Asia United Arab Emirates Emirates customers made over one million connections to Starlink Wi-Fi in seven months, using more than one petabyte of data through the satellite internet service accessible free onboard aircraft in the fleet
Europe Italy Approval has been given to a controversial €13,5bn project to build the world's longest suspension bridge spanning 3,3km between the island of Sicily and the tip of Italy's boot, a highly seismic area: designers claim it will be able to endure earthquakes
Africa Guinea-Bissau President has appointed by decree a new prime minister months ahead of key November election: Rui Duarte de Barros, who served as prime minister since December 2023, was replaced by Braima Camara, a former coordinator of the Madem G15 opposition party
Asia Israel Netanyahu's proposal to take over Gaza City in the next months has been approved by the security cabinet, although Israel Defense Forces warned that the operation risks the lives of the remaining hostages and can potentially spark a humanitarian disaster
Africa Botswana To revive the Botswana Railways passenger train services an Expression of Interest process has been launched, for which three private sector partners have been shortlisted; a concept paper is being developed to select operational model this financial year
America Barbados A new, fully cashless fare system with real-time bus tracking will be launched in September, in time for the new school year; Barbados will thus become the first Caribbean nation with smart card payment across its public transport network
Europe Latvia 13.481 people graduated from Latvia's higher education institutions, 4% less than 2023, according to latest Education and Science Ministry report; over 6.000 students was at bachelor-level, 3.000 completed college, almost 4.000 obtained master degrees
Europe Austria Stephanie Venier, 31, announced the end of her skiing career; world champion with gold in the Super-G and bronze in the team combination, Venier caused a sensation last winter in Saalbach-Hinterglemm but has recently suffered a lack of motivation
Asia United Arab Emirates UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Moscow on an official visit yesterday; A military aircraft saluted and escorted His plane upon entering Russian airspace, an official ceremony with guard of honour welcomed him at Vnukovo Airport
Europe Netherlands Rail company NS will set up a campsite at Utrecht Central Station proving 'all the necessities' for 20 first-year university students who couldn't find accommodation for Utrecht’s Introduction Time, the orientation period set for 11 to 14 August
Oceania Vanuatu 80% of Ni-Vanuatu are farmers, and PM Jotham Napat acknowledged the work of these men and women, the backbone of the nation, during Vanuatu’s 45th Independence Anniversary celebrations
Asia Vietnam State budget revenue soared to over 1.572 trillion VND (60,4 billion USD) in the first seven months of 2025, hitting 79,9% of the annual target, +27,4% year-on-year, the Ministry of Finance reported; of 34 provinces, 24 exceeded their targets
Oceania Australia National office vacancy average rate has reached 15% as the market fails to absorb the offer of new towers and demand remains weak in key cities; many fear that if working from home came into law it would also slow recovery of the hospitality sector
Oceania Samoa The Samoa Law Society is calling for electoral rights to be upheld to ensure a free and fair election; in view of upcoming Samoa’s general election on 29 August it reminded that “Universal voting rights are the cornerstone of a democratic country"