Serbia

Srdjan Djokovic, father of Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, triggered a global uproar on Wednesday night for meeting with fans of his son’s at the ongoing Australian Open, some of whom were waving Russian flags and wearing the “Z” insignia associated with support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) – Serbs on Tuesday erected more roadblocks in northern Kosovo and defied international demands to remove those placed earlier, a day after Serbia put its troops near the border on a high level of combat readiness.

Kosovo signed a formal application seeking candidacy for the EU, prompting Serbia to immediately call on Brussels to turn it down.

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) – Tensions were high in northern Kosovo on Sunday, with Serbs blocking roads after shots and explosions rang out overnight, Kosovo police and media reported. No injuries were reported.

Hungary, Austria, and Serbia have agreed to coordinate to reduce illegal migrant flows on the Balkan route, with Serbia deploying more police along its southern border and Austria providing reinforcements.

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) – Representatives of the ethnic Serb minority in Kosovo on Saturday resigned from their posts in protest over the dismissal of a police officer who did not follow the government’s decision on vehicle license plates.

Video of a tennis coach in Serbia is going viral and shocking the tennis world as he is seen slapping and kicking a young female student.

European leaders met Monday in Budapest to discuss the surge of new activity along the Balkan migrant route.

The leaders of Hungary, Austria and Serbia met Monday in Budapest to find solutions on how to stem the increasing number of migrants.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) – Serbia’s foreign minister on Sunday sought to play down the importance of an agreement with Russia after the Balkan state that is seeking European Union membership faced criticism for signing it.

ROME — Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic has cancelled EuroPride events scheduled to be celebrated in Belgrade in September, following massive street protests.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) – Serbia’s president called on NATO on Sunday to “do their job” in Kosovo or he says Serbia itself will move to protect its minority in the breakaway province.

BRUSSELS (AP) – The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo failed Thursday to reach an agreement on longstanding border and mutual recognition issues that have spiked tensions in the Balkans and added to Europe’s instability during the war in Ukraine, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said.

CINCINNATI (AP) – Novak Djokovic pulled out of next week’s hard-court tournament in Cincinnati on Friday because he has not gotten any COVID-19 vaccine shots and so is not allowed to travel to the United States.

The U.S. Open, one of the tennis world’s four most prestigious tournaments, included Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic on its official men’s singles entry list on Wednesday – with a disclaimer that, should he not participate, it is due to Chinese coronavirus vaccination policies under leftist President Joe Biden.

The Greek government has filed a complaint with Serbia over the weapons being transported by a cargo plane that crashed in northern Greece. 

Belgrade was targeted by a series of bomb threats on Monday, including threats against schools, bridges, restaurants and a soccer match.

The European continent – and Australia, for some reason – are preparing to crown the winner on Saturday of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, a pop song extravaganza invented as an alternative to World War III.

Hunter Biden’s lawyer Kevin Morris flew to Serbia, infiltrated, and spied on the “My Son Hunter” movie set, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

The EU has the Western Balkans in its sights according to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who declared the region “belongs” to the bloc. 

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has accused the secret services of Ukraine and an unidentified European Union country of being behind a series of false bomb threats against Air Serbia flights to Russia.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) – Serbia is seeking explanations from NATO on why its jets have allegedly shadowed Serbian passenger planes flying back from Russia.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) – A flight from Belgrade to Moscow was reverted and evacuated following a bomb alert, Serbian police said Friday.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) – Germany’s foreign minister has urged Serbia, which has not imposed sanctions on traditional ally Russia over the war in Ukraine, to align policies with the European Union if it wants to join the bloc.

A 13-year-old Idaho boy born without limbs has discovered a love for snowboarding, and his perseverance is inspiring those around him. 

Tennis Australia officials expressed deep “regret” Tuesday about the saga surrounding Novak Djokovic’s entry and ultimate deportation from the country.

Top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic returned to his native Serbia on Monday, receiving a hero’s welcome from a throng of fans after the Australian government blocked him from participating in the Australian Open and deported him over a coronavirus vaccination dispute.

Australia’s federal treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, confirmed in an interview on Monday that tennis star Novak Djokovic received a valid Australian visa when he entered the country in early January, but claimed a “computer” was responsible for the error.

The German newspaper Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday that it had found evidence suggesting that someone had tampered with PCR test results showing tennis star Novak Djokovic had tested positive for Chinese coronavirus on December 16.

Organizers of the Australian Open on Tuesday officially granted Novak Djokovic the top seed at the tournament, which begins next Monday, even as the country’s Immigration Ministry threatens to abruptly deport him for not consuming a Chinese coronavirus vaccine product.

Nigel Farage said that tennis star Novak Djokovic’s visa court win was the first “big victory against the big state” in the pandemic era.

Police in Australia pepper-sprayed and clashed physically with a mob of supporters of tennis champion Novak Djokovic on Monday evening in Melbourne after the crowd began blocking car traffic and standing on a vehicle they appeared to believe carried Djokovic.

Brexit champion Nigel Farage has backed tennis ace Novak Djokovic against “big, bullying, nasty government” in Australia, where the Serbian athlete is currently being detained in a hotel. 

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) – The NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo said Saturday that a participating soldier from North Macedonia has died.

Australian top tennis player Nicholas Kyrgios condemned his government for the “really bad” handling of Serbian champion Novak Djokovic’s visa cancelation on Friday, imploring Canberra to “do better.”

Australian police banned Very Rev. Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Milorad Loncar, a member of the Serbian Orthodox clergy in Melbourne, on Friday from visiting detained tennis star Novak Djokovic, outraging Serbs around the world.