Belgrade
Swiss, Slovenian, Swedish and Italian media on new nationalist Serbia president
The leader of the Serbian progressive party won a surprise victory against current pro-European president Boris Tadić in the presidential election on 20 May. Tomislav Nikolić's victory means the country's past is catching up with it, commentators write, fearing a major setback for EU enlargement
belgrade, boris tadic, vote, balkans, tomislav nikolic, serbia, nationalism
Book trade faces bust in Balkans
‘Remaining indifferent to books means recklessly impoverishing your life,’ said Yugoslavia’s best known author, Ivo Andric. Fifty years after he won his Nobel prize, people across the former Yugoslavia are in danger of ignoring this health warning
belgrade, economy, sarajevo, war, balkans, serbia, bosnia and herzegovina
Under EU status pressure? Ratko Mladic arrested in Serbia: live from Belgrade and Sarajevo
The alleged war criminal and genocide suspect, 69, will answer international charges of genocide, extermination and murder after his arrest and extradition to the UN war crimes tribunal. As the EU parliament’s president Jerzy Buzek welcomes this ‘good news for Serbia, for the stability of the region’ and for ‘Serbia's EU accession process’, two Serbian and Bosnian twentysomethings react with relief
belgrade, sarajevo, war, balkans, war crimes, massacre, serbia
Gaddafi, Tito, UN: Libyan crisis impact on Balkans
Over the past few days many comparisons have been made between the Libyan war and the Balkan crisis of the nineties as western powers come up with the same humanitarian arguments they used then to justify their intervention in Libya now. But what is the connection? A closer look at the double standards and political games played during bombing campaigns
belgrade, war, libya, barack obama, balkans, josip broz tito, arab spring
Aleksandar Radivojevic of ‘A Serbian Film’: it’s catharsis more than ‘torture porn’
In Belgrade artistic culture and creativity seem to be menaced by the muzzle of conformism and the dictatorship of political correctness. Many believe that Serbia’s entry into the 27-nation European union could make the situation worse. We meet the co-writer of a controversial 2010 horror film, which he says is the perfect 'plastic metaphor' onscreen of the indignant cry of an art which wants to break free
belgrade, violence, festival de cannes, serbia, film festival, culture calendar, orient express
Burn after Belgrade: trying to type over stereotype
After Sarajevo and Podgorica, the third stop of ‘Orient Express Reporter’ takes place in Belgrade, cafebabel.com’s maiden voyage to the Serb capital. History wears a heavy coat on the journalists’ investigations. From Belgrade’s museums, a German journalist learns more about a little known scientist national hero whilst a Canadian learns about the Kosovo myth as he ponders whether Serbia will become an official candidate for the European Union in late 2011. An Italian deliberately dives into the country’s stereotypes whilst an Irish asks if Serbia can beat its past to gain a brand. All the while a French photographer stops and starts in the city, capturing the serenity which has not been the easyjet party capital’s claim to fame. In this week’s cities column special edition, we learn that our quick pan-European stop in Serbia by no means defines a mostly misunderstood, future European city (Image: (cc) Andrej_Filev/ Flickr)
