Free subway travel for the elderly in South Korea – paper-and-digital hybrid textbooks as a standard format in Japan -Climate education in Africa – The Great Wall Museum in China – Elderly care in Asia: the world doesn’t stand still.
Africa
Regional — Child nutrition
Approximately 59 million African children under five lack sufficient dietary diversity, according to the World Health Organization. Specialists from 15 countries have prepared national roadmaps to improve food access and feeding support for children aged six to 23 months.
Nigeria
Educator and author Adefunke Adeyemi has called for climate education to begin in primary school and extend beyond environmental-science lessons. She advocates practical instruction involving gardens, waste management, water conservation and local climate conditions.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia will become the first African country to host the World Health Organization’s global Emergency Medical Teams meeting, scheduled for November 3–5 in Addis Ababa. The meeting brings together teams that deploy during outbreaks, disasters and other health emergencies.
Asia
India
Gujarat has announced completed and planned health facilities valued at ₹532 crore*, including primary and community health centres serving remote areas. A planned 521-bed neuroscience institute in Ahmedabad will contain 13 operating theatres and provide treatment and rehabilitation for strokes, tumours, spinal disorders and neurological injuries. (A crore is 10 million = 5,320,000,000 Indian rupees/US$56,035,391)
Goa’s new three-year artificial-intelligence policy includes development of a Konkani-language model with Digital India BHASHINI and an AI research centre with BITS Pilani Goa. The state plans to certify 50,000 young people in AI by 2030 and test solutions for 15 public-service problems.
China
The China Great Wall Museum in Beijing reopened on October 24 after renovation and exhibition upgrades. The museum documents the construction, archaeology and historical functions of the Great Wall.
China
China is expanding community-based elder care as the number of older residents increases. The model places meal assistance, health monitoring and daily-care services within neighbourhoods, allowing more older people to remain at home.
Japan
Japan’s education ministry is considering paper-and-digital hybrid textbooks as a standard format. A ministry panel recommended retaining paper for younger children and restricting digital-only textbooks in subjects including Japanese, social studies and moral education.
South Korea
The number of elementary, middle and high-school students who died by suicide increased 25.8% between 2022 and 2025. A further 112 deaths were recorded during the first half of 2026, while specialist counselling teachers remain available in fewer than half of schools.
South Korea
A study calculated that free subway travel for residents aged 65 and older produced 650.6 billion won in social benefits during 2025. Estimated health benefits, including reduced depression and social isolation, accounted for 338.6 billion won.
Pakistan
Pakistan’s population could approach 400 million by 2050, while approximately 25 million children are currently outside school. Demographic projections indicate that the country may need another 55,000 primary schools by 2040, while roughly one million more young people enter working age each year than formal jobs are created.
Indonesia
More than 333,000 acute respiratory illnesses have been recorded across seven Indonesian provinces during the current haze emergency. Peatland and forest fires have produced the region’s worst haze in more than a decade, prompting student demonstrations in several cities and affecting air quality beyond Indonesia.
Australia & Pacific
Australia
Hospitalisations in transport categories that include electric scooters and electric bicycles rose rapidly between 2020–21 and 2024–25, particularly among children and young adults. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare cautioned that existing national coding does not identify every e-scooter and e-bike injury separately.
The Tasmanian Principals Association has sought stronger protection for school employees after staff were harassed over an inaccurate social-media claim that a school had removed Christmas celebrations. The association supports measures similar to South Australian protections against online abuse targeting public-school employees.
Europe
Italy
The Genoa Science Festival is holding ten days of exhibitions, laboratories and talks covering botany, urban systems, medicine, restoration and soundscapes. The 2026 program includes dedicated experimental spaces for children and appearances by international researchers. Italy
Rome’s four-day Ripasso Generale program concludes today after offering informal public lessons in classical studies, literature, astrophysics and the Italian language. The series was created to renew public interest in subjects commonly encountered at school.
Austria
Austria’s Democracy Week has included 25 initiatives and 20 free science lectures in Vienna, alongside workshops, accessible film screenings and museum programs. Activities cover democratic participation, inclusion, research and media literacy.
Great Britain
Medieval imagery, crafts, music and live-action games are appearing across British youth culture, including illuminated-manuscript art, chain-mail workshops and medieval-themed social events. Researchers and participants link the trend to renewed interest in communal activities and pre-digital forms of creativity.
Spain
Barcelona is opening the 15th European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health today. The October 25–28 meeting covers infectious diseases, migration, climate-related health risks and the development and distribution of new medical tools.
Middle East
United Arab Emirates
Ras Al Khaimah closed all its beaches on October 24 after an oil spill affected parts of the northern UAE coastline. Beaches had already been closed in Umm Al Quwain and Sharjah while authorities investigated the source and continued cleanup work.
Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates — Archaeology
A regional archaeological mapping initiative has documented tens of thousands of stone cairns and burial structures across the Arabian Peninsula. Researchers are using their locations and construction patterns to study early agriculture, trade routes, settlement and movement between present-day Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
South America
Chile — Mental health
A University of Chile policy study has proposed incorporating community gardens into public mental-health programs. Its multidisciplinary authors reviewed evidence connecting shared gardening with psychological well-being, social inclusion, neighbourhood relationships and access to green space.
Brazil
More than 330,000 Brazilian children under ten were hospitalized after falls between 2016 and 2025, according to a Brazilian Society of Pediatrics analysis of national hospital records. Nearly 15,000 additional hospitalisations occurred during the first half of 2026.
North America
Canada
Construction has begun on a four-acre Children’s Garden at Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens. Ten interactive areas will provide year-round nature education, including a wetland learning zone, labyrinth and sound garden; opening is planned for 2028.
Nearly 150,000 Ontario students at 2,105 schools are participating in simulated municipal and school-board elections. Students research local government and candidates, organize polling stations and cast ballots, with province-wide results released after the official election closes.
Perth County, Ontario, has been named Canada’s Safest Public Sector Employer for 2026. Its program includes mental-health support for paramedics, defensive-driving instruction, workplace risk management and safety training for employees who work directly with the public.
United States
United Independent School District in Laredo, Texas, has opened a US$55-million Child Nutrition Center. The centralized facility is designed to prepare and distribute meals across the district while accommodating enrolment growth and transport-infrastructure changes.
Florida Atlantic University researchers found that physically active virtual-reality responses—such as punching a virtual target or swinging a virtual lightsaber—can improve performance on certain learning tasks. The study compared embodied interaction with conventional screen-based responses.
University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital researchers identified a mechanism used by metastatic colorectal cancer to evade immune defences. The discovery concerns signalling within the tumour environment and may provide a target for future treatment research.
Michigan Archaeology Day brought archaeologists, Indigenous-history specialists and the public together at the Michigan History Center. Research presented included work at the River Raisin site examining French-descended households and the consequences of nineteenth-century warfare for Wyandot, Potawatomi and other Native nations.
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