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
Africa Gambia Gambia's under-20 team surprised the U20 World Cup by defeating France 2-1 on the second day of the group stage in Argentina
Africa Lesotho Worth €29 million, three new funding agreements with the European Union have been signed in the key areas of renewable energy, social protection and inclusive governance
Oceania Papua New Guinea The government has secured 60% of the Wafi-Golpu mine project; Prime Minister said the total benefit sharing includes taxes, capital, royalties and also an additional social share for the environment around the project area
Asia Malaysia Between 2020 and 2022, a 100% increase in online fraud cases has been recorded, said the executive chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia
Europe Vatican City In his Message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis chose the theme "Let Justice and Peace Flow"; he instituted this day for first time on 1 September 2015 to encourage faithful around the world to pray for our common home
Asia Israel 80 animals of protected species - many of them endangered pythons - worth thousands of Euros, were seized by Israeli Border Police and inspectors from the Nature and Parks Authority in the village of Tur'an, near Golani Junction
Oceania Vanuatu The submarine volcano Epi East is still in a state of severe agitation; alert level 1 has been activated
Asia Indonesia Global banking giant HSBC predicts country's economy will be rather sluggish this year, with GDP growth below 5% during the current policy cycle
Africa Algeria Karim Tabbou, Algerian political opponent and figure in the pro-democracy Hirak movement, was released but placed under judicial supervision on Thursday after being held for 48 hours
Asia Maldives A blood donation camp has started at Sun Siyam Irufushi as part of the donation campaign launched by Sun Siyam Resorts to celebrate its 33rd anniversary
Africa Ivory Coast The cotton harvest for the 2023-24 season will increase by 69% compared to last season, as stated by the Minister of Agriculture; 400.000 tonnes of cottonseed are planned for an area of 400.000 hectares
Europe Montenegro Secretary of State Sahmanovic stated that the company Pegasus will start flying from Istanbul to Podgorica on 22 June, paying ToMontenegro a fare of $10 for each passenger transported to Podgorica not to jeopardise the Montenegrin airline's operations
Africa Zambia Socialist Party President Fred M'membe has expressed concern over the Zambian government's inability to provide a clear and honest explanation for the critical shortage of drugs and medical equipment in health centres, clinics and hospitals