Serbia

VIENNA - Serbia took over the OSCE chairmanship on Thursday and its Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said in Vienna the international community should remain vigilant in the face of new terrorist threats, and that Ukraine remained the central issue for the OSCE in 2015.

Serbia takes helm of OSCE "at difficult moment"

VIENNA -- Serbia on Thursday, during a meeting in Vienna, formally and officially took leadership of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

VIENNA - Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE representative on freedom of the media, has said that she has regular contacts with the authorities in Serbia with regards to the topic of freedom of the media, though she does not always see eye to eye with them

BELGRADE - Head of the basketball club Crvena Zvezda Nebojsa Covic has said that Galatasaray coach Ergin Ataman will not visit the grave of Marko Ivkovic, a Crvena Zvezda fan killed in Istanbul last November, when his team comes to Belgrade for a Euroleague match against Crvena Zvezda.

Visit Serbia, Condé Nast Traveler tells readers

BELGRADE -- Condé Nast Traveler has highlighted Serbia and its capital as a must-visit place in 2015 and one of the 15 most interesting destinations in the world.

In the article published online, Serbia ranks 8th on a list that also includes "Cuba, Helsinki, Berlin and Cape Town," the National Tourism Organization of Serbia said.

4 Bulgarian nationals seriously injured

SUBOTICA -- Four citizens of Bulgaria have been seriously injured while nine more received light injuries in a traffic accident that took place late on Wednesday.

The crash occured at 23:30 CET near Backa Topola in northern Serbia and involved a Bulgarian license plates bus.

BELGRADE/VIENNA - Serbia will formally take over from Switzerland as the OSCE chair at the meeting of the organisation's Permanent Council on Thursday.

Albanians kick PM's car during Kosovo visit

GRACANICA -- Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has said that Albanians tried to provoke him by kicking his car when he arrived in Kosovo on Wednesday.

He then told Serb ministers taking part in the Kosovo government that they must work in the interests of the people or to leave their office.

BELGRADE - British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will visit Belgrade on Thursday to discuss relations with Serbia and other issues with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.

Croatia wants Serbia to process war crimes

Croatian officials said Zagreb will block Serbia's European integration unless Belgrade processes the war crimes committed on Croatian territory during the 1990s.

The release of war criminal Vojislav Seselj sparked tension between Croatia and Serbia. [AFP]