Indirect elections

BELGRADE - Serbia and Czechia maintain extremely good relations and the ties between the two nations are particularly close, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said after a meeting with Czech PM Petr Fiala in Belgrade, noting that Serbian exports to Czechia had risen by almost tenfold in the past 12 years.

Fiala is on an official visit to Serbia.

Shigeru Ishiba became Japanese prime minister on Tuesday, seeking to restore the ruling party's popularity and tackle a demographic crisis, a lacklustre economy and fears over China's military build-up.

Amidst a national day of mourning, the Czech Republic's embassy in Bulgaria solemnly lowered its flag to half-mast, paying tribute to the victims of the tragic mass shooting at Prague University. In a poignant display of remembrance, flickering mourning candles now stand in front of the embassy building in Sofia, joined by the EU flag also flying at half-mast.