Branislav Gasic

Serbia's Prime Minister has belatedly axed his controversial defence minister, Branislav Gasic, who has been in the middle of controversy since early December when he told reporter Zlatija Labovic from TV B92, who had knelt down to get out of the way of her cameraman at a press event: "I love female journalists who get down on their knees easily."

Serbian journalists on Monday took their protest against the country's Defence Minister to the doors of the government, and, under the slogan "Journalists do not kneel", repeated their demand that Prime Minster Aleksandar Vucic sack Branislav Gasic for making a sexist remark to a reporter.

Zlatija Labovic, the B92 journalist in Serbia to whom Defence Minister Branislav Gasic made a sexist remark on Sunday, told BIRN on Thursday she had since received "sexist insults filled with hate speech and vulgar curses" on social networks.

TRSTENIK - The Serbian government and the Ministry of Defence will help the military equipment factory Prva petoletka-Namenska (PTT) in Trstenik to maintain high quality and increase productivity in order to be competitive in the world market, Minister of Defence Branislav Gasic stated on Monday.

BELGRADE - More than 1,000 members of the Serbian Armed Forces (VS) utilizing combat and motorized equipment are taking part in operations to rescue the country's flood-endangered population, Serbian Defense Minister Branislav Gasic said Friday.