Montenegrin government

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.

The Montenegrin government will pay EUR 130,000 in damages to Milorad Martinovic, who was beaten by the police during an opposition-organized protest.

Members of Montenegro's special police unit known as SAJ brutally attacked and beat Martinovic on October 24 in Podgorica, after breaking up the Democratic Front protest. Martinovic's car was also damaged by the police.

The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project - a network of investigative centres, media outlets and journalists - has handed Montenegro's leader a far-from-flattering New Year's award.

Its annual poll saw the long-standing Montenegrin strongman narrowly beat the wife and children of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev for the "award" of "Person of the Year in Organized Crime".

Serbian experts are in two minds over the benefits to Serbia of purchasing shares in Montenegro's transmission system operator, Crnogorski elektroprenosni sistem, CGES.

Serbia's public enterprise Elektromreza Srbije, EMS, on Tuesday bought 10 per cent of CGES for more than 13 million euro, also acquiring a seat on the board of CGES.

Several thousand opponents of the Montenegrin government staged an anti-NATO rally on Saturday in Podorica, shouting "No to NATO" and "Long Live Russia" and demanding a referendum on Montenegro's membership of the alliance.

The Montenegrin government on Thursday said it would not resign as a result of opposition had protests in front of parliament demanding early elections.

The government said the opposition demands were "unconstitutional and undemocratic" and urged opposition MPs to return to parliament and try to "challenge the legitimacy of the government in parliamentary procedure".

The Democratic Front is planning new protests aimed at forcing out Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic - who has held power since 1991 - on September 27, it said on Monday.

Besides Saric, the court in Belgrade jailed around 30 defendants, 14 of whom are still on the run.

 After being found guilty of smuggling more than five tons of cocaine from South America in 2008 and 2009, the gang members received jail sentences of five months to 20 years each.

This was a first-instance verdict and both the accused and the prosecution can appeal.

As the Montenegrin government on Tuesday prepares a new tender for the sale of the bankrupt Bauxite Mines in the town of Niksic, hundreds of miners have protested over unpaid wages by blocking roads

The government is hoping to find a strategic foreign partner to revive what was once the largest manufacturer in the country, employing thousands of workers.

Metropolitan Amfilohije on Wednesday accused the Montenegrin authorities of "crucifying and persecuting" his Church and of wanting to "grab Church property".

At a service in Cetinje, Bishop Amfilohije said Montenegro was also trying to obstruct the legal residence of his clergy.