Asia Laos About $12 million in digital taxes from global technology companies have been collected under new law: foreign providers of online services must register with Lao tax authorities regardless of whether they have a physical presence in the country
America Argentina The country has reached a technical agreement with the IMF, awaiting final approval, to receive around US$7.5 billion; the country will pay US$2.7 billion in FMI commitments using a loan from the Latin American Development Bank and a yuan swap with China
Asia Kyrgyzstan The volume of water in the Toktogul Basin by October 2023 will be 2 billion cubic metres lower than predicted, 12,4 billion compared to 14,3
Asia Kazakhstan The target for foreign investment to be attracted to the country is $24 billion by the end of the year, according to the chairman of the Investment Committee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Africa Niger What happened in Niger, where President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by the Presidential Guard, theoretically in charge of safeguarding him, confirms a trend that since 2020 has seen at least 12 coups and attempted coups in West Africa
Europe Hungary Men national water polo team claimed the title of world champion after beating Greece in a final match ending with penalty shootout at the 20th World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan; Hungary's 4th title comes after 10 years
Europe Switzerland Beginning today thru 12 August 2023, 76th edition of Locarno Film Festival will be Marco Solari's last as president, with 214 films on the programme, including 110 world premieres and six international premieres
Europe Malta There are 317.000 cars on the road in Malta, out of a total of more than 420.000 authorized vehicles belonging to 276.00 driver license holders; in 2021, data showed there were 1.517 cars for every 1.000 driver license holders
Africa Zimbabwe Exports to China have reached a high of $585 million, registering an increase over the past five years
Europe Germany The production of non-alcoholic beer in Germany has almost doubled in the last decade, according to new figures released on World Beer Day this week, while the consumption of alcoholic beer has seen a slight downward trend
Asia Bhutan International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the wholly-owned subsidiary and international arm of National Payments Corporation of India, said it has reached the milestone of issuing over 10.000 RuPay cards in Bhutan
Africa Liberia About 500 rice farmers in six of Liberia's fifteen counties are expected to benefit from the Scaling Up Climate Resilient Rice Production in West Africa project that aims to increase rice production in the region
Asia Turkey The number of accessible five-star public beaches will reach 35 throughout Turkey; the country already ranks third in the world in the number of Blue Flag beaches
Europe Russia US will share evidence on Russian war crimes with Hague tribunal which in March issued first arrest warrants for Russian officials and President Putin for orchestrating abduction and deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children