Velimir Ilic

BELGRADE - By a decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, 14 Serbian World War II veterans have been decorated on occasion of Defender of the Fatherland Day, a national holiday in the Russian Federation.

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Chepurin presented the decorations late Thursday at a ceremonial reception he hosted to mark the Defender of the Fatherland Day.

Serbians welcome in "Orthodox" New Year

BELGRADE -- Tens of thousands of people across the country on Tuesday celebrated the beginning of the new year according to the Julian calendar.

This is the calendar adhered to by the Serbian Orthodox Church, so the January 13 festivities are sometimes referred to as the Orthodox, or Serbian New Year.

Nikolić and Šešelj under the same roof

President Tomislav Nikolić and Vojislav Šešelj, defendant in The Hague Tribunal, were in the same place together, after more than six years. They where in the Saint Sava Church, attending the liturgy.

Lazy inspectors worked 4 hours per year!

Republican Utility Inspection is absolute record holder in non-working. Six inspectors conducted only six inspections - in one year.

This means that each inspector worked only four hours for entire year, because that is the average time needed for one inspection.

CACAK - Wreaths and flowers were laid on Tuesday at the memorial to the soldiers of four faiths at the city cemetery in Cacak, central Serbia, in memory of the WWI fallen in that area, and to mark the anniversary of setting up the memorial.

Serbia's Minister without Portfolio Velimir Ilic noted that the memorial was erected on the initiative of female residents of Cacak in 1934.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic will on Wednesday attend the opening of an UNESCO symposium titled Water Management in Transition Countries as Impacted by Climate and Other Global Changes, Lessons from Paleoclimate and Regional Issues, to be held at the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences (SANU), Nikolic's presidential office said in a statement.

Serbia's government held a special session in the southern city of Nis on Monday to which they traveled by bus.

The cabinet was in Nis to mark the 100th anniversary of the declaration of outbreak of war between Austria-Hungary and the then Kingdom of Serbia in 1914, the event that touched off a four-year European conflagration.

BELGRADE - Velimir Ilic, Serbia's minister without portfolio responsible for emergency situations, has said that, in the flood-affected areas he toured, 1,500-2,000 housing facilities should be torn down.

Ilic told the Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti that he toured over 80 percent of the flood-hit areas.

BAJINA BASTA - Many landslides have triggered in western Serbia after the torrential floods, with more than 600 activating in the municipality of Kosjeric alone, President of the Municipality Milijan Stojanic said on Monday.

Flood water collapsed an entire hill in the village of Stojici, while most of the villages are cut off from the rest of the world, Stojanic told Tanjug.

BELGRADE – Thursday’s floods have dealt a major blow to Serbia and it will take at least four to five years for the country’s agriculture to recover, Serbian Minister without Portfolio responsible for emergency situations Velimir Ilic said Friday.