Exactly a day after the 75th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Indonesia, the Government established a special autonomy (Otsus) fund for the Province of Papua and Province of West Papua in the 2021 Draft State Budget (RAPBN 2021), amounting to IDR 7.8 trillion. This figure is an increase from the 2020 Revised State Budget, which is IDR 7.6 trillion.

In its inaugural index on women empowerment, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) compares single women, those in monogamous and polygamous marriages and widows.  The rate of empowerment is highest among unmarried women (37 per cent), but drops to 27 per cent when they tie the knot or begin cohabiting with a man. KNBS described empowerment largely as the ability to make choices (The Star, 12/08/2020).

The United Nations reported that airstrikes on Thursday 6th August by the Saudi-UAE led coalition in Houthi-held al-Jawf governorate in northern Yemen killed at least 9 children.

A large blast in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, has killed at least 70 people and injured more than 4,000 others, the health minister says.Videos show smoke billowing from a fire, then a mushroom cloud following the blast at the city's port.