Asia Laos New rules for intellectual property protection wereintroduced, allowing businesses to protect industrial designs internationally through a single application under the Hague System; It simplifies registration and administrative procedures, reducing costs
America Jamaica Earthquake experts said they are not overly concerned by the 15 earthquakes felt and recorded in Jamaica so far in 2026 and explained that the apparent increase reflects greater public reporting rather than heightened seismic activity
Europe Greece Gennadius Library in Athens celebrates its 100th anniversary with a grand exhibition of its pieces to mark the contribution of diplomat J. Gennadius to understanding the continuity of Greece; his 25.000 volumes are the core of today's 145.000 books legacy
Europe Ireland Advisory of a "prolonged spell of very warm or hot weather" has been confirmed in place for next week, with temperatures hitting 29°C mainly the west of the country; forecasters also warn of water safety issues due to increased use of lakes and waterways
Asia South Korea Poverty rate among older adults in South Korea fell below 40% for the first time thank to higher pensions and expanded welfare support; Despite the improvement, the country still records the highest elderly poverty rate among OECD countries
Asia Yemen In a decade of war, checkpoints have become a key issue: trucks carrying fuel, food or medicine must navigate dozens of them, paying levies to an overlapping cast of armed actors: formal, militia-linked, tribal, rebel; a new paper portraits the situation
Africa Sierra Leone Serenimind, an African mental health and wellness startup, has begun its monthly Africa-wide youth wellbeing campaign series, with a focus on child emotional wellbeing in Sierra Leone; it's titled “The Child Behind the Smile: Every Behaviour Has a Story”
Asia Vietnam Crackdown on anti-state activity on social media has been intensified, with police investigating and prosecuting individuals accused of spreading content deemed harmful to national security; critics argue it further restricts freedom of expression
America Saint Lucia Saint Lucian Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred became the third-fastest woman ever in the 200m with her 21,51 seconds run at the Meeting Herculis in Monaco's Stade Louis II
Africa Comoros The discovery of a newborn baby abandoned in a latrine in Ntsoralé Dimani sparked a wave of violence against the mother's family, their house was burned and ransacked by villagers; The episode of mob justice raises many questions
Africa Togo Integrated Strategic Plan for Rabies Elimination will begin with a pilot phase in the Plateaux region; its pillars are epidemiological surveillance, dog bites prevention, better dog vaccination coverage, timely care for people exposed, community awareness
Asia Jordan The National Seed Bank in Ain Al Basha counts today over 5.000 genetic accessions of field crops, wild crops, vegetables, medicine and aromatic plants, rangeland, forest species; it stores plants’ genetic data to preserve diversity and sustainability
Europe Slovakia Lines from famous Andrej Sládkovič love poem Marína are orbiting Earth engraved on one of the components of nanosatellite Marína, launched into outer space earlier this week to monitor weather and radiation; it's the 5th Slovak device, the 2nd private one
Asia Thailand New Sadao border checkpoint with Malaysia has been opened to improve trade and passenger flows; The larger facility is expected to reduce congestion on one of the busiest land borders in Southeast Asia and strengthen economic links