Asia Israel The Knesset has passed a media overhaul law giving government greater regulatory control; PM Netanyahu attended the debate, skipping the vote; the news has been released by a number of online media in the late hours of 16 July
America El Salvador UN experts have expressed concern over the country's state of exception, citing violations of fair trial rights, arbitrary arrests, and lack of evidence, claiming to urgently call to uphold fair trial standards
Africa Togo Decentralised Financial Systems lent CFA 255 billion in 2022, compared to CFA 196 billion in 2021, an increase of +30%
America Cuba 29 May marked the 54th anniversary of Cuban hockey, as on the same date in 1969 the first official game of the sport was played on the island between the Green and Blue teams at the Sport City ground in the capital
America Paraguay The FAO has begun aiding the country in battling Avian Influenza, providing technical specialists and stressing the need for biosecurity measures in Latin America to prevent significant losses
America Ecuador The country has enforced its first Personal Data Protection Law, imposing fines on companies that disclose customer information without authorisation; the law covers all types of data and aims to safeguard citizens from the illegal data market
Africa Morocco Sixteen African countries will be represented at the 11th Dakhla International Film Festival, scheduled from 2 to 8 June 2023 in Dakhla
Asia Tajikistan Roghun tourist zone development programme for the period 2024-2028 has been approved: approximately 18 million somoni (equivalent to USD 1,7 million) is the budget needed
Europe Sweden Swedish Foreign Minister Billstrom said the country still hopes to become a member of NATO by the alliance's July summit in Vilnius, hoping that the objections of Turkey and Hungary will be overturned
Oceania Micronesia A new security agreement with the United States will extend decades-old political and security ties; in return for security and budgetary guarantees, the country gains influence and the right to place military facilities in a central Pacific area
America Nicaragua Approximately 100 Costa Rican tourists were denied entry at the Nicaraguan border due to security reasons; the travelers expressed disappointment and planned to submit a protest to the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asia Vietnam There are growing fears that the prolonged shortage of vaccines may soon lead to a resurgence of infectious diseases in the country; last year, the vaccination rate for the Expanded Immunisation Programme did not reach the annual targets
Oceania New Zealand A video of New Zealand soldiers dancing the haka, a New Zealand war dance, in support of Ukraine, was posted on Twitter by Ukraine Ministry of Defence
Asia Yemen The food security situation in Yemen's government-controlled districts has "slightly improved" in the first five months of this year, but acute malnutrition is on the rise