Oceania Marshall Islands The fish aggregation devices FADs that fishing boats use to make catches easier, lately equipped with satellite communications gear to pinpoint location, are now being built by drug cartels that wrap packs of cocaine and radio transponders to trace troves
Asia Turkey In the first herbarium established after the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey, located in the capital Ankara, some 250.000 species of dried plant samples are meticulously preserved through pressing and other techniques
Europe Croatia Jadrolinija's legendary ferry 'Tijat' has been retired after 68 years of service; built in 1955 at the Split shipyard, it was one of the oldest ferries to sail on the Adriatic coast
Africa Sudan The closure of the country's airspace has been extended until 31 July, due to ongoing clashes, in the seventh extension by the Sudanese Aviation Authority; only humanitarian aid and evacuation flights will be exempt from the closure
Asia Taiwan 'Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre' in Mumbai will soon be established to expand mutually beneficial trade and investment opportunities between Taipei and New Delhi
Oceania Vanuatu In the past two years (2021-22 and 2022-23 up until 23 June 2023), more than 1000 Vanuatu nationals have sought asylum through the onshore Permanent Protection visa program in Australia
Europe Lithuania Lithuania's electricity and gas transmission system operators, Litgrid and Amber Grid, plan to purchase systems capable of detecting and neutralizing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and install them at 19 energy facilities
Europe Kosovo The Kosovo government has agreed to reduce police presence in the country's northern municipalities, which have been plagued by tensions with Serbs in recent months, thanks to an agreement with Miroslav Lajcak of the EU during a meeting in Bratislava
Africa Togo The funeral of Dedé Rose Gameli Creppy, the last of the 'Nana Benz' and one of the country's most influential (and successful) businesswomen, began yesterday at the royal palace of Lolan in Togo, to end tomorrow 14 July
Asia Malaysia The "DuitSmart Kids" financial literacy program, organized by Smart Reader Worldwide and Hong Leong Bank, has entered Malaysia's Book of Records for the "largest number of children graduated from a financial literacy program"
Africa South Africa Caster Semenya, 2-time Olympic 800 metres champion, excluded from some races for refusal to take drugs to reduce her high level of testosterone, caused by genetic dysfunction, has been defined as 'discriminated against' by European Court of Human Rights
America Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Nisha Trina Tagor, born in 1932 in Georgetown, has written a book, 'One Child Alone', which highlights a true story of racial prejudice during her early life on Saint Vincent Island
Asia Indonesia The government will provide drinking water to the community as a preventive measure against the drought caused by the El Nino phenomenon; National Disaster Mitigation Agency has already mapped areas potentially prone to drought and forest fires
Oceania Solomon Islands The country has over 15.000 job seekers and less than 4.000 new jobs created per year, according to data from the National Provident Fund report