Netherlands

The US and Britain have launched air and sea strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the group's attacks on ships in the Red Sea. This is a dramatic expansion of the war between Israel and Hamas in the region, Reuters reported.

There are explosions all over the country, witnesses say, adds BTA. President Joe Biden has warned that follow-up action is possible.

Heavy U.S. and British air strikes pounded targets in rebel-held Yemen early on Friday after weeks of disruptive attacks on Red Sea shipping by Iran-backed Huthi forces.

The strikes targeted an airbase, airports and a military camp, the Huthi rebels' Al-Masirah TV station said.

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic has received New Year greeting cards from the FMs of Austria and the Netherlands, Alexander Schallenberg and Hanke Bruins Slot.

Schallenberg wished Dacic a happy New Year with best wishes for the holidays.

Bruins Slot wished the Serbian FM a blessed 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

After more than a decade of anticipation, Bulgaria, together with Romania, has finally gained entry into the Schengen area. However, the initial approval, effective from March 2024, is limited to air and sea routes exclusively. This development signifies the end of passport checks for flights connecting Bulgaria to the broader European landscape, promising smoother travel processes.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa visited Ukraine on Sunday to meet with her counterpart Dmytro Kuleba to show Tokyo's continued support, a ministry official said.

The unannounced visit was a change to her original two-week tour plan of visiting Poland, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Germany and Türkiye from Friday.

In Bulgaria, only 2% of last year's asylum applications in the EU were recorded, based on recent data from the European Agency for Asylum and Migration. The report, unveiled on December 14, highlights that Bulgaria received a total of 3,028 applications, while Germany, France, and Italy were the top recipients.

A staggering amount of over 100,000 tonnes of textiles is discarded annually in Bulgaria, a study reveals, spotlighting the nation's looming textile waste crisis. Startling statistics indicate that merely 2% of this colossal amount undergoes recycling, while an estimated 50% to 70% remains suitable for continued use, according to the Association for Textile Recycling.

Britain, the United States and 10 other countries have warned Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to stop their "highly destabilizing attacks in the Red Sea or face the consequences" after tensions in the region spiked, "The Times" reported.

Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov addressed Bulgaria's ongoing negotiations for Schengen accession during a detailed briefing, shedding light on the status of discussions regarding the inclusion of land borders, confirming the absence of specified timelines in negotiations with key partners.

Wijnen is the outgoing commander of the Royal Netherlands Army.
"Our society should prepare for that," he said in an interview with the Dutch newspaper "Telegraf".