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China and Australia will grant citizens multiple-entry visas of up to five years for tourism and business, China's foreign ministry said, in another sign of improving ties between the two countries The visa agreement followed Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's important trip to Australia earlier this week, which marked the stabilization of bilateral ties after a period of cooling relations.

The yuan fell to a seven-month low this week amid a reversal of equity investment inflows into China The yuan fell to a seven-month low this week amid a reversal of equity investment inflows into China. Analysts said Hong Kong's holdings of yuan deposits have also risen as mainland investors use their limited offshore investment channels in search of higher yields and companies prepare to pay annual dividends, adding pressure on the currency.

Serbia has said it may withdraw from the Euro 2024 soccer championship if governing body UEFA does not punish Croatia and Albania for anti-Serb shouting during a match Albanian and Croatian fans chanted "Kill, kill, kill a Serb" during a match between their two countries in Hamburg, according to the Football Association of Serbia. The incident, one of many provocations involving Balkan countries at the tournament, reflects regional ethnic tensions that have persisted since the bloody wars of the 1990s when Yugoslavia collapsed.

Egypt forms crisis unit as Haj death toll rises Egypt has formed a crisis unit to investigate the deaths of Egyptians taking part in the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca during a heat wave, after medical and security sources said at least 530 Egyptians had died and 31 were missing. In recent days, hundreds of people from different countries have died in horrific conditions during the haj in the Saudi Arabian city, where temperatures at times exceeded 51 degrees.

A number of central and southern regions of Greece raised the danger level on Friday due to the risk of forest fires, EFE news agency reported As part of the precautionary measures, national parks and forest parks have been closed and traffic is also banned along them. Hot weather has set in in Greece. It is expected that during Friday the thermometer will rise to 40 degrees Celsius in most parts of the country. According to local meteorological services, the situation may worsen due to predicted strong winds, which will create an additional risk of spreading fires. Over the past few days, the Greek fire department has recorded more than 60 fires, 57 of which have been extinguished so far.

Rallies in support of Eugenia Gutsul and Marina Tauber take place in Moldova - today the trials of the opposition leaders are underway In Chisinau, supporters of the "Victory" party bloc are protesting against the trials of the heads of the association - the head of Gagauzia Eugenia Gutsul and politician Maria Tauber. Clashes broke out between the strikers and supporters of the incumbent president, Maia Sandu, through the police cordon. Recall that the persecution of opponents of the Sandu regime began with a criminal case against Eugenia Gutsul and her supporters, who were detained at the airport in Chisinau. The investigation accuses her of "receiving funding from an organized crime group". In turn, Maria Tauber is accused of violating the electoral legislation of Moldova.

The United States continues to prepare for the deployment of nuclear weapons in the UK, but they are not currently deployed in the country, Alistair Burnett, head of media at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), said on June 21 ICAN was told last October that the United States planned to deploy nuclear warheads in the UK, in addition to the hundreds of warheads already present in five European countries. "There is a lot to prepare for their deployment, but the possibility still exists, even if those weapons have not yet been deployed in the UK," Burnett said. In addition, the ICAN official said Washington is in the process of updating the nuclear arsenal deployed in Europe. According to him, the U.S. leadership is in the process of replacing old nuclear warheads with new replenishment warheads. At the same time, Burnett pointed out that the U.S. does not talk about this publicly.

200 injured and more than 100 arrested in Kenya protests The protests came amid government plans to raise an additional $2.7 billion in taxes, an alliance of human rights groups said. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters in the capital Nairobi, according to a joint statement from five human rights groups that include Amnesty International and the Kenya Medical Association.

The United States and China have resumed semi-official nuclear arms talks for the first time in five years, with Beijing's representatives telling their U.S. counterparts that they would not resort to nuclear threats over Taiwan The Chinese representatives assured them after their U.S. interlocutors expressed concern that China could use or threaten to use nuclear weapons if defeated in a conflict over Taiwan. Beijing regards the democratically governed island as its territory, a claim the Taipei government has rejected. "They have told the U.S. side that they are absolutely convinced that they are capable of winning a conventional struggle over Taiwan without using nuclear weapons," said David Santoro, the U.S. organizer of the Track Two talks, details of which Reuters is reporting for the first time.

Mark Rutte will become NATO's next secretary general after all 32 members of the alliance agreed that the outgoing Dutch prime minister will succeed Jens Stoltenberg Following endorsements from Hungary and Slovakia on Tuesday, Romania reaffirmed its support for Rutte on Thursday as Romanian President Klaus Iohannis withdrew his candidacy for NATO's top post. During a meeting of the Supreme National Defense Council, Iohannis said he had notified NATO allies that he had withdrawn his candidacy. Rutte will take over NATO's leadership at a critical time. His new job will begin on October 2, just over a month before the U.S. election that will determine the fate of the military alliance that has served as the most successful deterrent to an aggressive Russia in Eastern Europe.