Serbia

ABU DHABI - The Serbia men's national basketball team lost 84-73 to Australia at a pre-Olympic tournament in Abu Dhabi.

Patty Mills led Australia to victory with 28 points and Dante Exum added 15.

Filip Petrusev stood out for Serbia with 17 points, Nikola Jokic scored 14 points and 14 rebounds and Nikola Milutinov and Aleksa Avramovic each added 12 points.

BELGRADE - Serbian Deputy Parliament Speaker Marina Ragus, who also heads the Committee on Foreign Affairs, met with the Spanish Ambassador to Belgrade Juan Jose Sanz Aparicio on Tuesday.

The parties agreed that advancement of parliamentary relations and cooperation at all levels was in the interest of both states.

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister without portfolio Djordje Milicevic, who is in charge of coordinating activities and measures in the field of relations with the diaspora, said on Tuesday countries in the region had never wanted open dialogue with Serbia but had instead insisted on dialogue with a part of the "powerful international community."

BELGRADE - Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said on Tuesday she was not working for a private company but in the interest of the citizens of Serbia and that she was not trying to get away from decisions she had made as PM in 2017 and 2022 regarding a lithium mining project in Serbia.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke by phone with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni on Monday to discuss geopolitical circumstances, the situation in the region, bilateral cooperation and Serbia's EU path.

"We agreed for a summit of our two governments to be held in Belgrade by the end of the year," Vucic wrote in a post on his buducnostsrbijeav Instagram account.

BRUSSELS - The EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues Miroslav Lajcak received Serbian Minister for European Integration Tanja Miscevic in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss Serbia's EU path.

BELGRADE - Serbia's May 2024 industrial turnover was up by 5.9 pct relative to the same month of last year, according to figures released by the national statistical office RZS.

Relative to the 2023 average, it was up by 6.4 pct.

By sectors, the mining sector registered a 68.9 pct turnover increase y-o-y, while the manufacturing industry turnover rose by 3.5 pct.

PRAGUE - Serbian FM Marko Djuric met in Prague on Monday with Czech Minister for European Affairs Martin Dvorzak and noted that Serbia planned to complete its reform process - above all, legislative, economic and political reforms - within three years.

PRAGUE - Serbian FM Marko Djuric, who is on his first official visit to Czechia, met with the country's FM Jan Lipavsky in Prague on Monday, noting that the two economies were developing alongside each other and that Serbia was making progress on its EU path thanks to Czech support.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received on Monday a farewell visit from outgoing South Korean Ambassador to Belgrade Jaewoong Lee, with whom he agreed that stepping up bilateral political dialogue and strengthening economic ties needed to be continued.