Asia Philippines An Air Quality Index has been issued amid temporary haze from Indonesian forest fires; The Health Department advised residents to wear masks, limit outdoor activities, and remain indoor if possible
Europe Vatican City Praedicate evangelium, the Apostolic Constitution reforming the Roman Curia, published on 19 March, will take effect today, realizing a chief goal of Pope Francis’ pontificate
Asia Bahrain Zain has completed an innovative street lighting solution that transforms existing streetlights into Zain 5G sites to enhance 5G deployment in Bahrain Bay
Europe Slovakia As many as a quarter of Slovaks would change jobs if they lost the possibility of working from home, according to a survey entitled 'Hybrid Work Model as a New Standard' conducted by the agency Focus for Microsoft on a sample of 1.071 employees
Africa Benin The country is cracking down on the smuggling of subsidised fertilisers to neighbouring countries, costly in terms of food and crop productivity; 47.440 tonnes of fertilisers, insecticides and herbicides were seized in May
Asia Turkey About 250.000 Turkish citizens have quit smoking with the help of 'Alo 171', a telephone line that connects smokers with health officials who help them quit; the figure represents one third of the total number of calls, 700.000
America Chile With over 5.000 years of age, an ancient cypress in the country is now classified by experts as the oldest single tree in the world whose age is scientifically confirmed
Asia Cambodia The National Election Committee set up a commission and three sub-commissions - one for facilitation, one for technical aspects and one for announcing the results - to handle the preliminary results of today's municipal elections
Africa Libya The first skatepark in Tripoli was inaugurated; funded by the US Embassy it was built by the NGO Make Life Skate Life with the help of volunteers from around the world
America Canada Government introduced legislation to cap the number of circulating handguns; the regulations make it illegal to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada would be enacted this fall, while a mandatory buyback program should start soon later
Asia Laos About 7.000 people die every year in Laos from smoking-related diseases, 19 individuals a day, including non-smokers who inhale second-hand smoke, in figures presented by the Minister of Health
Africa Madagascar The poverty rate is dramatically worrying according to recent data from the World Bank : 81% of the population has a daily income of less than 8.600 ariary a day ($2,15), the poverty line that the WB has applied since August
Africa Senegal Several Dakar fishermen and restaurateurs are concerned about a seawater desalination plant under construction, fearing the environmental impact that could lead to a shortage of fish for the plant's waste
Africa Ivory Coast The fight against illegal gold mining continues, with more than 800 illegal gold mining sites cleared in operations conducted between 14 July 2021 and 27 May 2022 by the Special Group to Combat Illegal Gold Mining