BAKU, December 30. /TASS/: Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has registered incumbent President Ilham Aliyev as a candidate for president.

"To register Ilham Aliyev, who was nominated by the Eni Azerbaijan (New Azerbaijan - TASS) party, as a candidate for president at the February 7 extraordinary presidential election," it said in a resolution.

As many as 50,000 signatures have been collected in support of Aliyev’s candidacy, whereas at least 40,000 are required under law.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of people rallied in Serbia’s capital on Saturday, chanting “Thieves!” and accusing the populist authorities of President Aleksandar Vucic of orchestrating a fraud during a recent general election.

The big rally in central Belgrade capped nearly two weeks of street protests against reported widespread irregularities during the Dec. 17 parliamentary and local ballot that were also noted by international election observers.

PARIS, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The French government said it will deploy more than 95,000 police and military personnel for New Year’s Eve celebrations, adding that a heightened “terrorist threat” required tight security.

Paris alone, where up to one million revellers are expected on the Champs-Elysees Sunday night – twice as many as last year – will get 6,000 security forces to keep order.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters that Sunday’s deployment was motivated by “a context of a heightened terrorist threat due to the conflict in Israel and Palestine”.

MOSCOW (AP) —Thirty-two Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia on Saturday, Moscow officials reported, a day after an 18-hour aerial barrage across Ukraine killed at least 39 civilians.

Drones were seen in the skies over Russia’s Moscow, Bryansk, Oryol, and Kursk regions, the country’s defense ministry said in a statement. It said that all of the drones had been destroyed by air defenses.

BEIJING, Dec 30 (Reuters) - China will simplify visa applications for tourists from the United States from Jan. 1, cutting the documents required, according to a notice on Friday on the website of the Chinese embassy in Washington.

The move is the latest by China to revive tourism and boost the world's second-largest economy following a slump during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourist visa applicants in the U.S. will no longer need to submit air ticket bookings, hotel reservations or an invitation letter, the embassy's notice said. 

MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed about Ukraine’s shelling attack on the Russian city of Belgorod, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

"President Vladimir Putin has been briefed about Ukraine’s strike on residential quarters in Belgorod," he said, adding that the president ordered to send a Russian health ministry team led by Minister Mikhail Murashko and emergencies ministry’s rescuers to the city to help those affected.

GAZA, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned Saturday of the intensification of infectious disease spread in the Gaza Strip, which suffered a lack of humanitarian aid and subsequent disastrous repercussions.

The spread of diseases in Gaza has intensified, especially due to the recent mass displacement throughout southern Gaza and the need for some families to move several times, OCHA said in a statement.

SANTIAGO, Dec 30 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Chile’s Government announced it was extending the agricultural emergency stemming from a water deficit due to poor rains, it was reported in Santiago. With this measure, authorities may keep up the aid to producers from Atacama to Magallanes until Sept. 30, 2024.

 The contingency plan reaches 100% of the communes in the Coquimbo region and in the provinces of Petorca, San Antonio, San Felipe de Aconcagua, Los Andes, Marga Marga, and Valparaíso, except for Juan Fernández.

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Climate activists blocked part of the main highway around Amsterdam near the former headquarters of ING bank on Saturday to protest its financing of fossil fuels.

Amsterdam Municipality said in a message on X, formerly Twitter, that traffic authorities closed part of the road and diverted traffic “to prevent a life-threatening situation.”

PRISTINA, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A court in Albania on Saturday ordered that former president and prime minister Sali Berisha be placed under house arrest following corruption charges relating to his time in office.

Prosecutors accuse Berisha, 79, of using his influence while premier between 2005 and 2009 to favor his daughter's husband in the privatization of a state land. Berisha has denied any wrongdoing.

Berisha now heads Albania's largest opposition party, the Democratic Party.

WARSAW, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Poland ended a ground search on Saturday after finding no parts of a suspected Russian rocket which it said had violated the country's airspace on Friday morning, the Polish army said.

"At 3:00 pm (1400 GMT), the inspection of the designated area was completed... The search result was negative," the Polish army's operational command wrote on social media platform X.

"Military activities have been completed and we do not plan any further field verification."

WASHINGTON, December 30. /TASS/: Aggressive statements of the US administration for a more violent confrontation in Ukraine are leading to serious consequences, including for global security, Russian Ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov said.