Demonstrations against President Aleksandar Vucic, Belgrade, Serbia

[angelburst29]

Serbia's president calls general election for April 26

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday called a general election for April 26, a vote seen as important for his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) to cement its hold on power.

Slovak president to ask OLANO to form coalition government after election win

Slovakia's President Zuzana Caputova will on Wednesday ask election winner Igor Matovic, leader of the anti-graft Ordinary People party (OLANO), to head talks on forming a government, she said.

Slovak election winner seeks quick deal on new government

Slovakia's anti-corruption Ordinary People (OLANO) party will aim to form a broad four-party coalition as soon as possible after it won a parliamentary election, its leader said on Wednesday.

Slovenian parliament set to elect center-right Jansa as PM
Slovenia's parliament is expected to elect Janez Jansa as prime minister on Tuesday, handing a third term to a center-right leader who plans to decentralize the state and fight red tape to improve services and economic growth.

Slovenian parliament confirms Jansa as PM designate

Slovenia's parliament elected Janez Jansa as prime minister on Tuesday, handing a third mandate to a center-right leader who plans to decentralize the state and fight red tape.

 

[angelburst29]

Serbia has introduced a state of emergency to halt the spread of coronavirus, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday after meeting top government and health officials in Belgrade.

Serbia launches state of emergency to counter coronavirus

Vucic said he was acting in line with legal provisions that allow him to declare a state of emergency in the absence of a sitting parliament, which was disbanded ahead of April 26 general elections.

“From this very moment we have a state of emergency,” Vucic said in a televised address, adding that the government will formulate the “harshest measures” soon.

He said that the fight “against an invisible adversary” will be aimed at the protection of the elderly, who are particularly at risk from the outbreak.

Vucic said kindergartens, schools and universities will be closed until the end of the semester.

Health authorities in the Balkan country have so far reported 46 cases of infection and tested 283 people. There have been no fatalities, but two patients are in a serious condition.

Vucic warned that from Monday the military will be guarding hospitals, while police will be monitoring those quarantined or in self-isolation for 14 or 28 days. Those who violate quarantine may face jail terms of up to three years, he said.

“There will be limitations of all sorts,” he said.

Serbia has already banned indoor gatherings, and has closed borders to nationals of a number of countries including Italy, Iran, parts of China, South Korea and Switzerland.

After Vucic’s address, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced restrictions on Serbia’s borders, where the military will be deployed.


“Borders will be open for Serbians, foreign diplomats and foreign nationals with residence permits,” she told state-run RTS TV.

Many Serbians who live and work in the European Union flocked home over the weekend, although Vucic had requested they avoid traveling to Serbia.

Hundreds of cars created gridlock at the border with Hungary on Sunday where they remained stranded for hours, awaiting entry permits from Serbia’s health authorities.

Slovakia declares state of emergency over coronavirus, orders shop closures

Slovakia declared a state of emergency on Sunday to contain the coronavirus outbreak, ordering the closure of all shops except food stores, pharmacies, banks, petrol stations and post offices from 6 a.m. on Monday, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said.

Czech Prime Minister eyes nationwide quarantine, expects rise in coronavirus cases

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Sunday the government would likely declare a quarantine for the entire country to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

Czech pubs prepare to turn off taps early to contain coronavirus
Czech pubs prepared to turn off the taps early on Friday for the world's biggest beer drinkers after the government declared a 30-day state of emergency in an attempt to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Czech government closes most shops, restaurants to fight coronavirus
The Czech government shut most shops and restaurants for 10 days on Saturday to widen its response to the spread of coronavirus.

Slovenia records first death due to coronavirus
Slovenia has recorded its first death due to coronavirus, Health Minister Tomaz Gantar told national channel TV Slovenia on Saturday. According to TV Slovenia the victim was an elderly man with a chronic disease.

Estonia to bar foreign travelers from March 17
Estonia will stop foreign traveler from entering the country from March 17, in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the country's government said in a statement on Sunday.

Romanian lawmakers endorse PM Orban in vote of confidence
Romania's centrist Prime Minister Ludovic Orban won a parliamentary vote of confidence by a large margin as expected on Saturday, with all parties seeking to end a political stalemate and focus on reining in the spread of coronavirus.

 

[Agron]

This is a fresh video from N1 about the truth on Vucic and his radical views and lies (sadly no subtitles). It is said that this doc was funded by the richest businessman in Serbia after Vucic recently (6 months maybe) decided to throw the richest one of them in the jail without much evidence and keep him there to send a message to others (totalitaristic approach of wannabe dictators). Regardles of who funded it, it clearly shows him being an errand boy for war criminal Seselj and his true role as a radical warmonger. All on video and no possibility it is fake! Also I heard from Milojko Pantic that chetnik warlord Seselj has jewish blood and a Croatian passport (funny but telling indeed!).
Excellent commentary from known and affirmed people that have high profile jobs in Serbia is in it.

There are lot of scandals in last month and you know that part of corona-madness is to bury all of them... in all countries, not just Serbia.

Some monumental changes do seem cued up for this region and not only from this "direction". So lets hope these changes will be good for populations, rather than for the "elites" (if that is even possible) !

Cheers

Agron

 

[angelburst29]

Serbia's military deploys at borders to help fight coronavirus

Serbia's military deployed at the borders on Wednesday, for the first time in over a decade, as authorities imposed a state of emergency to try to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Kosovo coalition partner to file no-confidence vote in government
A coalition partner in the Kosovo government will file a motion for a no-confidence vote in the government following the sacking of the interior minister over a dispute whether to declare a state of emergency to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

Kosovars bang pots from balconies to protest political crisis
People across Kosovo went to their balconies banging pots in a protest to urge ruling parties to deal with coronavirus and end a political crisis which may bring down the government next week.

Croatia closes most services, shops fighting coronavirus
Croatia will close from March 19 all services including cinemas, restaurants and bars, as well as shops except food stores, pharmacies and petrol stations as it bids to crack down on the coronavirus, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Wednesday.

Slovenia plans to ban public gatherings, delay loan repayments
Slovenia plans to impose a ban on socializing in public spaces from Friday to slow the spread of coronavirus, Interior Minister Ales Hojs told national TV Slovenia late on Wednesday.

Slovaks get facemasks, coronavirus tests from China to replenish supplies
A Slovak government plane with a million surgical facemasks and 100,000 rapid-result tests for the new coronavirus arrived in Bratislava on Thursday to alleviate the shortage faced by local authorities, social and health workers.

 

[angelburst29]

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said on Tuesday he would not take part in talks on normalising ties with Serbia led by an European Union special mediator, calling instead for an increased U.S. role in the dialogue.

Kosovo president rejects EU mediator for talks with Serbia
May 26, 2020 - Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, almost a decade after a guerrilla uprising by its ethnic Albanian majority, and agreed to an EU-sponsored dialogue with Belgrade in 2013 to resolve all outstanding issues.

Normalization is among key conditions the EU has set for admitting Kosovo as a member state, and by Russia, a traditional ally of Serbia, to lift its veto on Kosovo joining the United Nations.

In March, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell appointed Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak as special mediator for Kosovo.

But Slovakia is one of five EU member countries - along with Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Spain - that still decline to recognize Kosovo’s independence.

“In front of us we will have two negotiators from the countries that do not recognise Kosovo’s independence,” Thaci told reporters in Pristina, referring to Lajcak and Borrell, a former Spanish foreign minister.

Thaci said he would join any meetings organised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. “But there is no inclination on my part to participate in a negotiation process that is led by Lajcak,” he said.

Thaci said only the United States, which brokered Bosnia’s peace accord 25 years ago and led NATO’s 1999 air strikes that halted Serbia’s brutal counter-insurgency campaign in Kosovo, could really advance dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

Albania to open crèches, land borders, hotel beaches on Monday
May 26, 2020 - TIRANA - Albania will re-open crèches and kindergartens and kick off its tourism season on June 1, the health minister said on Tuesday, despite reporting a sharp daily rise in coronavirus infections.

“The re-opening strategy will continue as outlined by the experts committee. We shall be opening crèches and kindergartens from June 1,” Health Minister Ogerta Manastirliu said.

The government would also open land borders on June 1 for all Albanians and ethnic Albanians in neighbouring Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro wishing to visit on holiday.

Bathing at beaches will be allowed only for those serving hotels from June 1, and from June 10 all beaches will be open, Prime Minister Edi Rama has said.

Albania still has a 9 p.m.-5 a.m. lockdown and has yet to allow mass gatherings such as soccer matches.

Serbia has banned inbound flights by Montenegro’s flag carrier Montenegro Airlines after Podgorica refused to open its borders to people from Serbia, where coronavirus persists.

Serbia has banned inbound flights by Montenegro’s flag carrier Montenegro Airlines after Podgorica refused to open its borders to people from Serbia, where coronavirus persists.

Serbia blocks flights from Montenegro over coronavirus row
May 27, 2020 - Serbia’s Directorate for Civilian Aviation said it decided to act as Montenegro’s move affect reciprocity in air transportation.

Montenegro’s prime minister Dusko Markovic on Monday declared his country free of coronavirus. Markovic also said Montenegro would open borders to travelers from countries reporting no more than 25 cases of infection per 100,000 people. Serbia, where the infection rate is higher, was not on the list.

As the coronavirus infection rate dropped, Serbia earlier this month opened borders with most of its neighbors, including Montenegro, Croatia and Hungary.

KRILO-JESENICE, Croatia - A few intrepid European tourists have returned to Croatia’s picturesque Adriatic coast, where the owners of yachts and campsites are hoping their relative isolation will bring the numbers up over the next six weeks.

Croatia welcomes tourists braving coronavirus crisis
May 27, 2020 - In the Dalmatian port of Krilo-Jesenice, the Black Swan is among dozens of sailing cruisers still tied up. Six weeks of lockdown began to be eased late last month, two weeks after the season should have begun.

“Sadly, we’re still stuck here waiting for the first guests, said owner Denis Grubisa, whose yacht can accommodate 38. “We hope guests will start pouring in from late June or early July.” Even a dozen at a time would make him very happy, he said.

SARAJEVO - Police from Bosnia, Croatia and regional agency Europol caught eight suspected traffickers on Wednesday and blocked the smuggling of 45 migrants into the European Union (EU), Bosnian authorities said.

Bosnia and Croatia arrest eight suspected migrant smugglers
May 27, 2020 - During a search of several locations in northwestern Bosnia, police seized mobile phones, laptops and other items that could serve as evidence in criminal proceedings, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) said.

It gave no further details on the fate of the 45 migrants.

The detainees are suspected of transporting, hiding and smuggling migrants mostly from Turkey via Bosnia into EU member Croatia and onwards to Italy, Bosnia’s state prosecutor’s office said, calling the arrests the region’s most comprehensive operation this year.

The so-called Balkan route for migrants trying to reach the EU via Turkey, Greece and former Yugoslav countries was shut down in 2016 when Turkey agreed to stop the flow in return for European aid and a promise of visa-free travel for its citizens.

But Bosnia, which has a 1,000 km (620 miles) border with Croatia, has become an alternative migrant route starting from Turkey via Greece and Albania through Montenegro, as well as for those stuck in Serbia.

 

[angelburst29]

Coal mine in Serbia gives up new Roman treasure
May 29, 2020 - BELGRADE - As the sun sank over a vast opencast coal mine in eastern Serbia earlier this month, a small crane eased the front half of a Roman ship from the steep sides of the pit.

An excavator cutting through the coal rich soil had pulled out some muddy timber weeks before, but coronavirus restrictions had meant the retrieval had to wait.

The ship was part of Viminacium, a sprawling Roman city of 45,000 people with a hippodrome, fortifications, a forum, palace, temples, amphitheatre, aqueducts, baths and workshops.

Lead archaeologist Miomir Korac said the vessel dated from the 3rd century AD when Viminacium was the capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior and near a tributary of the Danube river.

“A Roman (river) fleet was based here to defend this region from barbarian invasions,” he told Reuters. “Such findings of Roman ships are really rare, especially in such a good condition where one could see how the boat was built.”

The ship originally measured 19 meters. It had a flat bottom, six pairs of oars and fittings for a triangular sail. The nine-metre front section had thick wooden sides and was discovered along with the remains of two smaller boats.


It will eventually go on display with some of tens of thousands of other artefacts unearthed from the site near the town of Kostolac, some 70 km (45 miles) east of Belgrade.

They include golden tiles, jade sculptures, mosaics and frescos, along with 14,000 tombs and the remains of three mammoths. The archaeologists are now working on what they believe to be the headquarters of a Roman general.

Excavations of Viminacium have been going on since 1882, but the archaeologists estimate that they have only covered 4% of the site, which they say is 450 hectares - bigger than New York’s Central Park - and rare in not being buried under a modern city.

Published on May 29, 2020 (2:07 min.)


IMF says Bosnia's failure to disburse IMF emergency aid is unprecedented
May 29, 2020 - SARAJEVO - Five weeks after the International Monetary Fund gave Bosnia $370.46 million in emergency aid to help combat the coronavirus crisis, the funds have still not been disbursed due to a disagreement between its rival ethnic leaders, officials said.

Even though the lender had doubled the original amount, the leaders have not reached a consensus on how to split the funds, which have remained blocked at the central bank ever since.

The aid was approved and handed over only after a political deal was reached under which the Federation would receive 62% and the Serb Republic 38% of the funds, while each region would allocate 0.5% of its share to Bosnia’s neutral Brcko District.

In the Letter of Intent signed with the IMF, the leaders of the Bosniak-Croat Federation also agreed to allocate 50% of the funds to its 10 cantons, the pledge that was later reflected in the region’s revised budget for 2020.

But in reality, Croat and Bosniak ministers in the national government have persistently argued over the legal procedure needed for the disbursal of the funds.

Bosnia comprises two autonomous regions, the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the Serb Republic, tied via a weak central government.

 

[Persej]

Montenegro’s prime minister Dusko Markovic on Monday declared his country free of coronavirus. Markovic also said Montenegro would open borders to travelers from countries reporting no more than 25 cases of infection per 100,000 people. Serbia, where the infection rate is higher, was not on the list.

Problem solved. It's a miracle!

In Serbia, according to the data from the site covid.rs, 4.052 individuals recovered in the last 24 hours, meaning six patients per 100.000 inhabitants.

Thus, the epidemiological conditions were created for the citizens of Serbia to enter Montenegro.

By reducing the number of actively ill people below 25 per 100 thousand inhabitants, the conditions have been met for Montenegro to open the border for the citizens of Serbia, Radio Television of Montenegro also reports.

Epidemiological conditions met for Montenegro to open its borders to Serbian citizens

Latest Serbia news in English, latest Kosovo news in English, Serbian economy news, Serbian business news, Serbian politics news, Balkan regional news in English

www.b92.net

 

[PerfectCircle]

This whole border thing feels like a good staged circus.
Logical thing for Montenegro would be to open borders and try to obtain some money from tourism (since basically there is no other type of industry present), but the will to divide people and brainwash them more is stronger. And everyone now speaks about it and praise/criticise one side or another. Vucic and Djukanovic are probably having some sweet skype session, drinking champaigne and laughing :D

 

[Persej]

It's about time for Montenegro to stop oppressing the Negroes.

FOTO Pogledajte kako je bilo na protestu "Ne mogu da dišem" u Podgorici

U Podgorici je danas održan mirni protest Ne mogu da dišem kao podrška protestima protiv rasizma koji se održavaju u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama (SAD) i širom ...

www.vijesti.me

 

[Persej]

This whole border thing feels like a good staged circus.
Logical thing for Montenegro would be to open borders and try to obtain some money from tourism (since basically there is no other type of industry present), but the will to divide people and brainwash them more is stronger. And everyone now speaks about it and praise/criticise one side or another. Vucic and Djukanovic are probably having some sweet skype session, drinking champaigne and laughing :D

Like they say, it's a circus that keeps giving.

More than 4,000 active COVID-19 cases in Serbia proclaimed closed in a day, causing controversy

The jump in the number of patients infected with Coronavirus increased significantly in Serbia on Saturday, 6 June, compared to Friday, 5 June, but at the same time the number of cured people increased from 6,931 to 11,056 in a day.

Epidemiologist Predrag Kon explained that there was a jump in the number of cured patients because all of those who were discharged from treatment with one negative finding, and 28 days passed, have been removed from the list of active cases.

“Administratively, because it was possible that way… They were not treated as cured, but only as discharged,” said Kon.

Doctor Darija Kisić Tepavčević said that at the last meeting of the Crisis Staff of the Government of Serbia on Friday, a decision was made to “relax” the current “strict” approach to the supervision of COVID-19.

According to that decision, in asymptomatic patients, one negative PCR test is enough, instead of the previous two, for a person to be considered healthy, and for the time of monitoring the course of the disease to be shortened in those patients, she explained.

According to Kisić Tepavčević, this now means that people who are diagnosed with the virus and do not have signs of the disease, after a clinical examination, go to home isolation, and not to a temporary hospital. They remain in home isolation, she added, for 14 days, and if they do not develop any symptoms of the disease by then, they do a PCR test and if they are negative, they are marked as healthy.

Apart from health explanations, this calculation has another dimension. To enter Montenegro, for example, it is necessary that the country from which citizens enter has less than 25 infected per 100,000 inhabitants. That criterion has now been reached.

“Now the conditions for opening the border with Serbia have been met, well, I welcome the news, I knew that the conditions would be met because it is important for their tourism, and also because the conditions that were set, that is, the reason not to they opened the borders for the citizens of the Republic of Serbia, were completely political, had nothing to do with health”, said the Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić.

Epidemiologist Zoran Radovanović told that this is an illogicality that is difficult to defend, adding that these people were healed by “a decree and an administrative decision”.

When asked by Nova.rs whether such a decision could have anything to do with the possibility of our citizens entering Montenegro, Radovanović assessed that Montenegrins are not “crazy”, but he is still aware that our neighbours need tourists.

In the last few days, the number of infected people in Serbia has been increasing. The symptoms in patients are weaker, but epidemiologist Radovanović warns that the virus has not weakened, it is only harder for him to find a new host.

“In the two student dormitories where the patients came, these are new hotspots, also in the sports center where several athletes fell ill, this is a new hotspot in the work facilities, all these are new hotspots if we call them ‘pockets’, we reduce verbal significance, but we are not essentially changing anything, it is even better, to be honest, and call it by its real name,” Radovanović concluded.

More than 4,000 active COVID-19 cases in Serbia proclaimed closed in a day, causing controversy - European Western Balkans

BELGRADE – The jump in the number of patients infected with Coronavirus increased significantly in Serbia on Saturday, 6 June, compared to Friday, 5 June, but at the same time the number of cured people increased from 6,931 to 11,056 in a day. Epidemiologist Predrag Kon explained that there was...

europeanwesternbalkans.com

"We reduce verbal significance."

And the new part of this craziness is that a virus in one of the student dormitories is brought by a student from "corona free" Montenegro!

Podatke Crne Gore razotkrio slučaj doma na Karaburmi?

Crna Gora promoviše se kao "corona free" država. Mediji su objavili informaciju koja ne ide naruku tome - u studentski dom u Srbiji doneo je virus student iz CG

www.b92.net

 

[PerfectCircle]

I guess they will keep borders with Serbia closed until the end of religious protests, as they fear more people would join it. Protests are planned for 14th of June

 

[Persej]

"At one point, we made the decision that after the first negative test, these people were released from hospitals and were in self-isolation for two weeks. If they had a second negative test, they were cured. For more than two months the person was administratively registered as ill, even though they no longer had symptoms, "she said.

Kisic Tepavcevic said that because of that, at one point there was such a large number of people who were marked as healthy.

Dr Kisić Tepavčević objasnila kako je preko noći ozdravilo skoro 4.000 ljudi

Zamenica direktora Instituta Batuta Darija Kisić Tepavčević rekla je da na nivou preporuke nošenje rukavica i maski na dan izbora 21.juna.

www.b92.net

Well, that sounds to me like a weird way to count the sick people. Two months after no symptoms people were counted as sick?! Was there anything normal in the corona pandemic operation?

 

[AzarHyun]

tonight in Montenegro, protests against the law that is harmful to the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro is continued..

 

[Persej]

Priceless!

Today, Montenegro removed Bosnia and Herzegovina from the list of countries from which it is possible to freely enter Montenegro.

The decision was made after it was determined that most of the active cases of coronavirus in Montenegro were "imported" from Serbia by individuals entering Montenegro through Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Montenegrin government announced.

Raste broj slučajeva u Crnoj Gori; Hrvati paniče zbog 11 zaraženih

U Crnoj Gori su registrovane još četiri osobe zaražene koronavirusom, saopštio je Institut za javno zdravlje.

www.b92.net

 

[PerfectCircle]

Haha, yes, people are babbling in Montenegro that corona has returned due to the football match in Belgrade and those who went there got it.
Then you have reports from "experts" that people in Montenegro are just carefree and it is no wonder why it came back.
Starting from today, masks have to be worn again..