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SFF 2010 Opening Night

27 July 2010 | Rob Miller

Sarajevo Film Festival 2010, opening day I headed down to the National Theatre early on Friday evening, to see the opening of the Sarajevo Film Festival; not out of any punctuality, you must understand, but rather out of disorganisation, not having had any idea at what time proceedings were supposed to start


Serbian MPs Back Govt's Kosovo Policy
27 July 2010 | Bojana Barlovac

After more than 11 hours of debate, the Serbian Parliament adopted late last night a resolution which calls on the country's government to continue its efforts to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

EU FMs Discuss Kosovo in Wake of ICJ Opinion
26 July 2010 |

The foreign ministers of the European Union member states discussed the situation in Kosovo at their meeting today following last week’s opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Kosovo's declaration of independence did not violate international law.

ICTY: Momcilo Krajisnik Early Release Request Denied
27 July 2010 |

The president of the Hague Tribunal, Patrick Robinson, has rejected an early release motion filed by former Bosnian Serb leader Momcilo Krajisnik, who has served half of his 20-year sentence for war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.



Macedonian Tour Boats Stay In Harbor

Skopje | 19 July 2010 | Sinisa Jakov Marusic
 
John Caneo Church, Lake Ohrid
John Caneo Church, Lake Ohrid
In the midst of the summer tourist season all tour boats in Macedonia’s Ohrid Lake have been banned from sailing as they lack the newly requested technical safety certificates.

The harbour master in Ohrid has banned the boats from sailing as their owners refuse to pay some 7700 thousand euros to a French company that has been recently contracted to conduct the inspection that is carried out each year.

The boat owners are upset with the Macedonian Ministry of Transport for signing the deal with the French firm, arguing that similar companies from neighboring Serbia or Bulgaria would have charged them not more than 2,500 euros for the same work.

“We have been requesting since this winter that a new [inspection] company be found but the harbour master did not do that,” Goran Ustijanovski, the head of the Association of Ohrid Boat Operators, told media.

He claims that the boat operators have been unlawfully banned from sailing as their certificate from last year is valid for at least one more month. “International regulations say that a technical safety check can be done up to three months after the license runs out and ours ran out only one month ago.”

But the harbour master was strict, saying that all boats that sail without properly undergoing the inspection by the French company will be fined.

The boat Ilinden that sank
The boat Ilinden that sank



“With good will we can solve this problem,” Ljupco Nasteski, the head of the harbour master's office said. He explained that they are ready to assist the boat operators in obtaining all the necessary details about the technical check. Nasteski insisted that they are only making sure all safety regulations are met.

The measure comes after the September 2009 tragedy involving the Ohrid tour boat “Ilinden” when 15 mostly elderly Bulgarian tourists died after the ship capsized in the lake.

Macedonia stopped using the Germanischer Lloyd company for the safety inspections as one of the company representatives was charged this year with negligence in relation to the Iliden case. He is to stand trial along with the captain of the sunken boat.

Ohrid is by far Macedonia’s biggest tourist destination. The pristine nature of the lake and the surrounding mountains combined with the substantial historic and cultural heritage offered by the town of Ohrid have proven to be tourist magnets.



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I am told that it was a Kosovar who designed the original ‘I (heart) NY’ image. That makes me feel less weird about being a non- Kosovar writing a column based on ‘I (heart) KS’.


In the midst of the summer tourist season all tour boats in Macedonia’s Ohrid Lake have been banned from sailing as they lack the newly requested technical safety certificates.


Pristina’s Ulpiana neighbourhood, mostly comprising Yugoslav-era apartment blocks, is now home to an eye catching eight-storey building corresponding to current architectural trends and standards.



There was a time when the classics were staple fare here in Belgrade but these days you’re more likely to see Dan Brown or Candice Bushnell than Dickens or Dostoyevsky (unless you’re in prison, that is).


Bojana Zegarac and Jovica Begojev’s debuts as the new stars of the ballet classic Swan Lake was well received by the audience who filled every seat at the National Theatre.