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☆ China’s Xi Jinping highlights Europe’s divisions ahead of expected Putin visit
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Chinese state media played up the warm diplomacy, with headlines proclaiming China’s “ironclad” bond with Serbia and “golden friendship” with Hungary. Both are sure to closely watch any summit between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in China, expected to happen soon. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is welcomed at the airport in Belgrade on May 7 for his two-day state visit. Xi also marketed a shared worldview during his meeting with Orban in Hungary, which is a member of both the EU and NATO. Chinese leader Xi Jinping talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on May 9.

Persons: Xi, Peng Liyuan, Aleksandar Vucic, Viktor Orban, China’s, Vucic, Orban –, Emmanuel Macron, Ursula von der, Vladimir Putin, Orban, Hungary “, ’ ”, Philippe Le Corre, ”, Putin, Le Corre, Xi Jinping, Dimitrije Goll, Xi’s, Serbia’s Vucic, ” Vucic, Bruno Le Maire, BYD, Liu Dongshu, Vivien Cher Benko, Tamas Matura, Mark Rutte, Olaf Scholz, Matura, Von der, “ Orban, Gabor Scheiring Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Russia, Ukraine, China, Europe …, Asia Society, Center for, Forum, Anadolu, Getty, EU, NATO, ”, Xi, Hong Kong’s City University ., Hungarian, Central, Dutch, Georgetown University Locations: Hong Kong, France, Ukraine, China, Belgrade, Budapest, Paris, Serbian, Hungarian, Serbia, Hungary, Europe, Russia, Russian, ”, Europe … Hungary, Center for China, Beijing, United States, EU, Hong, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, Moscow, Qatar, “ Hungary

☆ Tara Davis-Woodhall: ‘My entire memo is have fun,’ says the ‘free-spirited’ US long jump star
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It’s hard not to be swept up in Davis-Woodhall’s approach to the long jump, especially when she finds reason to laugh even in the heat of fierce competition. “My entire memo is have fun,” she tells CNN Sport. Long jump is one track and field discipline which governing body World Athletics seems interested in developing, such as by introducing a take-off zone in the place of a fixed board. “I think it might be a little silly,” she says, “just because you kind of take away from the principle of long jump. That’s even more true for an athlete like Davis-Woodhall, currently jumping further and with more confidence than ever before.

Persons: Tara Davis, Woodhall, dally, I’m, –, I’ve, Ben Stansall, Serbia’s Ivana Španović, ”, Davis, don’t, “, “ I’m, “ I’ve, ” Davis, Hunter Woodall, Michael Woods, “ Tara, Hunter, Hunter Woodhall, it’s, Michael Steele, Jon Ridgeon Organizations: CNN, CNN Sport, Davis, Paris Olympics, Tokyo Olympics, Woodhall, Doping Agency, ”, University of Texas, World Athletics Locations: Glasgow, Scotland, Davis, AFP, “, Albuquerque , New Mexico, Tokyo, Budapest, Hungary

In 2013, two years before he began running for president, Mr. Trump — Mr. Kushner’s father-in-law — told a top Serbian government official that he wanted to build a luxury hotel on the site. Associates of the Trump Organization traveled to Belgrade to inspect the location. The project did not come together before Mr. Trump’s election in 2016, and after being sworn in he vowed to not do any new foreign deals. But developing the site would again draw interest from Mr. Trump’s circle. Richard Grenell, whom Mr. Trump had appointed as a special envoy in the Balkans, pushed a related plan during the Trump administration that Serbia and the United States jointly work to rebuild the Defense Ministry site.

Persons: Jared Kushner, Donald J, Trump, Kushner, Kushner’s, —, Richard Grenell Organizations: Yugoslav Ministry of Defense, NATO, The New York Times, Serbian, Associates, Trump Organization, United, Defense Ministry Locations: Belgrade, Serbian, Balkans, Serbia, United States, American

Greece has become the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage under civil law. Public opinion in majority Orthodox countries has mostly been opposed, too. Civil unions may become more common among Orthodox countries gravitating toward the European Union. Greek Orthodox showed relative tolerance, with half of Orthodox saying homosexuality should be accepted and a quarter favoring same-sex marriage. As head of the Russian Orthodox Church, he oversees the world's largest Orthodox flock.

Persons: ”, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, “, George Demacopoulos, ” Demacopoulos, —, Vladimir Putin, “ perversions, Putin, Kirill, Moscow, Tiny Montenegro, Aleksandar Vucic, ″, ___ Smith, Yuras, Stephen McGrath, Illia Novikov, Veselin Toshkov Organizations: European Union, Pew Research Center, Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Fordham University, Ukrainian, of, of Human, Russian Orthodox Church, Kremlin, Russia’s, Levada, MONTENEGRO Serbia, Balkan, Serbian Orthodox Church, of Human Rights, Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Associated Press, Gec, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: Greece, Montenegro, Cyprus, Russia, Eastern Europe, Washington, New York, European, UKRAINE, Ukraine, RUSSIA, Russian, BELARUS, Belarus, SERBIA, MONTENEGRO, Serbia, ROMANIA, MOLDOVA Romania, Romania, Bucharest, Moldova, BULGARIA, Bulgaria, Pittsburgh, Tallin, Estonia, Belgrade, Kyiv, Sofia

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers called on Thursday for an independent investigation into allegations of vote-rigging in Serbia and demanded that EU funds be cut off if the authorities in Belgrade fail to cooperate with the inquiry or are found to be implicated in election irregularities. The governing Serbian Progressive party of populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić won the Dec. 17 parliamentary and municipal elections, securing 129 seats in the 250-seat assembly. The opposition Serbia Against Violence coalition finished a distant second with 65 seats. The resolution has angered Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. Vučić’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his failure to enforce EU sanctions on Moscow have dismayed many.

Persons: Aleksandar Vučić, watchdogs, “, ”, Ana Brnabić, ” Brnabić, Vladimir Putin, ___ Dusan Stojanovic Organizations: —, Union, Serbian Progressive, Serbian, Violence, Organization for Security, Cooperation, Parliamentary, of Europe, Serbia’s National Assembly Locations: BRUSSELS, Serbia, Belgrade, Europe, Strasbourg, France, Moscow

☆ Novak Djokovic tells fans to ‘shut up’ after guiding Serbia to Davis Cup victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Novak Djokovic told a group of drumming fans of the Great Britain team to “shut up” as they tried to drown out his post-match interview after Serbia’s Davis Cup quarterfinal win on Thursday. The 36-year-old Djokovic also won a record seventh title at the ATP Finals earlier this month, beating Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the final. Serbia will now play Italy in the semifinals of the Davis Cup on Saturday. 1 is bidding to cap off a superb season with a Davis Cup win. “That’s disrespect but again that’s something I have to be prepared for in a Davis Cup,” the 36-year-old Djokovic told reporters, speaking about the vocal fans.

Persons: CNN — Novak Djokovic, “, Serbia’s, Cameron Norrie, Djokovic, ” Djokovic, We’re, ”, –, Carlos Alcaraz, Davis, Italy’s, Jon Nazca, ” Leon Smith, GB’s Organizations: CNN, Great Britain, Wimbledon, ATP, Davis, Reuters Locations: Malaga, Spain, Serbia, Italy

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said that Vulin used his public authority to help a U.S.-sanctioned Serbian arms dealer move illegal arms shipments across Serbia’s borders. The close associate of populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić had previously served as both the army and police chief. “The U.S. and the EU are looking for my head as a precondition for not imposing sanctions on Serbia," Vulin said in a statement. “I will not allow myself to be the cause of blackmail and pressure on Serbia and the Serbian world. The trip underscored Belgrade’s refusal to join Western sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Aleksandar Vulin, Vulin, Aleksandar Vučić, ”, Vladimir Putin —, Vučić, “, ” Vulin, Sergey Lavrov, Vulin’s Organizations: U.S . Treasury Department’s, Foreign, Control, BIA, Serbian, USA, Russia, Russian, European Union, EU Locations: BELGRADE, Serbia, Russia, United States, Balkan, U.S, Serbian, Vulin, EU, Moscow, Ukraine, Europe, Kosovo

☆ Serbian president says reports about troop build up on the Kosovo border ‘not fully accurate’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Sugam Pokharel Claire Calzonetti Duarte Mendonca Sana Noor Haq | Sugam Pokharel | Claire Calzonetti | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Soldiers with the NATO-led international peacekeeping force, the Kosovo Force, in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica, in northern Kosovo, on September 28. A top Kosovo Serb politician, Milan Radoicic said this weekend that he took part in the gun battle, Reuters reported. The confrontation comes months after ethnic Serbs attacked dozens of NATO peacekeepers in the town of Zvecan, in northern Kosovo, in May. The violence has ratcheted tensions in the Balkan region as the EU and US mediators attempt to finalize yearslong talks to normalize ties between Serbia and Kosovo. Following his first-round victory against American Aleksandar Kovacevic, Djokovic wrote “Kosovo is the [heart] of Serbia.

Persons: Aleksandar Vučić, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Vučić, “, ” Vučić, Stringer, Vjosa Osmani, Milan Radoicic, Radoicic, “ I’m, yearslong, Novak Djokovic, Djokovic, American Aleksandar Kovacevic Organizations: CNN, Serbian, NSC, National Security Council, NATO, ”, Kosovo Force, Getty, Kosovar, Kosovo Serb, Reuters, European, EU, American, “ Locations: Serbian, Kosovo, United States, Mitrovica, AFP, Serbia, Banjska, Belgrade, European Union, Brussels, Pristina, Zvecan, “ Kosovo

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared anew over the weekend when some 30 heavily armed Serbs barricaded themselves in an Orthodox monastery in northern Kosovo, setting off a daylong gunbattle with police that left one officer and three attackers dead. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused Serbia of sending the attackers into Kosovo. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denied that, saying the men were Kosovo Serbs who have had enough of “Kurti’s terror.”A look at the history between Serbia and Kosovo, and why the latest tensions are a concern for Europe. Vucic, meanwhile, is a former ultra-nationalist who insists Serbia will never recognize Kosovo and insists that an earlier deal to give Kosovo Serbs a level of independence must first be implemented before new agreements are made. International officials still hope Kosovo and Serbia can reach a deal that would allow Kosovo to get a seat in the United Nations without Serbia having to explicitly recognize its statehood.

Persons: yeraslong, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Kurti, Vucic Organizations: European Union, Kosovo, Serbian, Kosovo Serbs, EU, Ottoman, NATO, Government, Russia's, International, United Nations Locations: BELGRADE, Serbia, Kosovo, U.S, West, Europe, SERBIA, KOSOVO, United States, Russia, China, Balkan, Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Mitrovica, Ukraine, European, Crimea, NATO, United, EU

CNN —Kosovo police said Sunday that they have killed three armed attackers and arrested another amid an ongoing shootout in the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo. Kosovo is majority Albanian, but like other villages in the north, Banjska is predominantly Serbian. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Serbia sees Kosovo as a breakaway state. Kosovo Police and a group of armed, masked men stand in front of the Banjska Monastery in North Kosovo. Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have escalated in recent months with violent protests erupting in May over controversial local elections.

Persons: “, ”, Veton Eljsani, Albin Kurti, Josep Borrell, ” “, Borrell Organizations: CNN, Kosovo police, Police, ”, Facebook, “ Kosovo Police, Kosovo Police, . Police, AP, Kosovo, Serbia’s Foreign, EU, KFOR, NATO Locations: Banjska, Kosovo, ” Kosovo, Serbian, Serbia, Belgrade, Pristina, “, North Kosovo, Banjska Monastery, EULEX

☆ Britain drawn to face Serbia in Davis Cup Final 8
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Tennis - Davis Cup - Finals - Spain v Serbia - Pabellon Fuente de San Luis, Valencia, Spain - September 15, 2023 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action during his match against Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina REUTERS/Pablo Morano/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 19 (Reuters) - Britain who topped Group B in the Davis Cup after their win over France on Sunday now face Serbia, as the draw for the Final 8 Knockout stage was announced on Tuesday. Serbia finished second behind Czech Republic, but clinched their place in the Final 8 with a win over Spain. Novak Djokovic beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina just five days after winning the U.S. Open to help Serbia to a 3-0 win over Spain in Valencia. Whoever comes out on top between Serbia and Britain will then face the winner of Italy v Netherlands in the semi-final. Winner Group A v Runner-up Group DCanada v FinlandWinner Group C v Runner-up Group BCzech Republic v AustraliaRunner-up Group A v Winner Group DItaly v NetherlandsRunner-up Group C v Winner Group BSerbia v BritainReporting by Trevor Stynes Editing by Christian RadnedgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pabellon Fuente, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Pablo Morano, Novak Djokovic, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Trevor Stynes, Christian Radnedge Organizations: France, Sunday, Serbia, Czech, Spain, U.S, Davis, Canada, Finland, Croatia, Australia, Britain, Thomson Locations: Spain, Serbia, San Luis, Valencia, Britain, Czech Republic, Italy, Netherlands, United States, Canada, Finland, Australia, Malaga

Even with its best player sitting out this summer, Serbia is going to play for gold at the Basketball World Cup. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 points and Serbia defeated Canada 95-86 in the World Cup semifinals on Friday. It’s a great group of guys, great chemistry, and when you have good chemistry and great players, anything can happen. They played a great game,” Barrett said. “I'm proud of my guys,” Canada coach Jordi Fernandez said.

Persons: Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Ognjen Dobric, Nikola Milutinov, Canada’s, Serbia's Marko Guduric, “, “ Nobody, Filip Petrusev, RJ Barrett, ” Barrett, ” Dillon Brooks, Shai Gilgeous, Alexander, “ I'm, Jordi Fernandez, ” Jokic, they'll, ” Guduric, Simanic, —, ” Fernandez, Canada's, ___ Organizations: Basketball, Serbia, Canada, ”, Denver Nuggets, NBA, South, Olympic, France, Latvia, ___ AP NBA, AP Locations: MANILA, Philippines, Serbia, Germany, Manila, ” Serbia, U.S, Canada, South Sudan, Spain

☆ The West’s ‘see no evil’ approach to Serbia’s Vucic is destabilizing the Balkans
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

The result is that, despite Serbia’s professed hopes to join the EU, Vucic has continued to walk a tightrope between Moscow and western powers. A Pristina government official told CNN that they did not want to “surrender” official government buildings to protesters. A decade on, these municipalities have not been created, leaving disputes to fester over the degree of autonomy for Kosovo Serbs. After such episodes, Joseph told CNN that the “see no evil” approach to Vucic’s regime may be starting to crack. “The situation is clear who the bully of the Balkans still is,” Meliza Haradinaj, Kosovo’s former foreign minister, told CNN.

Persons: Moscow’s, Aleksandar Vucic, Vladimir Putin, Daniel Mihailescu, ” Jasmin Mujanovic, Vucic, “, Mujanovic, Alicia Kearns, ”, –, Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, Albin Kurti, Serbia’s, you’ll, Kearns, wouldn’t, Putin, Viktor, Orban, ” Majda, you’re, Quint, ” Kurti, Kurti, Edward Joseph, Laura Hasani, He’s, Shqiprim Arifi, Arifi, Ben Kilb, ” Dusan, Milorad Dodik, Oliver Bunic, Boris Grdanoski, ” Joseph, Viktor Oban, Joseph, Biden, Aleksandar Vulin, ” “ He’s, ‘ we’re, ’ He’s, I’ve, ” Vucic, Meliza Organizations: CNN, European Union, Putin, Belgrade, Getty, Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, NATO, National Security, United Nations, Kosovo's, EU, Anadolu Agency, Gazprom, Serbian, European Council, Foreign Relations, ”, US, Kosovo Serbs, Kosovo’s, Johns Hopkins University, …, Kosovo Serb, Reuters, British, Kosovo, Kosovar Business Alliance, Kosovar, Serbs, “ Association of, Bloomberg, ASM, Russian, AP, Serbia ”, KFOR, NATO’s Kosovo Force, Red Star, Red Star Belgrade soccer Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Serbia, Europe, Belgrade, West, Kosovo, Kosovo’s, Kosovar, AFP, Russian, Balkan, Western Balkans, British, United, EU, Brussels, Belgium, Moscow, ” Kosovo, Serbs, France, Germany, Italy, Balkans, Pristina, … Serbia, Zvecan, Serbian, Presevo, Albanian, Leposavic, Republika Srpska, ” Republika Srpska, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Dayton, Banja Luka, Kurti, Ohrid, North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, appeasing Serbia

☆ Bill Clinton tells Kosovo: stop 'foolishness' in Serb-majority north
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Former U.S. president Bill Clinton delivers his speech during a welcoming in Tirana, Albania, July 3, 2023. REUTERS/Florion GogaTIRANA, July 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, largely credited for ending the Kosovo war more than two decades ago, on Monday told Kosovo's government to stop its actions in the Serb majority north, where tension has flared over the past few months. But the real thing we need to do is to stop this foolishness," Clinton said during a ceremony in Tirana where he received a medal from Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama. The United States and the European Union, Kosovo's main allies, have mainly blamed Prime Minister Albin Kurti for igniting tension in the north by installing four mayors in their offices with police despite objections from local Serbs. In Belgrade, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said growing tensions between Belgrade and Pristina "cause great concern, as well as the increase in violence".

Persons: Bill Clinton, Kosovo's, Clinton, Albin Kurti, Mark Rutte, Aleksandar Vucic, Rutte, Fatos Bytyci, Aleksandar Vasovic, Sonali Paul Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Former U.S, Monday, NATO, Albania's, Edi Rama, Kosovo, Serbia's, European Union, Dutch, EU, Thomson Locations: Tirana, Albania, Florion, TIRANA, Former, Kosovo, Pristina, Serbia, Serbian, Kosovo Albanian, United States, Belgrade, Europe, Ukraine, Florion Goga

☆ Leaf-blowers to the rescue at slippery Wimbledon
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2023 Groundstaff use leaf blowers to dry the court as the first round match between Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Argentina’s Pedro Cachin is suspended due to rain REUTERS/Andrew CouldridgeLONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Frustrated fans were left wondering quite what was the point of Wimbledon's 80 million-pound ($101 million) Centre Court roof on Monday when Novak Djokovic's match was delayed for over an hour as ball boys took to using leaf-blowers to dry the grass. Defending champion Djokovic had just taken the first set 6-3 against Argentina's Pedro Cachin when light rain took the players off and led to the roof being slid into place - a process that takes 10 minutes. Fans and TV viewers expecting a quick resumption, however, were to be disappointed as, accompanied by tournament referee Gerry Armstrong, Djokovic patrolled the famous square of grass he has ruled for five years, dabbing a toe and a towel at areas he considered dangerously slippery. While play resumed on Court One, it remained suspended on Centre, until, somewhat bizarrely, the roof, completed in a blaze of publicity in 2009, was re-opened and the match resumed after a 70-minute hiatus. ($1 = 0.7883 pounds)Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, Argentina’s Pedro Cachin, Andrew Couldridge, Novak Djokovic's, Djokovic, Argentina's Pedro Cachin, Gerry Armstrong, Mitch Phillips, Ed Osmond Organizations: Lawn Tennis, Croquet Club, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ In Serbia, a Strongman Under Fire Hails Himself as Defender of the Nation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He is courted by American and European diplomats, applauded by a media machine dedicated to vilifying his critics and still has four years left in a presidential term secured last year with a landslide re-election victory. But President Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia’s strongman leader for more than a decade, never looked so lost as when he appeared this week in an official video on the vast rooftop terrace of his presidential offices to share a bowl of cherries with two lieutenants — and gripe about street protesters calling them rude names, including “abnormal lunatics, murderers and criminals.”Over-the-top insults, a regular feature of Rottweiler tabloids loyal to Mr. Vucic and pro-government television stations, used to be directed mostly at the president’s enemies, at least in public. But, after weeks of street protests set off last month by two mass shootings, Mr. Vucic is now on the receiving end — and on the defensive like never before since establishing himself in 2012 as the pivot around which Serbian politics turns. The protests, with calls for the dismissal of senior law enforcement officials and the withdrawal of broadcasting licenses from two pro-government television stations, have grown into a wider revolt against a “climate of violence” blamed on Mr. Vucic and his media attack dogs.

Persons: Aleksandar Vucic, —, Vucic, ” Organizations: American, Serbian

☆ Growing Protests in Serbia Demand Social Changes After Mass Shootings
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Protests in Serbia over back-to-back mass shootings last month ballooned on Saturday into the biggest street demonstrations in the capital, Belgrade, since demonstrators toppled Slobodan Milosevic as Serbia’s president in 2000. Saturday’s protest, the fifth and biggest by far, increased pressure on Mr. Vucic to meet at least some of the protesters’ demands. Those demands include the dismissal of senior law enforcement officials and the withdrawal of broadcasting licenses from pro-government television stations notorious for airing violent reality shows and ignoring opposition politicians. “Enough is enough,” Zoran Kesić, a satirist and television presenter, told protesters. “Enough with violence, enough with hatred and intimidation, enough with humiliation.”

Persons: Slobodan Milosevic, Aleksandar Vucic, ”, Vucic, Zoran Kesić Locations: Serbia, Belgrade

☆ After Mass Shootings in Serbia, Few Are Ready to Give Up Their Guns
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He learned how to shoot a gun from his grandfather before he started school, and he fought in three wars as a soldier in the Yugoslav and then the Serbian Army during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s. Sinisa Janicijevic became such a good shot that he regularly gets invited to weddings in villages around his hometown, Kraljevo, in central Serbia, to make sure the bride shows up — which, by tradition, involves shooting down an apple placed in a tree outside her family’s home. The groom is supposed to perform this task but, anxious about missing, he often calls in a substitute shooter. Serbia’s deep attachment to guns, and the plethora of them, have been widely cited as an explanation for back-to-back massacres last month — one at a school in Belgrade, the capital, and another in nearby farming villages — that stunned the nation, even if the rate of violence involving weapons is low. Following the killings, President Aleksandar Vucic vowed to tighten gun control laws so as to enforce “almost complete disarmament.”

Persons: Sinisa Janicijevic, Aleksandar Vucic Organizations: Yugoslav, Serbian Army Locations: Kraljevo, Serbia, Belgrade

☆ Kosovo tensions: Why did ethnic Serbs attack NATO peacekeepers?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Dozens of NATO peacekeepers were injured after they were attacked by ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, during protests over the installation of ethnically Albanian mayors. More than a decade on, these municipalities have not been created, leaving disputes over the degree of autonomy for Kosovo’s Serbs to fester. Valdrin Xhemaj/ReutersFearing potential violence, Kosovo’s central election commission changed plans to put voting booths in local schools, instead setting up mobile huts patrolled by NATO peacekeepers. Of these, more than 16,000 are ethnic Serbs – with only around 500 ethnic Albanians. The peacekeeping mission said that it had increased its presence in northern Kosovo after the newly elected ethnically Albanian mayors took office in majority Kosovo Serb areas.

☆ ‘A problem in the political culture": Serbians call for more than disarmament to end violence after mass shootings
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Despite having one of the world’s highest rates of gun ownership in the world, mass shootings like this are extremely rare in Serbia. Most people simply inherited weapons from their parents and grandparents – remnants of the sort of violence that no longer plagues the region. While the two “gratuitous” acts of violence that shocked the country this month were without precedent, O’Donnell said, other types of violence are more banal. ‘Serbia against violence’Since the shootings, tens of thousands of Serbians have taken to the streets in opposition-led “Serbia against violence” marches, demanding the resignation of several government ministers. Against this public demand for a mellowing of the political culture, Vučić has seemed unsure how to respond.

☆ Serbia Offers Amnesty for Illegal Firearms, and Thousands Are Collected
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Cora Engelbrecht | Joe Orovic | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Serbian authorities have collected thousands of weapons in a sweeping campaign to reduce the number of firearms in the hands of civilians in the week after two mass shootings stunned the country, officials said Friday. More than 9,000 illegal and legal weapons have been collected, according to Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vucic, who called the effort “a great step forward for a safer environment for our children” and “all our people,” at a news conference on Friday. “Some people say it’s not the gun that shoots the bullet but a man,” he said. “But if that man doesn’t have a gun, the evil in his head can’t do any harm.”Mr. Vucic did not specify if all the guns had been handed over voluntarily or if some had been seized.

Persons: Aleksandar Vucic, ”, Mr, Vucic Organizations: Serbian

☆ What’s Behind Serbia’s Gun Violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Cora Engelbrecht | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Back-to-back shootings in Serbia this week, one in a school, have stunned the population and brought global attention to gun control in a country with one of the world’s highest rates of gun ownership. Promising an “almost complete disarmament,” the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, said on Friday that he planned to introduce sweeping changes to tighten gun regulations in response to the two shootings, one by a minor and the other with an illegal firearm. He also called for a one-month amnesty on Friday for gun owners to surrender illegal weapons without penalty ahead of the more stringent measures. Here is a look at Serbia’s trouble with guns and the restrictions the government proposed this week.

Persons: Aleksandar Vucic Locations: Serbia, Serbian

☆ 8 Dead in Shooting in Serbia, Day After School Massacre That Killed 9
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Eight people were killed and 13 others wounded late Thursday near Belgrade, Serbia, in the nation’s second mass shooting in as many days, according to Serbian media. The police were looking for a 21-year-old male suspect, according to RTS, Serbia’s public broadcaster. The shooting took place at 11 p.m. local time, Serbia’s Interior Ministry told CNN. The gunman used an automatic weapon from a moving vehicle near Mladenovac, a town south of the capital, and fled the scene after the attack, RTS said. Serbia’s interior minister, Bratislav Gasic, called the shooting “a terrorist act,” RTS reported.

CNN —At least eight people have been killed and 13 wounded in a shooting in the Serbian village of Dubona, the country’s Interior Ministry spokesperson told CNN. The incident happened on Thursday night at 11pm local time, Serbia’s Interior Ministry spokesperson said. All special police units are engaged, including an anti-terrorism unit, helicopter unit, and police forces from the cities of Belgrade and Smederevo. Until this week, mass shootings were rare in Serbia, despite the country’s high rate of gun ownership. Serbia has the highest level of civilian gun ownership in Europe, and the fifth-highest in the world – a legacy of years of conflict in the 1990s.

☆ Belgrade shooting: What we know about the attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A 13-year-old boy opened fire on his classmates at a school in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Wednesday, rocking the Balkan country. The shooting left at least eight children dead, along with a security guard. He took their lives.”The suspect then walked towards a history classroom, shooting as he moved down the corridor, before entering the room and shooting the teacher and his fellow students from the doorway, Milić said. Gasic said it was known that the father had previously gone to a shooting range with his son. I saw the school psychologist, I saw the school staff, the teachers who were in shock,” the father told N1.

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