Asia East Timor The ACT Court of Appeal has dealt a major blow to transparency and the public's right to know in a ruling in the case of Bernard Collaery, the lawyer who blew a whistle on Australia's illegal spying operation against the country
Asia Afghanistan The Ministry of Interior has reopened the department for issuing passports, announcing that 25.000 documents are ready, for now with the inscription 'Islamic Republic of Afghanistan'; in the last two months, 170.000 Afghans have applied
Asia Mongolia The business competition “All for YOUth, YOUth for all”, co-funded by the EU and Caritas Czechia, selected the winners among the young CSOs and entrepreneurs who presented viable projects creating jobs for rural young people and local social enterprises
Asia Singapore The sixth recent crocodile sighting around the city, an almost 5m male of the local sea water species - once thought extinct - is considered a good sign of the health of island's marine environment
Asia India An energy crisis is looming in some states, including Delhi and Punjab, due to a combination of factors such as excess rainfall hitting coal movement and imported coal-based power plants generating less than half of their capacity due to record-high rates
Asia Bhutan A business dialogue with Bangladesh was held, where ideas were exchanged with the local business community on how to maximise the benefits of the recently signed preferential trade agreement between the two countries
Asia Saudi Arabia At least 89 US citizens, legal permanent residents and visa holders and their relatives have been detained by authorities in Saudi Arabia or banned from leaving the country in 2021, according to a new report by Freedom Initiative
Asia Bahrain A major training program has been launched to help teachers identify mental health difficulties and conditions among their students
Asia Armenia The nuclear power plant in Metsamor, the only one in the Caucasus, will be modernized with the contribution of an international partnership soon to be defined; Slovak company Vuye is negotiating their involvement
Asia Jordan The Department of Statistics released its report on unemployment rates for the second quarter of 2021; compared to the Q1, the unemployment rate of males decreased by 1,5%, and it rose for females by 4,6%
Asia Vietnam UNESCO Vietnam and Vietnam Cinema Association's Centre for Assistance and Development of Movie Talents with a filmmaking course for young Vietnamese directors will help develop short film projects, find a suitable production path and guide a film career
Asia Cambodia Pchum Ben Festival or Festival for the Dead, the second biggest in the country, is ending today; people were able to celebrate in accordance to tradition, though with pandemic restrictions