B92 News in English

Top MUP unit marks patron saint day

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:38:00 +0000

The Serbian police (MUP) Special Antiterrorist Unit (SAJ) today marked St. Michael the Archangel, its patron saint day.

The unit's base in the Belgrade suburb of Batajnica welcomed Interior Minister Ivica Da�i�, and three Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) bishops: Irinej, Grigorije and Longin.

Da�i� says fellow SPS minister to respect decision

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:06:00 +0000

Ivica Da�i� said that Energy Minister Petar �kundri� will respect all decisions of the government regarding his position in the NIS shareholder assembly.

The interior minister said that �kundri� will leave his position as the president of the NIS shareholder assembly if the government recommends for him to do so. Da�i� is the leader, and �kundri� a high ranking official of the ruling Socialists (SPS).

Buisness community "not optimistic"

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:58:00 +0000

Serbian businesspeople do not seem to share Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovi�s optimism regarding the improvement of the economic situation in Serbia.

At the ninth annual congress of small and medium-sized businesses held at the Sava Center, it was concluded that the state will need to offer more support in order for such a quick recovery to be realistic.

Kosovo to open embassy in Sofia

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:57:00 +0000

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu said that Pri�tina will soon be opening its diplomatic headquarters in Sofia.

�I have already signed an act for sending a Kosovo ambassador to Bulgaria and I expect that it will soon take effect,� Sejdiu told the Bulgarian national radio station.

Iran plans military air exercises

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:25:00 +0000

Iranian defense forces will practice aerial defense maneuvers against a simulated enemy next week to prepare for any attack against its nuclear facilities.

In an interview published in Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, Brigadier General Ahmad Mighani said the large-scale drills will begin Sunday.

Sri Lanka Tamil refugees to be freed

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:18:00 +0000

Sri Lanka's government says people held in special camps since the end of the conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels will be free to leave next month.

The camps were set up in the north for Tamils fleeing the final stages of the civil war - which ended in May - and still house more than 130,000 people.

Train derails in Croatia

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:06:00 +0000

One railroad worker was injured when a freight train derailed on Saturday morning at the Su�ak-Pe�ine station, causing serious material damage.

According to Croatian Railways, the accident occurred at about 3:00 CET for still unknown reasons, when a 16-car train traveling from Zagreb to Rijeka derailed.

DSS and United Russia sign cooperation deal

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:40:00 +0000

Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) officials have signed a cooperation agreement for the period of 2010-2012 with the United Russia party.

DSS states that the agreement includes ten points which relate to cooperation between non-governmental organizations founded by the two parties.

�ICJ president�s statements unacceptable�

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:15:00 +0000

International law professor Tibor Varadi said that ICJ President Hisashi Owada�s statement made regarding the impending Kosovo case is unacceptable. Owada said that the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of the Kosovo Albanian unilaterally declared independence would not be "a clear yes or no."

Tadi� invited to visit Ghana

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:32:00 +0000

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremi� said in Nigeria that he will be visiting Ghana in January to make preparations for President Boris Tadi�s visit to the country.

Jeremi� said that Tadi� was invited to visit Ghana on March 6, which will be the anniversary of the country�s independence and will celebrate 100 years since the birth of the country�s first prime minister Kwame Nkrumah.

Anniversary of Dayton Agreement marked

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:54:00 +0000

Fourteen years since the signing of the Dayton Agreement is being marked in the Republic of Srpska (RS) on Saturday.

The day of the signing was made a state holiday by RS law, celebrating the formation of the entity.

Deadly mine blast traps dozens in China

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:50:00 +0000

A gas blast at a coal mine in China has killed 31 people and left 82 trapped, state media reports.

Xinhua said that 528 workers were in the mine in Heilongjiang province at the time of the blast and that rescuers were searching for those trapped.

�Statute confirms territorial integrity�

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:47:00 +0000

State Administration and Local Self-Administrations Minister Milan Markovi� said that the Vojvodina statute is in accordance with the constitution.

He said that it also confirms the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia.

Floods devastate northwest England

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:29:00 +0000

People in the northwest of England are counting the cost of the devastation to their homes after record rainfalls caused widespread flooding.

Hundreds of people had to be rescued in the picturesque county of Cumbria � worst hit was the town of Cockermouth.

No agreement with protesting students

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:18:00 +0000

The Education Ministry has not reached an agreement with students regarding their tuition demands.

Students have announced that new protests would be held on Monday.

"Serbia owes Russia nothing over NIS"

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:03:00 +0000

Energy Minister Petar �kundri� said that Serbia has no obligations to Russia regarding the financial losses of oil company NIS in 2008.

He told daily Politika that the supervisor of the Ernst & Young auditing company confirmed that the losses of NIS in 2008 total about RSD 8bn (some EUR 86mn), adding that the report by that company is expected to be approved by the NIS board of directors on Monday.

Survey shows positive opinion on Serbia

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:54:00 +0000

Students of the Belgrade Political Science Faculty conducted a survey which shows that many Europeans support Serbia�s European Union integration.

According to the survey, one-fourth of citizens in Vienna, Brussels, Prague and Berlin have a positive stance regarding Serbia joining the EU.

European Liberals adopt LDP resolution

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:51:00 +0000

The European Liberal Democratic and Reform Party (ELDR) adopted a resolution by Serbia's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at its congress in Barcelona on Friday.

The resolution �states for the first time that the extradition of Ratko Mladi� and Goran Had�i� is a condition for Serbia's EU accession, not just for the unblocking of the interim trade agreement," LDP stated.

Police prevent smuggling of drugs

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:33:00 +0000

Police have arrested four persons suspected smuggling five kilos of cocaine via DHL mail from South America to Serbia, Interior Minister Ivica Da�i� said.

�Five kilos of cocaine, which were hidden in a DHL envelope sent from Paraguay, were seized in the raid,� Da�i� told the Tanjug news agency, adding that the leader of the criminal group Neboj�a Luki� and three more persons have been arrested.

"Rompuy, Ashton appointments not bad news"

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:25:00 +0000

European Movement's Tanja Mi��evi� said she was surprised by the election of Herman Van Rompuy ad Catherine Ashton, but that this is "not bad news for Serbia".

�Now we have a very good chance to speak to the people who don�t know us. According to my information neither the former Belgian Prime Minister Van Rompuy nor Ashton, who was in charge of foreign trade in Great Britain, have had much contact with us,� she said.