Indonesia has been ranked the world's friendliest country for local friendliness, according to the Expat Insider 2026 survey by InterNations, with Colombia and Mexico completing the top three, as expatriates highlighted warm welcomes and the ease of building relationships with residents.

The annual survey, one of the world's largest studies of expatriate experiences, asked thousands of people living abroad to rate various aspects of life in their host countries, including how friendly local people are, how easy it is to make local friends and whether expats feel welcome.

Indonesia claimed the top position in the Local Friendliness category, ahead of Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines and Brazil. Completing the top ten were Panama, Oman, Thailand, Kenya and Vietnam, reflecting strong performances across Southeast Asia, Latin America , the Middle East and parts of Africa.

According to InterNations, the Local Friendliness ranking measures expatriates' perceptions of how welcoming residents are toward foreigners and how comfortable newcomers feel interacting with local communities. The rankings are based on personal experiences rather than tourism reviews or public opinion polls.

Indonesia has consistently performed well in recent editions of Expat Insider. Respondents frequently cite the country's welcoming culture, community-oriented society and everyday hospitality as reasons they feel accepted. Many also report that locals are approachable and willing to help newcomers adjust to daily life.

Latin America also stood out in the 2026 results. Colombia ranked second, while Mexico and Brazil placed third and fifth, respectively. Panama finished sixth, reinforcing the region's reputation for openness and strong social connections between expatriates and residents.

Southeast Asia dominated the upper end of the rankings, with Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam all securing places in the top ten. InterNations has previously noted that countries in the region often receive high scores for friendliness, personal interactions and the ease with which expatriates integrate into local communities.

Outside Asia and Latin America, Oman ranked seventh and Kenya ninth. Oman has regularly been recognised by InterNations for its welcoming atmosphere and high quality of life for expatriates, while Kenya's appearance in the top ten highlights positive experiences reported by foreign residents living in East Africa.

InterNations conducts its Expat Insider survey annually, drawing on responses from thousands of expatriates representing numerous nationalities and destinations worldwide. The rankings evaluate countries across multiple dimensions, including quality of life, working abroad, personal finance, ease of settling in and local friendliness.

The Local Friendliness ranking focuses specifically on expatriates' day-to-day interactions with residents rather than broader measures such as safety, infrastructure or economic performance, making it a snapshot of where newcomers feel most welcomed by local communities.

The case has once again triggered debates over the rise of violence against women in Brazil. Although the legal proceedings are still in their infancy, forensic examinations demonstrated that Gisele had been assaulted by an adult and that there was no gunshot residue on the soldier's hands. There was also none found on the lieutenant colonel's hands, who decided to take a shower when the police arrived, despite explicit instructions not to do so. Bloodstains were found in the bathroom and on Rosa Neto's shorts. Furthermore, cell phone messages revealed that the soldier was subjected to humiliation by her husband.

Among the cases officially confirmed as femicides, the numbers demonstrate the severity and escalation of violence against women in the country, even though the topic is increasingly publicised and debated, from academic circles to social media protests. In the state of São Paulo alone—the state that registers the highest number of such deaths—the report from the first four months of 2026 reveals an alarming situation. From January to April, there were 107 cases of femicide, according to data from the Secretariat of Public Security. This represents a 30.5% increase compared to the same period last year. It is also the highest number recorded during the first four months of a year since 2018.

National scenario

Released in March, the study "Portrait of Femicides in Brazil" by the Brazilian Public Security Forum indicates that in 2025, the number of femicide victims in the country reached 1,568, representing a 4.7% growth compared to the previous year. The legal classification of femicide, established in 2015, considers that the crime is linked to the victim's female gender condition. Since the Maria da Penha Law went into effect, more than 13,000 women have been victims of femicide across Brazilian territory.

A cousin of physical education student Lorena Gonçalves de Oliveira, a resident of Betim (MG), is part of this terrifying statistic. "For the family, it is deeply tragic. Her ex-boyfriend did not accept the breakup, and that showed me reality: how vital it is to point out this situation to people because it is not normal. I believe this needs to be addressed within society ," she states.

Meanwhile, Larissa Martins da Silva, a civil engineering student, reports experiencing this reality on a daily basis. "Violence has become severely aggravated. It's beyond normal. I see it as an influence of men feeling power over women. There are many digital influencers who treat women as if they were objects," believes Larissa, who works in civil construction in Belo Horizonte. For her, laws need to be enforced more effectively. "They are not correctly applied."

The report by the Brazilian Public Security Forum notes that these figures are drawn from police reports registered by the civil police of each state. The actual numbers could be even higher, given that not all cases are classified as femicides at the time the report is filed, or due to a general lack of reporting altogether. 

Aggressors in the crosshairs

In May, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a package of Bills and decrees to expand protection for women and strengthen accountability mechanisms for abusers. To this end, the  Cadastro Nacional de Agressores (National Registry of Abusers) was created—a database containing the names of individuals convicted of violence against women.

Another proposal focused on the digital environment as a means to combat hate speech. Under this measure, social media platforms must act to curb the spread of crimes, fraud, and violence within their ecosystems and mitigate potential harm caused to victims. 

These measures emerged on the date marking 100 days of the National Pact Brazil Against Femicide, established between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. In reviewing the agreement, the Ministry of Justice reported that more than 6,000 abusers of women were arrested. Over these 100 days, the judiciary expedited some of its rulings. More than half of all urgent protective orders against abusers of women are now granted on the very same day.

Disclaimer: The original article was published in Portuguese

A series of strong earthquakes struck multiple regions across the globe within 12 hours, with the strongest a magnitude 6.5 earthquake off the coast of the southern Philippines.

The USGS recorded 11 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or higher during the period, affecting countries across Asia, Oceania, Central America and the Caribbean. The events ranged from magnitude 4.6 to 6.5, highlighting the concentration of seismic activity along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where tectonic plates frequently interact.

The largest event was a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck 34 kilometres west-southwest of Sarangani, Philippines, at a depth of 42 kilometres.

The quake occurred in a region that is among the world's most seismically active due to the interaction of the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The USGS assigned the event a Green PAGER alert, indicating that widespread fatalities or major economic losses were unlikely.

The tremor came less than three weeks after a devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Mindanao on June 8, underscoring the region's continued seismic activity.

Japan recorded two earthquakes exceeding magnitude 5 during the same period.

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near Yokoshiba at a depth of 43 kilometres, followed later by a magnitude 5.7 event near Oshino at 50.9 kilometres depth, according to the USGS.

Japan sits atop the convergence of four major tectonic plates and experiences thousands of earthquakes each year, making it one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

Elsewhere, the USGS recorded:

Most of these earthquakes occurred along active plate boundaries, particularly around the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped belt that accounts for roughly 90% of the world's earthquakes and about 75% of active volcanoes, according to the USGS.

Why earthquakes cluster along the Ring of Fire

The Ring of Fire stretches around the Pacific Ocean through the Americas, East Asia and Oceania. Continuous movement of tectonic plates causes frequent earthquakes as plates collide, separate or slide past one another.

Countries such as Japan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand routinely experience significant seismic activity because they lie directly on these plate boundaries.