Asia Syria Germany's Ministry of Transport lifted the landing ban and normalized passenger traffic with Syria from 27 July 2026, thus opening to direct flights Düsseldorf-Damascus today 29 July, Berlin Brandenburg-Damascus and Cologne/Bonn-Aleppo on 1 August
Asia Kazakhstan The country is preparing to introduce broadband internet in 171 rural schools in the East Kazakhstan region using SpaceX Starlink technology; last month, the first batch of 500 pieces of SpaceX Starlink equipment had arrived in the country
Africa Lesotho The Lesotho Highlands Water Project tunnel is preparing for a six-month closure for planned maintenance, undertaken jointly by the Lesotho Highlands Development Agency and the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority
Africa eSwatini The Eswatini Stock Exchange signed MoU with Taiwan Stock Exchange and Taiwan Carbon Solution Exchange in Taipei, a response to Taiwan's foreign policy efforts and a milestone for cooperation between the two sides' capital markets
Europe Germany In a long-running dispute over asylum policy between the German federal states and the central government, the states made a request to outsource asylum applications to third countries
Africa Liberia The lower house of the Parliament passed a motion to establish a war crimes tribunal more than 2 decades after the end of the devastating civil conflict; the resolution must now be debated by the Senate before being forwarded to President Joseph Boakai
America Honduras Honduras has responded to the UN, stating that the militarization of its public security is a provisional and exceptional measure in response to extreme circumstances, as mentioned by the Secretary of State for Human Rights, Angélica Álvarez
Africa Equatorial Guinea Newly developed social housing in Bata and Malabo will undergo rehabilitation to match international standards and the government reportedly wants the works towards to start
Asia Brunei The country aims to reach pre-pandemic levels of tourist arrivals in 2024, as the number of visitors more than doubled last year, from 35.701 in 2022 to 133.360
Africa Botswana Botswana is working with FAO to develop the first national plan to address nutritional challenges, which is expected to be completed in the 2024/25 financial year
Europe Finland The government has proposed significant changes to the unemployment benefit system, including the reform of wage-subsidised work and the introduction of a gradual reduction of income-related unemployment benefits
America Venezuela President Maduro, following a meeting with his Guyanese counterpart, Irfaan Ali, reiterated his call for a "peaceful solution" to the longstanding territorial dispute between the two countries
Asia China The heads of China's central bank and economic planning agency have indicated that the authorities would be willing to take further measures to support growth, but have not announced any large-scale stimulus plans
Europe Austria Rohrdorfer Zement GmbH in Gmunden is building Austria's first CO2 recovery plant in the cement industry on an industrial scale, capable of recovering 30.000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year; it is scheduled to go into operation in late autumn 2026