Africa Somalia Newly elected speaker of Northeastern State vowed to reclaim portions of territory that are under the actual control of neighboring Somaliland and Puntland, thus renewing tensions in a region already fraught with decades-long territorial conflicts
Africa Seychelles 42.620 licensed vehicles, a record high reported in latest available data, is bringing road traffic to its limits, with daily congestions in the islands' road network
Africa Cameroon Google will update its Gambling and Games Policy on 19 August to allow online gambling ads in Cameroon, albeit under strict conditions: advertisers must be licensed and registered with the Agence de Régulation des Jeux, the official gambling authority
Asia North Korea A Chinese website dedicated to DPRK investment opportunities published a list of NK export products with items like textiles, machinery and cars that violate UN sanctions but it’s unclear if shipments have actually occurred
Africa Namibia From tomorrow 18 August Windhoek will phase out cash and outdated cards used for its bus service; passengers have been able to verify and transfer balances from their old smartcards to the new cashless system until yesterday
Europe Albania Draft of a new Penal Code has sparked critics among politicians, legal community, civil society, international observers; critics say it contains authoritarian-style restrictions on free speech while reducing sentences for corruption for senior officials
Europe Iceland A man involved in what is thought to be Iceland’s first bank robbery walked into a police station and confessed to the crime, police posted on Facebook; the robbery took place in 1975 and was relatively small in scale compared to later bank robberies
Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina Journalist Natasa Miljanovic Zubac, known for publishing material on organised crime and high-level corruption, has been detained, her family home searched, for the alleged crime of “disclosure of an official secret” upon orders of State Prosecutor Office
Europe Moldova The Leova–Bumbata border crossing is now working on a 24/7 schedule, letting travelers cross at any time, following agreement of border authorities of Moldova and Romania; Moldova has registered +45% foreign visitors arrivals in Jan-June 2025
Africa Guinea Daouda Taban, journalist and reporter for Radiodiffusion Télévision Guinéenne RTG, passed away shortly after having been transferred to Tunisia for medical reasons; Guinean media and public are mourning his death as he leaves a 'great void'
America Barbados A major agreement to build a coconut processing plant was signed with India, part of Barbados' plan to industrialize and expand its agro-processing sector; Export Barbados said it will create full value chains for coconut products with Indian technology
Oceania Palau The Oneisomw community hosted a training and clam farm setup led by Nature Conservancy to provide the community with tools for sustainable aquaculture; 3.600 bear paw clams were stoked, 75 giant clams, locally extinct, reintroduced to Chuuk lagoon
Asia Kazakhstan A new nationwide coordination body has been set up to unite state agencies in the fight against drug addiction and drug-related crimes; it will focus on developing comprehensive prevention measures, improving treatment and rehabilitation programs
Europe Kosovo Liberation Army veterans, citizens and other organizations held a protest in Pristina against the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers, accusing it of bias, namely of 'doing an injustice to the people [of Kosovo] who were persecuted by Serbia'