Slavic countries

PARIS - Serbia ranks as 67th out of 180 countries ranked according to the Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in the annual evaluation released on Thursday, stressing that media freedom suffered a "drastic decline" worldwide last year.

BELGRADE - The Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade will host an exhibition titled Slavic Carnivals, authored by curators of 12 museums in Slavic countries, in June.

The exhibition, organized by the Forum of Slavic Cultures, under the auspices of UNESCO, will also feature a round table on new forms of carnival as tourism potential.

Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are no closer to settling a row over their borders in the Sutorina area.
 
As far as Montenegro is concerned, the Sutorina issue should be removed from discussion as soon as possible, the Foreign Minister, Igor Lukcic, told a parliamentary hearing on Friday.  "Our position is clear and I do not see that anything can change it," Luksic said.

BELGRADE - China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang has said that the bridge Mihajlo Pupin is the result of cooperation between Serbia and China and added there will be other infrastructure projects that will follow European standards.

Energy-starved Ukraine said Dec. 9 it had received the first Russian natural gas shipments since a politically charged price dispute saw Moscow cut off supplies to its Westward-leaning neighbor in June.

The announcement means that the war-torn nation of 45 million people should have enough power to heat homes through the bitter winter months.

Albania, Serbia extend co-operation despite diplomatic skirmish

Serbia ranks 77th on Legatum Prosperity Index

BELGRADE -- Serbia ranks 77th according to the Legatum Prosperity Index, while Norway claimed the first place on the list of 142 countries.

PRAGUE - Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said in Prague on Friday that full EU membership is Serbia's strategic goal, and noted that along that path Serbia wants to revive its economy, and that Czech companies are welcome to assist Serbia in the process.

BELGRADE - Countries of the Western Balkans continue to work together towards a common goal - safe environment, political stability and economic prosperity of the region, participants of the regional conference in Belgrade stressed in a joint statement.

Russia represents "existential threat," says Soros

NEW YORK -- Russia's policy toward Ukraine represents a threat to the very existence of the EU, George Soros wrote in an article titled "Wake Up, Europe."