BELGRADE - On Monday, July 20, Air Serbia carried 22,098 passengers, achieving the best single-day result in its history and surpassing its previous record of more than 21,600 passengers, set on August 1, 2025, the Serbian national airline has announced. "We are currently at the peak of the summer »»»

The Progressive Bulgaria (PB) parliamentary group has proposed amendments to the Pre-school and School Education Act aimed at identifying pupils’ language difficulties at an early stage, developing moral, social and civic competences and introducing Virtues and Religion as a school subject, the PB »»»

Dubai: The conflict between the United States and Iran continues to escalate, with fresh military action, new travel warnings and growing concerns over shipping and aviation across the Middle East. While the UAE remains safe and airports are operating normally, the latest developments have prompted»»»

New Delhi: Talks between the Indian government and leaders of the youth-led "Cockroach" movement failed to make headway Friday, as protesters gathered in the nation's capital to push for an overhaul of the education system. Senior ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh met with leaders of the social»»»

New Delhi: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have been handed a direct entry into the men's knockouts of the Asian Games cricket after the draw was announced. Defending champions India along with its seeded neighbours will start from the quarter-finals of the 10-team men's competition start»»»

MADRID: World Cup-winning Spain ‌coach Luis de la Fuente was appalled by the conduct of Argentina’s players after their 1-0 loss in Sunday’s final, which led to a brawl between the two teams and triggered an investigation by FIFA. At the final whistle, Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes clashed w»»»

WELLINGTON: Governor-General of New Zealand Cindy Kirw received Secretary-General of the Muslim World League and Chairman of the Muslim Scholars Association Sheikh Mohammed Al-Issa in the New Zealand capital Wellington this week. Al-Issa also met New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon earlier»»»

Foreign buyers completed 10 acquisitions of Ukrainian assets in the first half of 2026, double the five recorded a year earlier, with disclosed value rising to $415mn from $26mn, KPMG in Ukraine said in its M&A Radar report. The rebound in inbound dealmaking sits against foreign direct investme»»»

Comments Ukraine's new commander-in-chief, General Mykhailo Drapatyi, made in a 2023 interview about the population of Donbas have resurfaced this week and are being heavily amplified by Russian state media, days after President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed him to replace Oleksandr Syrskyi amid ma»»»

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta announced Friday that the cyclospora outbreak has officially spread to four new states. File Photo by Erik S. Lesser/EPA July 24 (UPI) -- The cyclosporiasis outbreak has expanded to four new states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and P»»»

1 of 3 | Take two of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is set to take place on Friday with fewer attendees and heightened security after April’s gala was cut short by a gunman. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo July 24 (UPI) -- Take two of the White House Correspondents' Dinner is »»»

Damascus, July 24 (SANA) Agriculture Minister Basel al-Suwaidan met on Friday with Qatari Ambassador to Damascus Khalifa Abdullah Al Mahmoud to discuss strengthening agricultural cooperation and developing bilateral relations to enhance trade exchange between the two countries. Al-Suwaidan stressed»»»

ABUJA: The Ebola outbreak in Congo has killed over 1,000 people, reaching the grim milestone nearly three times faster than the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic that is considered the worst on record. Data from Congo’s Ministry of Health shows that as of Tuesday, the current outbreak, declared on May 15, h»»»

LONDON: An “extremely significant” car bomb was intercepted earlier this week near the Northern Ireland border during an investigation of dissident republicans, Irish police said Friday. A woman driver in her 20s was arrested Wednesday near Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, and remained in custody F»»»

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - A strike was carried out on a facility near Kiev where a demonstration of drones, including foreign ones used to strike civilian targets in Russia, was being held, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. "The Russian armed forces carried out a group strike with long-range p»»»

The European Commission announced preliminary findings that TikTok is in violation of the European Digital Services Act for not properly protecting minors. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo July 24 (UPI) -- The European Commission announced Friday that it sent a warning to TikTok for»»»

TUNIS, July 24 (TAP) – The National Council of Regions and Districts (CNRD) in a plenary on Friday elected and renewed its structures, including the appointment of a new Bureau and the reconstitution of the various standing committees, in accordance...»»»

Between July 20 and 24, the Bulgarian Air Force hosted the flight training exercise Thracian Viper 2026, involving air force units from Greece and Romania, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry reported on Friday. Under the exercise scenario, Bulgarian crews operating MiG-29, F-16 Block 70 and L-39 ZA air»»»

This is not merely an experiment, experts say, but an urgent necessity driven by the climate crisis. For the first time, Pakistan's Punjab province has deployed drones to monitor all rivers, barrages, and headworks to provide early flood warnings. This decision comes in the wake of tragedy: between»»»

Alison Sargent is pleased to welcome Shaina Low, Communications Advisor for the Norwegian Refugee Council's Palestine mission. Despite the reduction in large scale hostilities Low argues that Gaza remains trapped in a state of structural emergency, where humanitarian actors are prevented from movin»»»

Hezbollah on Friday mourned international revolutionary Kozo Okamoto, also known as “Ahmad Al-Yabani,” describing him as an international revolutionary and one of the participants in the Lod Airport operation. Okamoto died on Thursday in Beirut’s southern suburbs. In a statement, Hezbollah said Oka»»»

BISSAU: Guinea-Bissau opposition leader Domingos Simoes Pereira, who was being held in prison for alleged involvement in coup attempts, has been released for medical treatment in Portugal, judicial and security sources say. Pereira, leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cap»»»

NEW YORK CITY: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has demanded that Houthi forces immediately halt attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, warning that a renewed assault risks widening the escalation in the Middle East and drawing Yemen “deeper into regional conflict.” In a statement issue»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Djuro Macut chaired on Friday a session of a council for coordination of activities and measures aimed at GDP growth. "Macut emphasised that the Government of Serbia continues to implement measures aimed at preserving macroeconomic stability, strengthening industrial productio»»»

In this edition of Europe Rendezvous, we travel to Italy, one of the European Union's founding members, to examine how the country's democratic institutions have come under increasing pressure. It may be the season of la dolce vita, but life ha»»»

RIYADH: Archeological coins unearthed in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla governorate are providing fresh insight into the region’s long history as a thriving commercial and cultural crossroads, underscoring its importance along ancient trade routes that connected civilizations across the Middle East. The disc»»»

Continue the Change (CC) has called on President Iliana Iotova to veto the 2026 State Budget Act and will launch a petition, party leader Assen Vassilev told reporters in Parliament on Friday. Earlier in the day, Parliament adopted the 2026 State Budget Act, which projects a 5.7% deficit. "We urge »»»

BELGRADE/ZURICH - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic says he has decided in favour of early elections for several reasons, including a need to have a legitimate government and people with legitimacy. In an interview for the Swiss Weltwoche weekly, Vucic said that, during last year's protests in the»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia hosts 11 skink species, including the sandfish, spotted sand skink and golden skink — adapting across dunes, oases and plains with their streamlined bodies and smooth, shiny scales. Growing up to 14 centimeters long, these reptiles use clawed limbs and pointed snouts to navigat»»»

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s General Education Law has been approved by royal decree. The new law overhauls how the sector is governed, provides the enablers needed to meet its objectives, and aims to raise the quality of the educational environment and its outcomes, spanning educational stages, the Gene»»»

MOSCOW: Russian fashion designer Viktoria Terekhova shipped virtually her entire summer collection of children’s clothes last week to the giant warehouse of online retailer Wildberries at Elektrostal, east of Moscow. Within a couple of days, it was destroyed in a Ukrainian drone strike. Terekhova s»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The new commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty will answer for his words, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. In an interview published on Thursday, the general made an extremist statement about Russians. He also insulted residents of the D»»»

SpaceX's next-generation Starship is pictured stacked on the pad at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, ahead of its 13th flight test, which is now scheduled for Friday evening. Photo by SpaceX/UPI | License Photo July 24 (UPI) -- SpaceX pushed the 13th test flight of its Starship booster and spaceship »»»

After two days of debate and voting, Parliament adopted the 2026 State Budget Act at second reading on Friday, approving a budget framework with a projected deficit of 5.7%. The bill was passed by a vote of 125 to 84, with no abstentions, following more than five hours of voting and over 12 hours o»»»

Progressive Bulgaria should apologize to Bulgarian citizens for the 2026 State Budget Act, GERB-UDF MP and former finance minister Temenuzhka Petkova told reporters in Parliament on Friday. “A scandalous budget law with hugely inflated spending, a record deficit and EUR 10.1 billion in debt the gov»»»

BEIJING, (Sputnik) - Chinese partners aim to conduct more than 10 transit voyages to Europe via the Northern Sea Route during this year's "summer water" period, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev said on Friday. "A transit voyage took place last year, a unique one, the f»»»

TEL AVIV, (Sputnik) - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday that it is preparing for a large-scale counterterrorist operation in the West Bank, citing an increase in attacks on civilians in the area. "Following the terror attack earlier today (Friday) in the area of Tell, IDF soldiers are »»»

TEHRAN, (Sputnik) - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Friday that it had destroyed three ammunition and equipment hangars at US military base Camp Buehring (formerly Camp Udairi) in Kuwait in the 27th round of strikes. "During the 27th wave of Operation 'Victory 2,' fighters s»»»

London: Enzo Maresca said Friday it is a "privilege" to follow Pep Guardiola as manager of Manchester City. Former Chelsea and Leicester boss Maresca was named as Guardiola's successor after the Catalan stepped down at the end of last season, having won 20 trophies during a superbly successful 10-y»»»

Amman: The Jordanian military announced that its air defense systems and Royal Jordanian Air Force aircraft shot down seven missiles and six drones launched from Iran that targeted the country today. Jordan's state news agency, Petra, quoted a military official at the General Command of the Jordani»»»

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warned the people of regional countries hosting American bases to immediately take a minimum distance of 500 meters from any covert residences or hideouts of US military personnel. The IRGC statement emphasized that should the enemy continue its war crimes»»»

Germany is paying five times as much for imported gas as it did before abandoning its long-term Russian supply contracts as part of the EU sanctions, Berliner Zeitung has reported. Berlin now has to rely on the volatile international energy market, which is reeling from the de facto closure of the »»»

German prosecutors have linked the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage to Ukrainian state agencies, according to Nicola Canestrini, an attorney representing one of the suspects. He said the indictment argues there are sufficient grounds to believe the operation was ordered and directed by Ukrainian autho»»»

Lausanne: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced Friday that Senegal's appeal of the decision to strip them of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title in favour of Morocco has been set for October 8. At the January 18 final in Rabat, Senegal won 1-0 thanks to Pape Gueye's extra-time goa»»»

Law enforcement officials in Ireland stopped a vehicle containing a car bomb earlier this week during an intelligence sweep of republican dissidents. File Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA July 24 (UPI) -- Law enforcement officials in Ireland stopped a vehicle containing a car bomb earlier this week during»»»

Dubai: Etihad Rail, UAE’s first national passenger rail service officially began operations on June 30, 2026, with the launch of the Abu Dhabi–Fujairah route, marking a major milestone in the country’s transport network. The inaugural service connects Mohammed Bin Zayed City in Abu Dhabi with Fujai»»»

The 2026 State Budget takes Bulgaria back to the GERB era, Vazrazhdane MP Tsoncho Ganev told reporters on Friday after Parliament gave the budget final approval. Ganev said the budget froze all social benefits and shifted the main burden of what he called financial stability onto pensioners, mother»»»

FARNBOROUGH, UK: As Europe ramps up its rearmament drive, US aerospace giant Boeing is seeking a foothold in the emerging market for autonomous fighter aircraft, showcasing its capabilities at the Farnborough airshow this week. Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat is an uncrewed aircraft, developed with the Ro»»»

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday, a White House official said on Friday. A Ukrainian source said Zelensky was interested in traveling to ‌the United ‌States but his ​team ‌was ⁠waiting ​for official confi»»»

DUBAI: Oscar-winning US actress Zoe Saldana has signed on as an executive producer of “It’s Complicated,” a short film centered on Palestinian womanhood that will have its world premiere at Los Angeles’ HollyShorts Film Festival in August. The film was written by and stars US Palestinian filmmaker »»»