World News

Jamaica Tourism Minister announced that during the first 2 months of the year, 490 farmers earned approximately $108 million in revenue. This was accomplished via the Agri-Linkages Exchange (ALEX) platform, which was designed to connect small farmers directly with buyers within the tourism industry.

Africa’s biggest festival, FESTAC Africa 2023, sets stage in Tanzania’s Northern Tourist City of Arusha in May of this year, with expectations to draw key African big names from all corners of the world.

FESTAC is a celebration of Cultures and Heritage in the form of arts, fashion, music, storytelling, poetry, film, short stories, travel, tourism, hospitality, food and dance, through live performances from various countries of the continent and across the world, sharing and showcasing their richness in their culture.

March 20th, 2023, marks the 10th annual International Day of Happiness, a global reminder of the importance of promoting wellbeing. The day also sees the launch of the World Happiness Report, which ranks 137 countries by how happy they are, based on survey data from the Gallup World Poll.

Finland tops the list of happiest countries for the 6th year running. The UK has dropped from 17th place (scoring 6.94) in 2022 to 19th (scoring 6.80) in 2023. 

Unsurprisingly happiness has gone down in many countries during the pandemic years - a time of increased fear, illness, social distancing and lockdowns. At the same time, the report shows a notable increase in benevolent and pro-social behaviour which continues to remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. 

Dr Mark Williamson, CEO of Action for Happiness, said: “Our world has been facing major challenges, including pandemic, war and economic hardship, so it’s no surprise that global happiness has taken a hit. This report also shows the amazing resilience people have shown in the face of difficulties.

“Supporting people’s wellbeing should be our top priority - especially for leaders and policy makers - as we continue to rebuild and recover. The inspiring silver lining is that we continue to see higher levels of kindness and community spirit, even in the darkest of times. Kindness is the key to a happier world for all of us.”

The reported levels of three benevolent behaviours, ‘donating’, ‘volunteering’ and ‘helping a stranger’ increased significantly. The behaviours peaked in 2021 and all three remain above pre-pandemic levels (see chart below). 

This prosocial behaviour may have helped to cushion the experience of living through the pandemic and may explain why life satisfaction did not fall significantly during that time. This year’s report also notes the bi-directional benefit between altruism and wellbeing; higher wellbeing promotes altruism, and altruism promotes higher wellbeing.

The unhappiest countries are those affected by war; Afghanistan and Lebanon remain at the bottom of the table. Ukraine saw happiness fall by two-thirds of a point, partly due to high levels of worry. However, it also saw a galvanising of benevolence with significant increases in helping strangers, donations and trust in government, which may have mitigated the fall in life satisfaction.

The top ten countries:

1. Finland (7.80)

2. Denmark (7.59)

3. Iceland (7.53)

4. Israel (7.47)

5. Netherlands (7.40)

6. Sweden (7.39)

7. Norway (7.31)

8. Switzerland (7.24)

9. Luxembourg (7.23)

10. New Zealand (7.12)

Other countries of note:

15. United States (6.89)

19. United Kingdom (6.80)

64. China (5.82)

70. Russia (5.66)

92. Ukraine (5.07)

137. Afghanistan (1.86)

Cyclone Freddy recently hit Malawi with heavy rains and strong winds causing massive flooding and enormous damage, including the loss of 336+ lives in Malawi and Mozambique.

TIME magazine has revealed its highly anticipated third annual list of the World’s Greatest Places, featuring 50 extraordinary travel destinations around the world, including the Caribbean island of Dominica.

TIME compiled the list by soliciting nominations of places, including countries, regions, cities, and towns, from its international network of correspondents and contributors, with an eye toward those offering new and exciting experiences. Readers can view the full list on TIME's website. This is the first time Dominica has been featured on the list.

Chintan Suhagiya is only 26, but already has seven years experience working in India's diamond industry.

Starting out, he ferried diamonds around his company, based in the world's diamond polishing capital, Surat in western India. But over the years he learnt how to inspect diamonds and now he grades their quality, using specialist equipment.

Around £70m of unspent Commonwealth Games funding is to be used to realise the Games' legacy ambitions, help level up and grow the West Midlands economy and boost its trade and tourism sectors.

The Government will provide the money, which is £10m more than originally announced, to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to help enhance and amplify the positive legacy of the Games across the entire region.

Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has commenced the translocation of 200 Uganda Kobs from Murchison Falls Conservation Area to Kidepo Valley Conservation Area.

30 males and 170 females will be translocated from Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve in Murchison Falls Conservation Area and released into Kidepo Valley National Park. This is the second translocation of Kobs to Kidepo Valley National Park in six years, following the translocation of 110 Kobs to the park.

The Electronic Governance (AGE) has won the "Special Award for the design of digital services" in a competition organised by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and GovStack. The award was given to AGE for the "Front-Office Digitization" (FOD) Platform, which is a solution for digitizing public services that was developed by the Electronic Governance Agency team as part of the Modernization of Government Services (MGSP) project. The World Bank Group provided support for the project.

From the very best of Irish arts, culture, food, music to enjoy, and more, including the spectacular annual parade in London’s Trafalgar Square, a Family Festival Village at Knocknashinna Park, in Downpatrick, in Northern Island, colourful parades will be taking place this weekend to mark St Patrick's Day.

An international community promoting democracy, peace and security, this year a virtual reception for the Irish community and friends of Ireland will be hosted by H.E. Ambassador of Ireland to Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin and Togo, Peter Ryan, featuring remarks from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD and a specially commissioned Irish cultural performance by award-winning Irish poet and writer, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, plus a piece of Irish traditional music by renowned concertina player, Cormac Begley.

The 11 women who received the 2023 International Women of Courage Award on March 8 fight for different causes but have one thing in common: They refuse to be intimidated.

The award, given annually by the U.S. secretary of state, honours women around the world advocating for human rights, rule of law and gender equality - which is often at great personal risk. This year’s ceremony was held at the White House for the first time and hosted by first lady Jill Biden. 

The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) has approved more than US$300 million in new financing in the first quarter of 2023, reflecting the institution's commitment to fulfilling its Climate Action Plan. Three out of the four projects approved by the OPEC Fund's Governing Board directly support climate finance.

An unrelenting Cyclone Freddy that is currently battering southern Africa has killed at least 56 people in Malawi and Mozambique since it struck the continent for a second time on Saturday night, authorities in both countries have confirmed.

Local police said 51 people in Malawi, including 36 in Chilobwe in the financial hub of Blantyre in the centre of the country have died, with several others missing or injured. Authorities in Mozambique reported that five people were killed in the country since Saturday.

Following on from the introduction of its newly enhanced guest rooms and suites, Island Shangri-La has launched a series of unique themed experiences that are sure to delight guests of all ages.

As well as enjoying a host of upgraded features and amenities, families checking into the newly renovated rooms can choose from four themed experiences—Princess World, Space Travel, Safari Park and Northern Lights—each of which features a captivating set-up that includes an in-room tent, special decorations and an overhead projector, transforming the room into a magical wonderland that kids will be thrilled to explore.

Continuing to build out new gateways and provide more convenient access to the island for U.S. travellers from the Midwest, Jamaica is pleased to welcome new non-stop air service from Kansas City International Airport (MCI) in Missouri to Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport (MBJ) by Southwest Airlines. The new flight will operate once weekly on Saturdays starting October 7 and is now available for booking.

Visitors at the Hong Kong booth at ITB Berlin were introduced to the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign, coinciding with the drop of mask rules..

The HKSAR Government announced the dropping of the mandatory mask-wearing rule which went into effect on March 1. All visitors traveling to Hong Kong will no longer be required to wear masks indoors and outdoors and can enjoy Hong Kong’s iconic and new experiences to the fullest.