Asia Myanmar Peace talks with several smaller ethnic armed organizations have been promoted by Myanmar’s military government as evidence of ongoing national reconciliation; Critics argue the discussions exclude many of the country’s most powerful resistance groups
Africa Mozambique Isaac Zavale, 37, originally from Mozambique, is one of Africa's leading emerging artists; with his paintings, he wants to make people think about the multitude of people in Johannesburg, the city where the artist has lived for years
Europe Italy The Italian labour market is short of at least 22.000 truck drivers, the latest estimate says, attributing stress, physical effort and working hours to the declining attractiveness of this profession; a number of European countries face the same problem
Europe Kosovo Kosovo government spokesman Përparim Kryeziu strongly criticised potential new EU sanctions, calling the current measures 'unjust' and warning that further sanctions would only worsen the situation
Africa Guinea To demand the release of Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah, a return to constitutional order, and respect for all the provisions of the Transition Charter, the Forces Vives de Guinée called on citizens to 'observe a dead city day on Monday 12 August'
Africa Burkina Faso In a technical reorganisation of the government, it was announced, among other things, that a ministry dedicated to security and headed by police commissioner Mahamadou Sana would be created
Asia Lebanon Extra medical supplies were delivered by the World Health Organisation to prevent possible health crises that could result from a major conflict in Lebanon
Africa Tunisia In the south and east of the country, where the blue crab has been proliferating since 2014, fishermen are looking to take advantage of it, after several foreign companies embarked on the export of the crustacean, although its market price isn't that high
Europe Bulgaria The Bulgarian parliament adopted a law banning the 'propaganda' of 'non-traditional sexual orientations' in schools, sparking outrage and calls for protest; drafted by the pro-Russian Revival party, it also won the support of pro-Western factions
Africa Mauritania The formation new government has been announced following the reelection of President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani for another term in office, according to state media; Ghazouani received 56,12% of the vote in the June 29 presidential election
Africa Eritrea A national hero's welcome was given to cyclist Biniam Girmay on the day of his return to Eritrea: he rode through the streets of Asmara to Bahti Meskerem Square where a ceremony in his honour was staged
Europe Montenegro Only 'very limited' progress has been made in preventing corruption at the highest state level and promoting integrity, says the latest report of the Group of States against Corruption, an anti-corruption monitoring body of the Council of Europe
Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo The UN Security Council adopted a resolution authorising the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo MONUSCO to provide operational and logistical support to the Southern African Development Community peacekeeping mission
America Paraguay "Hambre Cero“ - a national school feeding program - has been launched to provide free daily meals to students in public schools; it will initially reach 450.000 children across 2.600 schools in 90 districts