Europe United Kingdom The Labour Government is set to close down migrant hotels, moving residents to former military barracks; the new policy follows recent criticism on PM Starmer's immigration policies after new official figures showed asylum claims hitting a record high
Asia Brunei A surge in ‘Macau Scam’ cases with impersonation of bank and police officers is causing public distress: Cyber Crime Investigation Division warned citizens, saying it typically begins with phone calls signaling suspicious transactions on victim’s account
Europe Netherlands Cybercrime group Nova, hacking on the Dutch laboratory that handles population screenings, is threatening to publish more medical data after having leaked data of nearly half a million women who participated in the cervical cancer screening
America Bolivia Amid a deep economic crisis, over US$3 billion have been raised by Bolivia through buying locally mined gold and selling it abroad to meet debt payments and support fuel imports
Asia Qatar 800 new university students were welcomed for the start of the new academic year; now part of Qatar Foundation’s unique ecosystem of education, they have been encouraged to embrace the spirit of giving back, serving their communities
Africa Zambia Northern Province has seen a surge in maize production in the 2024/2025 season, which local authorities attribute to sound policies of the government and the commendable response from farmers
Asia Jordan The recent heatwave, while disrupting daily life and agriculture, has accelerated the ripening of dates and reduced the occurrence of puffiness, a defect that can affect fruit quality; producers welcomed the anticipaed, high quality 2025 harvest
America Saint Kitts and Nevis Record number of scholarship recipients from Saint Kitts and Nevis will be travelling to Taiwan in the coming weeks for university studies were awarded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs scholarships and from International Cooperation and Development Fund
America Chile A man with Down syndrome, Sebastián Solorza, has launched a historic bid to run as an independent presidential candidate in Chile, aiming to collect 35.000 signatures to promote inclusion and challenge political polarization
Asia Palestine People from Gaza, including young children with serious conditions, will be denied entry to the US, a key pathway for medical care: the US administration stopped approving visitor visas after a lobbying campaign called incoming flights a national threat
Europe Andorra Five people have been convicted in Montpellier, France, for smuggling tobacco from Andorra; the cross-border investigation found that the four defendants were selling the illegal cigarettes in the food stores they owned
Asia Saudi Arabia Saudi Regional Cloud Seeding Program aims to implement operations in six main regions: Riyadh, Qassim, Hail, Makkah, Al-Baha, Asir and gradually cover all regions following climate studies and rainfall distribution, according to an Al-Arabiya.net report
Africa Guinea The liquidity crisis affecting the Guinean banking sector has hit electronic money agents too; struggling to meet the growing demand for withdrawals, while facing scarce deposits, is worryingly eroding their margins
Europe Austria Airbnb has been providing data to the city of Graz, including the identity of the landlords, in response to growing opposition by many cities to short-term apartment rentals; Graz is demanding accommodation fees from landlords and will impose fines soon