EU leaders agreed on Thursday to offer Bosnia and Herzegovina candidate status to join the block, putting the volatile Balkan nation at the start of a long road to membership.
After years of stasis and the war in Ukraine, the EU has become more willing to consider admitting more of its eastern neighbours.
Bosnia is now the third country after conflict-ravaged Ukraine and Moldova to be granted candidate status in the past six months.
The EU is concerned that powers such as Russia or China might spread their influence into the Balkans if countries hopeful of joining the bloc are thwarted.
EU leaders gave their approval for Bosnia to become a membership candidate at a summit in Brussels.
European Council President Charles Michel called the step "a strong signal to the people, but also a clear expectation for the new authorities to deliver on reforms".
"The future of the Western Balkans is in the EU," Mr Michel wrote on Twitter.
There have been long-standing concerns over the political situation in Bosnia, a country of three million people burdened with ethnic divisions since its devastating war three decades ago.
It remains partitioned between a Serb entity and a Muslim-Croat federation connected by a weak central government.
It has a dysfunctional administrative system created by the 1995 Dayton Agreement, which ended the conflict in the 1990s but largely failed to provide a framework for the country's political development.
The EU's executive branch, the European Commission, has laid out 14 priorities for reform it insists Bosnia must make before it can move on to the next stage of opening formal accession negotiations.
In pictures: A decade since the EU went east
The Bosnian member of the country's tripartite presidency, Denis Becirovic, said the decision was an "an opportunity we must not miss".
"The authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina must take advantage of this hand extended by Brussels to speed up the country's march towards full EU membership," Mr Becirovic said.
The EU has complained that an internal stand-off caused by Bosnia's Serb entity, the Republika Srpska, has led to "virtual paralysis" in the reform process in recent times.
There are also concerns over calls by Serb leaders for closer ties with Russia, and the entity's nationalist President Milorad Dodik has vowed to stall the push towards the EU if it means more centralisation of power in Bosnia.
Mr Dodik welcomed the EU's decision while deriding the bloc for "wasting 20 years with empty stories".
"It is time for the EU and us in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entities to finalise this process together and as partners," he wrote in an internet post.
Bosnia joins seven other nations with candidate status: Turkey, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine.
The process to join the EU can take many years as candidates introduce reforms that have to be rigorously evaluated by Brussels.
It can also grind to a halt, as is the case with Turkey's bid.
Bosnia's candidacy was accepted as Kosovo on Thursday became the latest country to apply for membership in the bloc when it formally lodged an application to join.
Kosovo, which has fractious ties with Serbia, faces a particularly hard path on its quest to get into the bloc.
Pristina declared independence in 2008, but Belgrade, along with its key allies Russia and China, still considers it a part of Serbia.
Five members of the EU — Greece, Spain, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus — do not recognise Kosovo as an independent country.
RESULT
Valencia 3
Kevin Gameiro 21', 51'
Ferran Torres 67'
Atlanta 4
Josip Llicic 3' (P), 43' (P), 71', 82'
The%20specs
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEquestrian%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EAbdullah%20Humaid%20Al%20Muhairi%2C%20Abdullah%20Al%20Marri%2C%20Omar%20Al%20Marzooqi%2C%20Salem%20Al%20Suwaidi%2C%20and%20Ali%20Al%20Karbi%20(four%20to%20be%20selected).%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EJudo%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMen%3A%20Narmandakh%20Bayanmunkh%20(66kg)%2C%20Nugzari%20Tatalashvili%20(81kg)%2C%20Aram%20Grigorian%20(90kg)%2C%20Dzhafar%20Kostoev%20(100kg)%2C%20Magomedomar%20Magomedomarov%20(%2B100kg)%3B%20women's%20Khorloodoi%20Bishrelt%20(52kg).%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECycling%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESafia%20Al%20Sayegh%20(women's%20road%20race).%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESwimming%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMen%3A%20Yousef%20Rashid%20Al%20Matroushi%20(100m%20freestyle)%3B%20women%3A%20Maha%20Abdullah%20Al%20Shehi%20(200m%20freestyle).%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAthletics%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMaryam%20Mohammed%20Al%20Farsi%20(women's%20100%20metres).%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
ELECTION%20RESULTS
%3Cp%3EMacron%E2%80%99s%20Ensemble%20group%20won%20245%20seats.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20second-largest%20group%20in%20parliament%20is%20Nupes%2C%20a%20leftist%20coalition%20led%20by%20Jean-Luc%20Melenchon%2C%20which%20gets%20131%20lawmakers.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20far-right%20National%20Rally%20fared%20much%20better%20than%20expected%20with%2089%20seats.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20centre-right%20Republicans%20and%20their%20allies%20took%2061.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Match info
Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')
Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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