Asia Israel The Knesset has passed a media overhaul law giving government greater regulatory control; PM Netanyahu attended the debate, skipping the vote; the news has been released by a number of online media in the late hours of 16 July
Europe Serbia Serbia's Ministry of Mines and Energy has rejected an application by Chinese company Zijin Mining to extend its mining waste management permit, which expired on Dec. 31, 2022
Africa Libya Yet another UN envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, has resigned; the average term of office is less than 20 months and there has been a series of resignations one after another
Africa Chad The only woman among the 10 candidates, Lydie Beassemda is running for the second time as a candidate for Chad's supreme office in the Party for Democracy and Full Independence
Asia Armenia Armenia will withdraw from four towns on its border with Azerbaijan following an agreement between the two sides that is seen as a step toward launching peace talks
Africa Zimbabwe Mazowe district in Mashonaland Central province is struggling with a severe and prolonged drought due to El Nino that threatens the country's corn supply and impacts the business of its millers
Africa Sudan The humanitarian conference on Sudan held in Paris raised €1,9 billion in aid for the country; the aid will go to food, water, medicine and other urgent needs, with no specific timeline stated
Asia Palestine The Palestinian Authority will "reconsider" bilateral relations with the United States after Washington vetoed the Palestinian application to join the United Nations, President Mahmud Abbas said
Africa Kenya General Francis Ogolla, Kenya's Chief of Defence Forces, died in an helicopter crash with other 9 soldiers; an investigation on the accident has been opened
Asia Bahrain The Bahrain International Jazz Festival, the kingdom's premier celebration of jazz music, is set to return for its seventh edition, to be held on April 26, 2024 at the Royal Golf Club
Europe Germany The country will send a new frigate to the Red Sea in August to help secure maritime traffic, which has now been disrupted for months due to Houthi attacks
Europe Poland The lower house of parliament has voted to continue work on four bills that aim to liberalize abortion, after the previous government almost completely banned it, thus taking a first step toward reintroducing the right
Asia Lebanon The acting governor of the Banque du Liban has not notified the IMF of any new developments related to the country; IMF officials are waiting, hoping that Lebanon will enact reform laws that will lead to agreement on a recovery plan
Europe Norway The Norwegian Nobel Committee, responsible for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize, has elected its youngest leader ever: Jørgen Watne Frydnes, 39; he led the revival of the Utøya site and first joined the committee in 2021 as one of the Labour Party’s choices