Montenegrin government

European Parliamentarians voiced concern on Monday over the Montenegrin government's plan to approve a new "eco-resort" on Skadar Lake, which has led to protests from environmentalists who fear it will threaten the national park's ecosystem and rare species.

The websites of the Montenegrin government and several state institutions, as well as some pro-government media, have been targeted with increasing numbers of cyberattacks in recent days, the government in Podgorica told BIRN.

BELGRADE - The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved a resolution supporting Montenegro's membership in NATO, sending it to the full Senate for a vote.

The committee backed the small Balkan state's bid to join the military alliance last year, but it did not come up for a vote in the full Senate, where a two-thirds majority is required for approval of new NATO members.

The Montenegrin government informed parliament on Wednesday that it will withdraw a bill on public holidays which was to include a state holiday to mark the birth in 1813 of Njegos, a bishop, prince and poet who ruled Montenegro in the 19th century.

Representatives of the large Serbian community in Montenegro will meet Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on Monday in Belgrade to seek his support about what they call their "intolerable situation" in Montenegro.

Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska's Central European Aluminium Company, CEAC, is suing Montenegro for "hundreds of millions of euros" over the failure of its plant in the capital Podgorica, the firm said in a statement on Monday.

The statement said the case will be heard in Cyprus, where the Russian company has its headquarters.

Azmont Investments, a Montenegrin-based subsidiary of the Azerbaijan energy company SOCAR, will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday for the start of work on a five-star hotel in the Bay of Kotor, part of the One&Only resort chain.

The Montenegrin Defence Ministry and NATO will soon begin a 15-month programme to destroy 416 tonnes of surplus ammunition and explosives, in an attempt to solve one of the biggest security challenges in the country, the ministry said on Tuesday.

A plan to build a cable car that will transport people from the town of Kotor on the coast up the mountains to the old capital of Cetinje may finally be realised if the Montenegrin government can find the right international partners.

The route will link the Adriatic coastline with Mt Lovcen, the highest peak in the country.

The Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro said that it was its "pastoral and civic" duty to ask for a referendum on NATO membership - a call which echoed demands made by Russian politicians and clerics after the Western military alliance invited Podgorica to join last month.