Oceania Tonga Heavy machinery, marine equipment and construction crews have started work at Fangaʻuta Lagoon site for Tonga’s long‑awaited US$97 million bridge; The 720‑metre infrastructure will strengthen the key transport link between Nukuʻalofa and Eastern Tongatapu
Europe Iceland A 40% rise in applications from students outside Europe to study at local universities may be linked to videos circulating on social media claiming that they can study in Iceland for free and relocate with families; processing is heavily delayed
Europe Lithuania Construction of the long-delayed, 18.000-seat National Stadium in Vilnius is at pace after resuming in July, though questions remain over permits and transparency; the multipurpose complex will include football field, athletics stadium, kindergarten
Africa Cameroon A wave of kidnappings has hit Bambui and Bambuli university communities: professors, students, staff and Sisters have been fallen victims of unidentified gunmen; incidents escalated triggering a call for vigilance, especially in upcoming pre-election days
Europe North Macedonia Local elections due in October are shaping into more than a simple contest in North Macedonia's ethnic Albanian bloc, as it split into two groups, each claiming to be the community’s ‘authentic’ representative between two main political forces
Oceania Samoa FAST party will retain power as election results confirm its victory; but Samoa will have a new PM: Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt, following incumbent PM resignation from FAST party leader earlier this year
Asia East Timor The Order of Engineers of Timor-Leste is under creation with the support of the Portuguese Engineers Association to provide a regulatory structure for the profession, to strengthen quality, ethics and enhance the value of the sector
Asia Maldives The UN Disability Rights Committee reported the absence of strategies, policies and disaggregated data on women with disabilities, the lack of gender perspectives in disability laws and the absence of disability perspectives in gender policies
Asia Vietnam 80th National Day has been marked with largest military parade in decades at Ba Dinh Square, featuring over 200 land vehicles, 30 aircraft, and more than 40 naval vessels, with international contingents from China, Russia, Laos and Cambodia
America Costa Rica A legislative commission has recommended lifting the immunity of Costa Rica’s president Rodrigo Chaves to allow prosecution for alleged corruption involving misuse of public funds
America Ecuador A cooperation agreement was signed with the US to jointly combat terrorism and drug trafficking, officially designating gangs Los Lobos and Los Choneros as narcoterrorist organizations
Asia Yemen A drone attack launched by Houthi militants in Yemen injured two people at an airport near the city of Eilat after an alert system failed
Asia Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has resigned after less than a year in the role, following two major election losses, anticipating the vote of his Liberal Democratic Party on whether to hold an internal leadership vote that could have forced him out
America Uruguay Uruguay signed the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, the first-ever international legally binding treaty ensuring that the use of AI is fully consistent with those values