BELGRADE - Serbia's Minister for European Integration Nemanja Starovic said on Wednesday that, besides Montenegro, Serbia was the most prepared candidate country for full EU membership in terms of the general level of preparedness. "That is not my assessment, but an assessment that can be read from»»»

Iran will reject International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of bombed nuclear sites until certain conditions are met, President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami said, as quoted by Tasnim. If the IAEA deems military attacks acceptable, it should formally declare U»»»

Gentian Gjyli has been removed from his position as head of the Albanian Road Authority (ARRSH) after being placed under house arrest by the Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime (GJKKO), facing charges from SPAK for “violating equality in tenders.” He has been replaced by Ami Kozeli»»»

Damascus, Dec.24 (SANA) The Central Bank of Syria (CBS) affirmed on Wednesday the continued legal tender status of all currently circulating banknotes of the Syrian pound. The Bank called in a statement all financial institutions to comply with and adhere to the directives regarding the handling of»»»

Syrian state media said three people were killed Wednesday in clashes with security forces in coastal Latakia province, the heartland of the country's Alawite minority community. "Three members of remnants of the former regime were killed after clashes with internal security forces" outside the cit»»»

Bangkok: Thailand and Cambodia announced that officials from the militaries of both countries commenced Wednesday talks to resume the ceasefire, following border clashes that claimed the lives of dozens on both sides. Spokesman for the Thai Ministry of Defence, Surasant Kongsiri, said the three-day»»»

Riyadh: The main Saudi stock index closed trading Wednesday down 55.13 points, settling at 10,540.72 points, with a trading value of SR 2.7 billion. The volume of shares traded during the session reached 123 million shares, with 51 companies recording gains in value, while 207 companies saw their s»»»

Israel's parliament gave the initial go-ahead on Wednesday for a government-empowered inquiry into the surprise October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel rather than the expected independent investigation demanded by families of the victims. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted c»»»

Violent Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday targeted the Nmeiriyeh and Houmine valleys in south Lebanon, with the Israeli army claiming they hit Hezbollah rocket launchers and military infrastructure. Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah, despite a Nov»»»

As Christmas and New Year holidays drive a surge in passenger traffic, Sharjah Airport has issued a travel advisory urging travellers to plan ahead and arrive early to ensure a smooth journey during the peak travel period. The airport shared a checklist on social media, highlighting essential steps»»»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas on Wednesday of violating the Gaza ceasefire by refusing to disarm, and said Israel would retaliate after a military officer was wounded by what the military described as a bomb. In a speech at a graduation ceremony for Air Force pilots, Netan»»»

Voters in South Carolina elected Republican John Lastinger to fill the seat vacated by former State Rep. RJ May. File Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Republican John Lastinger, a pastor and self-described conservative, won the special election for South Carolina's House »»»

NOVI SAD - The non-trial chamber of the Higher Court of Novi Sad has halted criminal proceedings against six people indicted in the railway station tragedy case and upheld charges against seven others. A November 1, 2024 canopy collapse at the railway station left 16 people dead and one person seri»»»

In a crowded regional and international landscape shaped by overlapping security, strategic, economic, and political pressures, the administration of US President Donald Trump has moved since its return to the White House in January 2025 to recalibrate its approach to Syria. After years of US polic»»»

Colombian President Gustave Petro Petro says the country is facing a fiscal crisis that cannot be addressed through ordinary state mechanisms and warned that, without additional revenue, cuts to social spending and public services would be unavoidable. File Photo by Carlos Ortega/EPA Dec. 24 (UPI) »»»

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia are suing Secretary for Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reverse a new rule that blocks gender-affirming care for minors. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo Dec. 24 (UPI) -- More than a dozen states have filed a lawsuit to over»»»

Dec. 23 (UPI) -- An Australian angler spotted what he initially thought to be a massive trout and ended up capturing video of something even stranger: a pink platypus. Victoria resident Cody Stylianou said he was casting his line in Gippsland when he came across the unusually-colored mammal, which »»»

Tunis, Dec 24 (TAP) — The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy on Wednesday announced two Tunisian companies specialising in canned harissa production have been awarded the national “Food Quality Label”, a distinction recognising superior quality...»»»

Algeria's parliament unanimously approved on Wednesday a law declaring France's colonization of the country a crime, and demanding an apology and reparations. Standing in the chamber, lawmakers wearing scarves in the colors of the national flag chanted "long live Algeria" as they applauded the pass»»»

Mumbai: In a dramatic political reunion ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) founder Raj Thackeray on Wednesday formally announced an alliance, signalling a major realignme»»»

China is expanding its digital yuan, or e-CNY, into ASEAN trade routes. Recent People’s Bank of China (PBOC) pledges include cross-border pilots with Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, all tied to the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. This builds on 2020 pilots, current»»»

Dubai: Saudi Arabia has proposed sweeping amendments to its pesticide regulations, introducing prison terms of up to five years and fines of up to SR10 million for manufacturing or importing banned or counterfeit pesticides. The proposals were disclosed by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agr»»»

Ankara: Search teams in Turkey on Wednesday recovered the cockpit voice and flight data recorders from a jet crash that killed eight people, including western Libya’s military chief, while efforts to retrieve the victims’ remains were still underway, Turkey’s interior minister said. The private jet»»»

Bethlehem: Scouts marched under a clear blue sky in Bethlehem on Wednesday, as the Palestinian city emerged from the shadow of the war in Gaza to celebrate its first festive Christmas in more than two years. Throughout the Gaza war that began with Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, a sombre »»»

Dibba Al Fujairah Court Dismisses Dh150,000 Compensation Claim Over Alleged Misconduct Fujairah: The Dibba Al Fujairah First Instance Federal Court has rejected a Dh150,000 civil compensation claim filed by a man who said his reputation and well-being were damaged after being accused of misconduct »»»

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev described 2025 as a challenging but successful year, marked by tangible progress across multiple sectors, in an interview with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays. Terziev said the municipal administration focused on delivering sol»»»

Chinese rocket developer LandSpace plans to successfully recover a reusable booster in mid-2026, a company executive said in an interview, underscoring the Beijing-based firm's ambition to become China's answer to SpaceX. The ability to return, recover, and reuse a rocket's engine-packed first stag»»»

The US is subjecting Venezuela to the “greatest extortion” in the country’s history, Caracas’ envoy to the UN, Samuel Moncada, has said. Moncada made the statement during a UN Security Council session on Tuesday, called by Caracas after Washington seized another tanker off the Latin American countr»»»

Russia plans to launch a power station on the Moon within a decade, space agency Roscosmos has announced, saying it has signed a contract with NPO Lavochkin, the country’s lead developer of deep-space and planetary missions, to carry out work through 2036 on the project. The purpose of the facility»»»

Ankara: Israel fails to deliver on its promises and constantly places hindrances in the way of life-saving humanitarian aid entering Gaza under various pretexts, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. Speaking during the extended meeting of the heads of the Justice and Developmen»»»

Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A Western Australian man was charged after police found firearms, ammunition and alleged bomb-making notes at his Perth home following online posts praising the Bondi Beach attackers. Martin Glynn, 39, now faces charges including racial harassment and improper firearm storage, the »»»

Dubai: Kuwait’s Minister of Health, Dr Ahmed Abdulwahab Al Awadhi, has issued a ministerial decision regulating the sale and circulation of energy drinks, introducing age limits, consumption caps and sweeping restrictions on where the products may be sold, according to Al Qabas newspaper. Under the»»»

As the holiday season approaches, Abu Dhabi Police, the UAE Cybersecurity Council, and experts in artificial intelligence and digital technologies have warned the public against falling victim to scammers and cybercriminals who attempt to lure victims into purchasing fake tickets and entry passes f»»»

A Colorado mother who is accused of murdering two of her children has been extradited from the UK to the US, authorities say. Kimberlee Singler, 37, is alleged to have carried out the attack in Colorado before fleeing to London, where she was arrested in December 2023. She challenged her extraditio»»»

Search teams in Türkiye on Wednesday recovered the cockpit voice and flight data recorders from a jet crash that killed eight people, including western Libya’s military chief, while efforts to retrieve the victims' remains were still underway, Türkiye's interior minister said. The private jet carry»»»

US President Donald Trump has branded the New York Times a national security threat in renewed criticism of the newspaper. In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump accused the outlet of spreading “lies and purposeful misrepresentations” and said it was “a serious threat to the National Security of »»»

A fake video purporting to show Jeffrey Epstein attempting suicide in his prison cell has made it into the latest batch of records on the convicted sex offender released by the US Department of Justice. Last week, the DOJ uploaded thousands of documents online under the Epstein Files Transparency A»»»

The mother of a missing nine-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of murder after her daughter was found dead in Utah, police have said. Melodee Buzzard's decomposed body was found by a man and woman who were taking pictures in a rural area of Utah, earlier this month. Her 40-year-old mothe»»»

Occupied Jerusalem: A force from the Israeli occupation army raided Al Ram town in northern Jerusalem City in the West Bank, with its combat vehicles seen ramming into the streets, without reported arrests or storming operations, the Jerusalem Governorate has said. The Governorate added that the Is»»»

Chinese soldiers touch-up a decommissioned Dongfeng 2 medium range ballistic missile on display at the Chinese Military Museum of the People's Revolution in Beijing on April 29, 2017. China rejected a draft Pentagon report saying it deployed 100+ ICBMs near Mongolia, saying it was “unaware” and acc»»»

Former EU Commissioner for the Internal Marker Thierry Breton was the chief target of a U.S. travel ban imposed by Washington on European activists campaigning for online safety. File photo by Olivier Hoslet/EPA-EFE Dec. 24 (UPI) -- The United States imposed travel bans on former European Union tec»»»

Despite its release being withheld in Pakistan and Gulf countries, Dhurandhar continues to do well at the Indian box office and beyond with a collection of over Rs10 billion. While it draws strong audiences in its official release markets, viewers in Pakistan are also allegedly finding ways to watc»»»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said ​on Wednesday Israel would spend 350 billion shekels ($110 billion) on developing an independent arms to reduce ‌dependency on other ‌countries, AFP reported. "We ‌will ⁠continue ​to ‌acquire essential supplies while independently arming ourselves," Ne»»»

An explosive device detonated in Gaza on Wednesday, injuring one Israeli soldier and prompting Israel to accuse Hamas of violating the US-backed ceasefire. It was the latest incident to threaten the tenuous truce that has held since Oct. 10 as each side accuses the other of violations. The blast ca»»»

Doha: The Ministry of Sports and Youth announced that application is now open to Gulf youth aged 18 to 34 for the 1st Youth Creativity in Data Award. Marking the Gulf Statistics Day, the award is organized in cooperation of and coordination with the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council fo»»»

Share: File – Smoke billows following Israeli strikes over Beirut’s southern suburbs, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces . Hezbollah has issued a statement confirming the death of its secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, ending his 32-year tenure as the group’s leader.(AP»»»

The University of Oklahoma has removed a graduate instructor from her teaching duties after a student challenged her grade on an essay that cited the Bible as a source. File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo Dec. 24 (UPI) -- The University of Oklahoma relieved a raduate teaching assistant of »»»

Dubai: India’s civil aviation ministry has granted initial clearances to two new airlines, weeks after mass flight cancellations by market leader IndiGo exposed concerns over limited competition in the country’s rapidly expanding aviation sector. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques &»»»

Sharjah: His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated the Mleiha Dairy Factory on Wednesday, marking a major milestone in the emirate’s food security journey. The factory, spanning 20,000 square metres, has a production capac»»»

Algeria's parliament unanimously approved on Wednesday a law declaring France's colonisation of the country a crime, and demanding an apology and reparations. Standing in the chamber, lawmakers wearing scarves in the colors of the national flag chanted "long live Algeria" as they applauded the pass»»»