A coding mistake in Saint Lucia’s public-service payroll system added 12 paid “fresh-air” days to the leave balances of 6,740 government workers. The accidental benefit could cost EC$18.6 million in replacement staff and overtime if everyone uses it, and officials are scrambling to decide whether they can take it back.
A 3.2-tonne creature prop descended onto an empty walkway during a packed esports final in Hyderabad, prompting a rapid evacuation and fresh scrutiny of the event’s rigging. A technician who worked on the show says safety alerts had been accumulating for three days before the near miss.
A government technology competition awarded 32 of its 100 points for compatibility with a service run by the winning company, a feature competitors say they were not told would be scored. Ghana’s digital markets regulator has opened a review after the company’s chief executive publicly described the service as the “front door” to the project.
A Brussels shopper’s chance comparison of two glucose readings has exposed a faulty batch of blood-sugar test strips sold at discount prices across Belgium. Experts say the failure could prompt dangerous treatment decisions, while regulators work to trace 74,000 packs.
A monitoring contest has exposed a sharp fall in soil moisture across parts of the Philippines’ Sierra Madre, with researchers saying the forest may now be losing its ability to recover from drought. Officials insist the mountain range remains healthy, even as emergency protections and a ₱6.2 billion (about €100 million) response package are debated.
A parliamentary hearing in Tokyo has questioned a government claim that nearly all remote communities had daily transport to essential services. Residents and local officials told the inquiry that some counted rides required advance booking or ran only on weekdays.
A sudden loss of electricity stopped a major video-game final in Pasay on Friday night, leaving the championship undecided and thousands of spectators in the dark. Organisers say refunds and a technical review are next, with ₱38 million (about €600,000) in prize money and event costs caught up in the dispute.
A record run of fuel made from rendered animal fat has left Thailand facing a 612-million-baht subsidy scandal. The plant’s reported feedstock exceeds what suppliers and port figures can account for by 8,100 tonnes.
A fashion exhibition has recalled thousands of silk scarves after a printing error made some look like valid airline baggage labels. Airport scanners flagged 23 suitcases carrying the scarves, turning a gallery gift into an unexpected travel nuisance.
A celebrated Portuguese actor’s fund promised grants to restore neighbourhood cinemas, but records show most of its money went to companies tied to his media business. A residents’ campaign to publish the beneficiary list uncovered the arrangement after applicants were left waiting.
A faulty software update turned a year of temperature readings from Dublin food-delivery cyclists into a misleading picture of summer heat. Researchers say the error could have distorted which streets were judged most in need of shade.
Thousands marched in Edmonton on Friday as researchers warned that another dry spring could leave nine Canadian cities under repeated, dangerous smoke by next summer. Alberta’s emergency minister urged calm, but an atmospheric scientist interviewed at the protest said the government was understating the risk.