Africa South Sudan Conditions for elections remain unfavorable, UN experts warned during a press conference in Juba after concluding their visit to South Sudan; planned December elections face risks from renewed violence, shrinking civic space, persistent impunity.
Europe Sweden Swedish House Mafia, a world-famous electronic dance supergroup, had its Friday concert at Ullevi cancelled due to thunderstorms; they re-scheduled a free concert to be held in Gothenburg were 40.000 people at Götaplatsen could assist for free
Europe Slovakia Slovakia is resuming its primary aluminium production after 3 years: Slovalco is gradually restarting Žiar nad Hronom smelter; the first furnaces are being heated and 100 out of 226 will be operating by February for an annual production of 75.000 tonnes
Africa Tunisia 149 primary school inspectors graduated for the 2025-2026 academic year at a ceremony held under the slogan "From Training to Leading Educational Action"; graduates are divided into specializations: 99 inspectors in Arabic, 45 in French, and 5 in English
Europe Kosovo Requests from Serb judges to return to their posts has been rejected by Kosovo Judicial Council; they had joined 2022 mass boycott of Kosovo institutions
Africa Lesotho Frustration, fear and despair are mounting in Lesotho's refugee community as government-imposed freeze on issuance of IDs and travel documents enters second year, leaving hundreds unable to travel, access money, education, healthcare or work opportunities
Europe Italy Thunderstorms brought hail as big as apples in Cremona, inundating the historical Teatro Ponchielli, and hit the vineyards in Oltrepò, while fifth summer heat surge made southern regions register temperatures over 44C on islands, ten degrees above average
America Venezuela The US is set to take majority control over much of Venezuela’s oil wealth in an unprecedented maneuver that officials said would create the world’s second-largest private oil company by reserves and secure American petroleum supplies for decades to come
America Canada "Lake Ontario – then, now and always” Prime Minister Carney posted, saying the name comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, pre-dating the foundation of both Canada and the USA, who proposed Lake America as a new name following Canada's retaliatory tariffs
Oceania Micronesia Start-up carrier One Pacific Airways officially presented to Pohnpei their strategy to expand domestic and regional air connectivity across the FSM; The initiative is backed by Da Yang Corporation, a fisheries enterprise with $200million assets in Kosrae
Europe Norway HRH King Harald V has died at the age of 89; in his 35 years on the throne, he steered the Norwegian monarchy through social change and periods of national crisis
Asia Afghanistan FAO warned that fertilizer prices are threatening Afghanistan’s 2027 wheat harvest that could be one of the most promising seasons in years; it is appealing for $38,3 million to enable up to 600.000 farms access to fertilizer and certified wheat seed
Africa Chad Alert level has been raised to its maximum on the border with Sudan, international news reported after a Chadian security source, and around 100 armoured vehicles and signal-jamming trucks have been deployed; the African Union calls for moderation
Asia Japan Fukuoka Prefecture hosted a conference to eliminate drunken driving, still a plague in in Japan, while marking 20 years since a drunken driver rear-ended a car that fell off a bridge killing three children; the incident was a turning-point in legislation