Main news of December 22

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Serbia's president formally submitted the country's application for European Union membership

* The European Union plans to boost humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories by 7 million euros ($10 million), the European Commission's press service said

* Bolivian President Evo Morales said he wanted to promote the experience of the Bolivian revolution in Africa to raise political awareness among indigenous people

* Tehran has denied accusations circulating in the Western media that a seized cargo plane loaded with weaponry from North Korea was heading for Iran, the country's official news agency IRNA reported

RUSSIA

* The deadline for Ukraine's payment for natural gas supplied in December has been moved from January 7 to January 11, 2010, due to the New Year holidays, energy giant Gazprom said

* President Dmitry Medvedev signed on Tuesday a law ratifying Russia's intergovernmental agreement with Iceland on simplifying the system of visa travel between the countries

* The new Russian-U.S. strategic arms reduction treaty envisions "radical" cuts in the number of strategic offensive weapons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

* The Moscow City Court opens on Tuesday hearings in a case of former police chief Denis Yevsyukov, who killed two and wounded seven in a south Moscow supermarket in late April

* The sculptor who created a WWII memorial in Georgia which was destroyed on December 19 has welcomed Russia's proposal to rebuild the landmark structure

BUSINESS

* Belarus has received a $200 million loan from the World Bank for the purposes of development, a spokesman for the Belarusian National Bank said