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Bear in mind that this does not actually limit you to gathering information about "the events and major figures of any region you are in." Since there are telecommunications and internet networks in this setting, a major settlement such as Absalom Station could very well be home to countless information brokers and other intel sources.
The way I read that ability, it definitely does limit you to gathering information about events and major figures that aren't in whatever region you're in. It says "the events and major figures of any region you're in." When you're in Absalom station, are you in the vast? Or you on Apostae? The ability specifically says the target event or major figures you want to learn about have to be in the same region as you. Since quantum superposition isn't really a thing for individuals in Starfinder, you cannot be in two places at once and therefore can't be on Absalom Station and also on another planet at the same time. When you're on Absalom Station, you can learn all kinds of neat things about the stuff going on in that region with ease, and that's a cool ability, but being on Absalom Station doesn't let you survey knowledge from far-off places with the same aplomb. Simply put, the locals in Absalom Station know far more about the goings-on of Absalom Station than they do Apostae. However, if you manage to get to Apostae and interact with the locals without hostility, you can quickly get an excellent idea of major players and events, which is a really great ability to have in a member of your crew.
It doesn't limit you to learning about events and major figures from your region. That's the first sentence, and it's disconnected from the second- which just alters your ability to make Gather Information checks and has nothing at all to do with your region, nor does it restrict what you can use the Gather Information check to learn.