America Costa Rica Water access became a hot topic after Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers said tariffs haven't been updated since 2018, foreseeing an abrupt increase; meanwhile, villages close to the capital recur to buying bottles to avoid contaminated, unhealthy water
Europe Slovenia The Slovenian Commodity Reserves Agency is to buy all the wheat produced by Slovenian farmers this year to protect food stocks and stabilise prices, at the urging of farmers
Africa Tanzania Tanzania has doubled the cost of export permits by 93%, causing a huge slowdown in trucks heading to Kenya in the last week as traders and truckers were caught off guard by the new requirement
Asia Thailand Hundreds of thousands of GrabBike passengers will seek alternative transport after unregistered bike taxis will be removed from service in mid-July by order of the Department of Land Transport; tens of thousands of GrabBike drivers will be out of work
Asia United Arab Emirates Al Ain Zoo is now home to 19 Rothschild's giraffes, classified as 'endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; part of the efforts to protect rare and endangered species, it began housing Rothschild's giraffes in 1974
Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina The two entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina have agreed on the need to build gas interconnections with Serbia and Croatia; the Council of Ministers is expected to soon discuss the proposal to build the gas interconnection
Africa Ethiopia According to Unicef, the worst drought in 40 years in the Horn of Africa is reversing decades of civil progress made in combating early marriage and female genital mutilation across Ethiopia
Europe Germany Digital association Bitkom has called on the government to launch the '#greencard22' programme aimed at easing the emigration of IT specialists from Russia and Belarus, provided they don't pose a security risk, to combat the shortage of skilled workers
Africa Egypt Once again the Suez Canal has announced a record $7bn profit for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, after repeatedly raising transit fees
Europe Serbia Serbian population continues to decrease, down to 6,83 million in 2021 from almost 6,9 million in 2020, according to estimates released by the Statistical Office; the population growth rate in 2021, compared to 2020, was negative (-9,4%)
Asia Nepal The government's spending on social security allowance is set to almost double in two years by the end of the next fiscal year 2022-23 due to measures such as lowering the age of eligibility for old age allowance
Europe Moldova According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the next census in Moldova should be conducted in 2024; a new draft law establishes that the next censuses will be conducted at regular intervals, at least once every 10 years
Asia India The Indian government has imposed new restrictions on wheat flour exports, after banning grain exports in May to insulate its markets from the global food crisis
Europe Latvia Defence Minister said the state will reinstate compulsory military service, following growing tension with neighbouring Russia; the country had revoked compulsory military service a few years after joining the Nato defence alliance