Europe Netherlands Some 500 artworks from Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever offices are being auctioned-off as renovations will cut wall space; prices vary from a couple of hundred euros to tens of thousands for Karel Appel, Dick Bruna or Anton Pieck
America Saint Kitts and Nevis Culturama 51, a distinctive and heartfelt Nevis cultural festival, closed; authorities expressed appreciation to all who contributed to what has been described an overwhelmingly successful edition, praising the quality of the program
Africa Morocco Forsa entrepreneurship program, launched in 2022 with a budget above MAD 1.25 billion ($138.300 million) to support business creation through interest-free loans, faces implementation challenges and structural problems, beneficiaries lament
Europe France A wildfire in the Corbières region has become the worst blaze France has seen since 1949, with over 16.000 hectares of forest and scrubland have been burnt; though subsiding, officials say the fire remains active and dangerously unpredictable
Oceania Palau New mothers at Belau National Hospital are voicing growing concerns over the hospital’s breastfeeding policy, which mandates that infants are to be fed exclusively breastmilk, highlighting the emotional toll of the policy
Europe Portugal A firefighter in Ourém was arrested for fires he is believed to have started with devices set with timers between June and July this year out of the money he would received to combat them; the episode exposes a suspected plague affecting other countries
Europe Serbia Igor Popovic, official of the Serbian government’s for Kosovo, has been handed 6 month in jail and a two-year ban from Kosovo for 'inciting ethnic hatred' as he called the Kosovo Liberation Army a 'terrorist organisation'; he plead guilty to charges
Asia East Timor Maritime talks with Indonesia will start within this month, as Jakarta accepted Timor-Leste's official request to begin discussions; the plan for the border talks will be presented on 15 August at the IOB campus in Dili
Asia Georgia Batumi Court sentenced journalist, Batumelebi/Netgazeti founder Mzia Amaghlobeli, arrested in January protests, to 2 years in prison on charges of “resistance,threat or violence against public official” instead of initial charge of “assaulting an officer”
Asia Iraq The Baghdad Municipality will launch its largest-ever afforestation campaign in the upcoming autumn season, planting a million trees in a major urban transformation project and the ongoing Green Belt Project has reached over 95% completion
Europe Estonia About 17.500 people in Estonia receive weekly food assistance and despite recent soaring prices, the number hasn't changed much although donated and rescued food generally reflect changes occurring in the economy says Sven Lillepalu, at Estonian Food Bank
Europe Germany Tübingen is building public housing using an innovative modular method developed by local startup TriqBriq: wooden building blocks of sub-standard or recycled wood fit together with wooden dowels, concrete foundations and interior walls give stability
Africa Ethiopia A proclamation permitting euthanasia has now been defined with a draft outlining guidelines for the withdrawal of life support, or passive euthanasia; it defines euthanasia as “the deliberate intervention" to end a life "to relieve intractable suffering"
America Dominica Two of Dominica’s celebrated musical ambassadors, Michele Henderson and Carlyn XP, have represent the island at the prestigious Antillian Festival in Belgium, the largest Caribbean music festival in Europe