Asia Japan Around 1.000 women wearing traditional costumes and golden paper lanterns on their heads danced during the Yamaga lantern festival in the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto yesterday 16 August; the festival draws up around 100.000 visitors each year
Asia Philippines The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources stated that a premature lifting of the ban on fishing in Cavite province, affected by the oil spill, could pose a danger to public health
Asia Qatar The National Library of Qatar will launch a digital family archive platform in 2025 to document a range of archival materials, including passports, photographs, stamps and correspondence
Asia Bhutan The Bhutan World Food Forum Chapter, an independent network led by over 100 young people from across the country interested in transforming its agri-food sector, was launched as part of the National Youth Symposium
Asia Palestine The death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached 40.000; authoritative research in recent months has stated that the estimate of health officials is downwards and the number is much higher, possibly reaching 185.000 according to Lancet's study
Asia Cyprus All diplomatic missions have been informed that the ESTIA plan to repatriate third country nationals has been activated and Cyprus is ready to help if there are requests to leave the Middle East via the island following the escalating situation
Asia Turkey Istanbul emerged as the main destination and source of internal migration, with 412.707 arrivals and 581.330 departures in 2023; inter-provincial migration surged significantly last year according to the 'Internal Migration Statistics' report
Asia Afghanistan The Taliban celebrated the 3rd anniversary of their seizure of power with a ceremony in Bagram, where there was the former American military base; the country follows the Persian calendar and celebrates the date 14/08 instead of 15/08, day of the seizure
Asia Kyrgyzstan The International Volunteer School of the Organisation of Turkic States countries is taking place from 12 to 16 August, with the aim of strengthening volunteering and its role in solving social, economic, environmental and other problems
Asia Lebanon The death toll of Israeli attacks on towns and villages in the south of Lebanon now stands at 550 people, while over 1.760 people have been injured and more than 100.000 are internally displaced, stated the Ministry of Health
Asia Pakistan There will be no spectators for the second Test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh due to renovation work at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, described as a 'difficult decision' by the Pakistan Cricket Board
Asia Singapore Eligible Singaporeans will receive between US$200 and USD 400 next month as part of measures to help them cope with cost-of-living increase
Asia Sri Lanka A programme to conserve 30% of the country's land and ocean by 2030 has been launched by the government, with the aim of attracting $1,5 billion in green investments between 2025 and 2030