VENEZUELA: Thousands of people in Venezuela celebrated today the 69th anniversary of the birth of the legendary socialist leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Commander Hugo Chavez on July 28 1954.

The Cuartel de la Montana in the Venezuelan capital Caracas saw  fireworks, music and traditional songs to celebrate the life of Mr Chavez who died from cancer on March 5 2013.

SINGAPORE: The first execution of a woman in 19 years took place in Singapore today, for drug trafficking despite calls for the city-state to cease capital punishment for drug-related crimes.

Saridewi Djamani was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking drugs in what the Central Narcotics Bureau said was “sufficient to feed the addiction of about 370 abusers for a week.”

POLAND: Lawmakers in Poland voted today to approve a divisive law limiting Russian influences on the country.

The law was proposed in May by Poland’s ruling right-wing Law and Justice party but critics in the country and outside, such as the European Union, see it as primarily targeting opposition leader and former prime minister Donald Tusk, before a parliamentary election scheduled for the autumn. 

CHILE: The Supreme Court of Chile ordered on Thursday compensation to 31 of the 33 miners who were trapped underground for 69 days after the collapse at the San Jose mine in 2010.

The judiciary of the South American nation reported that the miners will receive the equivalent of around $48,200 (£37,000) for lost profits and non-pecuniary damage, leaving out two workers who decided to distance themselves from the lawsuit filed for the events of 2010.