Latvia’s long-serving foreign minister, known for his tough line on neighboring Russia and strong support for Ukraine, was sworn in on July 8 as the Baltic nation’s president for a four-year term.
Blaga's Lessons, a Bulgarian-German film, on July 8 won the main Crystal Globe award at the Karlovy Vary film festival, one of Europe's top movie events.
Milorad Dodik, the president of the Serb-dominated entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina, intensified his dispute with the world community on July 8 by filing what he called a “criminal complaint” against the internationally appointed high representative of the Balkan nation.
Ukrainian writer and activist Viktoria Amelina has died of injuries suffered on June 27 when a Russian rocket attack struck a restaurant in the city of Kramatorsk.