Asia China “Bone ash apartments" will be illegal after new law prohibits use of residential properties to store ashes or bury remains outside dedicated areas; scarce space in cemeteries, low house prices made more affordable to entomb remains in an empty apartment
Europe Albania Following Albania’s elections this month, an incendiary opinion piece - "correct and without political interests” - by a political analyst called Helen Bratt went viral; but the author’s identity remains elusive, starting what is becoming a media case
Asia East Timor Over 100 school inspectors from all levels of education have completed the 'Literacy and Numeracy Training program' in Dili to ensure they can effectively oversee the standard within the national system
Europe Latvia A new team from the Estonian Police and Border Guard has been sent to assist the ESTPOL10 mission on the Latvian-Belarusian border; officers will be deployed to the Robežnieki area, where there have been the most illegal border crossing attempts recently
Europe Iceland With recent liquid-cocaine seizure, never registered before 2024, 2025 is becoming record-breaking for drug seizures at Keflavík Airport, with authorities reporting unprecedented amounts of cocaine, cannabis, and OxyContin intercepted at the border
Africa Sierra Leone Octea Limited accused Sierra Leone’s First Lady Fatima Bio of abuse of power and disgraceful behaviour that eventually brought the country's biggest diamond producer to halting operations and laying off nearly its entire local workforce of 1.000 people
Europe Estonia Inter-island ferry services revise schedules to meet demand, that registered a +8% in two years; there has been an increase in the use of smaller ferry routes, but the busiest remain Hiiumaa and Saaremaa, where passengers have to plan days in advance
Europe Belgium Bankruptcies in Belgium increased by 7,13% year on year in May, according to the latest monthly report from commercial information bureau GraydonCreditsafe, the highest figure since 2013; in Flanders alone, bankruptcies reached a record high of 570
Europe Denmark Three out of five Danes want to raise the legal age for buying all types of alcohol to 18, from current 16, according to latest Voxmeter survey conducted for Blue Cross Denmark; 58,3% of answers say raising legal drinking age is a good/very good proposal
Europe Croatia On second turn of local elections, Croatia’s ruling center-right HDZ consolidates its position of most powerful political force, while the opposition Social Democrats and the far-right Homeland Movement highlighted their own weaknesses
Asia Thailand Kunlavut Vitidsarn has become Thailand’s first-ever men’s singles badminton player to reach world No. 1; He secured his top ranking after defeating Taiwan’s Lin Chun‑yi in the Singapore Open semi-final on May 31
America Haiti The “Bay lanmou, resevwa lanmou” initiative - Creole for Give love, receive love -, led by singer Maudeline Dérival, has offered beauty care, on Haitian Mother’s Day, to mothers who have fled violence in Haiti to live in refugee camps
Africa Ivory Coast Heavy rainfall provoked a nighttime landslide in the Abidjan city area, with casualties and damage to houses; despite efforts at all levels, dangers posed by unregulated development and extreme weather in urban centres are still high
America Barbados Engaging in temporary or part-time work as an employment trend has led to the definition of 'transient worker' as a category: can be unskilled, moves frequently between jobs and locations, often without a fixed home or a specific business or location