Briefly

SERBIA

Vucic sworn in for 2nd presidential term

Aleksandar Vucic was sworn in on Tuesday at the National Assembly in Belgrade for his second term as president of Serbia. Following his victory in the April 3 presidential elections, in which he won 58.59 percent of the votes cast, Vucic took the oath of office in front of Serbia's lawmakers, ministers, former presidents and diplomats. He said his priorities will include maintaining peace and stability in the region, and that he will work to keep the Balkan country on its European Union membership path.

MIDDLE EAST

Israeli troops kill Palestinian woman

An alleged knife-wielding Palestinian woman who threatened an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank was shot dead on Wednesday, the army said, an account that was disputed by Palestinian officials. Violence in territories where Palestinians seek statehood has simmered since peace talks sponsored by the United States stalled in 2014. Recent weeks have seen increasing escalation, including deadly Palestinian attacks inside Israel. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the killing as a "field execution". "She was en route to work and there were no incidents there or danger to the criminals," the ministry said in a statement.

AUSTRALIA

World's largest plant discovered off coast

Australian researchers have discovered the world's largest plant off the country's west coast. In a study published on Wednesday, researchers from Flinders University in South Australia and the University of Western Australia revealed they have discovered a sea grass stretching 180 kilometers in Western Australia's Shark Bay. The researchers sought to understand the diversity of sea grass meadows in Shark Bay using genetic tools and were surprised to discover it was one vast organism of the Posidonia australes species. They estimated that it is at least 4,500 years old.

Agencies - Xinhua