Europe Iceland With the highest show up ever recorded in Reykjavik, 52,8% of 225.031 of Icelanders voted against the government's proposal to resume talks on joining the EU after 13 years; Around 12.600 votes separated the figure from the 47,2% who voted in favor
Oceania New Zealand The Climate Change Commission presented its first progress assessment of the national adaptation plan, examining its effectiveness and implementation, founding that it is not happening at the scale or pace needed; it also contains 9 recommendations
Europe Romania The first public maternity hospital built in Timișoara in the last 50 years was inaugurated on the campus of the Timișoara County Hospital
America Chile By 2025, 50% of Santiago's public bus fleet will officially be electric, this marks a major milestone in Chile's push for sustainable transport, with further plans to transition all buses to electric by 2040
Asia Japan Around 1.000 women wearing traditional costumes and golden paper lanterns on their heads danced during the Yamaga lantern festival in the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto yesterday 16 August; the festival draws up around 100.000 visitors each year
Asia Yemen Severe flooding and strong winds have devastated parts of Yemen, killing at least 61 people since the end of last month and displacing thousands, according to the United Nations
Oceania Marshall Islands Member of Nitijela, the parliament, Daisy Alik-Momotaro questioned the capacity of the law enforcement agencies and asked how hard drugs circulate in the country
America Ecuador A nighttime curfew has been set, restricting movement between 10:00 PM and 5:00 AM in over 20 sectors across four provinces, to address rising insecurity
America Colombia Colombia, along with Brazil and Mexico, is in talks with Venezuela's government and opposition after a contested election, urging adherence to the law, as the opposition is challenging the results declaring Nicolás Maduro the winner
Africa Malawi The World Muslim League inaugurated one of its largest water projects in Africa in Malawi, which will benefit six regions; the project uses solar energy for sustainability and includes storage units and pumps
Asia Laos Health and labour control centres will be set up to prevent occupational accidents and diseases by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, in cooperation with six hospitals in Vientiane
Africa Nigeria Inflation in Nigeria fell to 33,40% in July 2024 from 34,19% in June on a year-on-year basis; this is the first time the country's inflation has fallen since December 2022, when it stood at 21,34%
Oceania Kiribati Ruth Cross Kwansing, one of the 18 women candidates out of 114 vying for one of the 44 parliamentary seats up for grabs in Kiribati's national elections, believes that 'government inefficiencies' have prevented an improvement in citizens' living standards
Africa Morocco Four Moroccan companies made it into the top 100 Forbes Middle East's ranking of 100 listed companies for 2024, as Moroccan corporate sector shows great potential for growth