuye, who works with the Coloured Voices Media Foundation, was stabbed, sustaining serious injuries
America Colombia Colombian ornithologist John Murillo has discovered a Honeycreeper bird with blue plumage on the right (typical of males) and green on the left (typical of females), a rare phenomenon estimated to occur once in over 100 years
Asia Nepal An agreement was signed with India to export 10.000 MW of energy over 10 years; other agreements were also signed on earthquake reconstruction, satellite launching and renewable energy
Europe Moldova Moldova is officially a member of the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism, an initiative of coordination in crisis situations and natural dangers, since the beginning of this year
Asia Malaysia Gerbang Alaf Restaurants, licensee of McDonald's in Malaysia, has sued the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Malaysia movement alleging that it published a series of social media posts linking the fast-food franchise to Israel's military offensive in Gaza
Africa Tanzania During the New Year festivities, there was a large influx of Tanzanian visitors (around 400) to the Mikumi National Park; according to the Tanzania National Parks Authority, the promotion campaign for wilderness visits was a great success
America Costa Rica As of January 1, 2024, Costa Rica has revised minimum wages, witnessing nearly a 2% increase for the private sector
America Chile A streamlined process to enhance tourism between Argentina and Chile has been introduced by Customs Authority that only requires bureaucratic procedures for private vehicles with trailers; this initiative marks a shift towards more ‘paperless’ tourism
Africa Malawi Temwa Chawinga has been named the best female goalscorer of 2023 by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics: she is the first non-European to achieve this goal and the third winner of the award since it was established for women
Asia Bahrain Aluminium Bahrain registered a record-breaking production of 1.620.665 metric tonnes in 2023, +1,3% Year-on-Year on 2022
Europe Switzerland Around one million counterfeit Swiss watches were confiscated worldwide in 2023, says the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry despite a constant monitoring for fake "Swiss Made" on websites or socials and training for customs officers in many countries
Europe United Kingdom Junior doctors demanding better working conditions have begun an unprecedented six-days strike expected to bring massive disruption of non urgent care and tens of thousands services cancelled, amid flu peaks and a surge in the need of hospital care
America Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Residents across several northern villages of St Vincent who have been affected by the water supply disruption are upset and angry by the uneven distribution of water