Europe France Nearly 300.000 passengers across Europe have been affected as French air traffic controllers began a two-day strike that led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights at the start of summer season to protest against understaffing and “toxic management”
Asia Saudi Arabia The Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology has blocked terrorist organizations from using over 1,2 million links to evade digital monitoring; Riyadh-based Etidal was founded in 2017 as a NGO with the purpose of combating extremism
Asia Palestine The “Baghdad Declaration" issued at the end of the 34th Arab League Summit calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the deployment of UN protection and peacekeeping forces in the Palestinian territories until a two-state solution is implemented
Asia Indonesia Indonesia’s top court is now reviewing 14 petitions against the new law letting more military officers hold civilian roles, as critics warn it undermines democracy and reform, fearing a return to military dominance seen during Suharto’s authoritarian era
Europe Bulgaria Bulgarians should be allowed to vote on whether the country ditches the lev in favour of the euro, according to President Rumen Radev; critics say the proposed plebiscite is more about his post-presidency political ambitions
America Trinidad and Tobago Hannah Janoura, businesswoman and philanthropist, distributed 190 wheelchairs to members of the public in what has become an annual appointment: media report she has been doing this for so many years, she has handed out at least 1.400 wheelchairs
Oceania Tonga The development of the private sector is the primary focus of Tonga's new budget, the Prime Minister Hon. Dr 'Aisake Eke said as his Cabinet finalized the budget for 2025-2026, to be presented to the Legislative Assembly this week
Europe Lithuania Within the plan to extend the high-speed railway Rail Baltica up to 114 km in Lithuania by 2025, a new tender has been issued for a 12,4 km stretch
Africa Morocco Morocco is among 64 countries where the majority of people believe the top purpose of democracy is to improve living standards and well-being, not just as a system to protect freedoms, according to 2025 Democracy Perception Index
Europe Estonia A cultural cooperation programme until the year 2029 has been signed with Ukraine at mInisterial level
Asia Kuwait 3rd Gulf Housing Week, 18-22 May, will be hosted in Kuwait under the theme “Real Estate Development for Sustainable Housing”; the event is part of ongoing efforts by Gulf Cooperation Council states to strengthen regional cooperation in the housing sector
Europe Latvia 91% of Liepaja residents would be happy to participate in Liepaja European Capital of Culture 2027 or Liepaja 2027 events as audience and are less keen on more active forms of involvement - a study on local and regional cultural habits has concluded
Europe Kosovo Former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrilla Pjeter Shala appealed against the ICC Hague Trial verdict jailing him for 18 years for war crimes; the prosecution and victims’ representative insisted the sentencing was fair
Africa South Sudan South Sudan must repay $657 million to the African Export-Import Bank over unpaid pandemic and trade-related loans; according to Global Trade Review, the British court ruling followed gov and central bank failure to respond to lawsuit or attend hearings