Author Archive
Serbians Unite Against Nickel Extraction
Posted by Inter Press Service: Vesna Peric Zimonjic on September 27th, 2012
Inter Press Service: A popular Serbian proverb quips that when it comes to politics there are as many opinions as there are people in this central European country of seven million.
But the adage was turned on its head last week when the masses sent a strong collective message to the government: no nickel exploitation in the country.
The controversy began when mining minister Milan Bacevic announced earlier this month that Mokra Gora - a 10,813-square-kilometre state-protected national park - and other areas in...
Drought Dries Up Balkans Harvests
Posted by Inter Press Service: Vesna Peric Zimonjic on August 29th, 2012
Inter Press Service: After two months of waiting, people from the central Serbian town Valjevo followed the call of their bishop and went to local Orthodox Church to pray for rain.
"It wasn`t because I am religious, but because I didn`t know what else could help," said Milan Stankovic (55), who attended the Sunday service. "Half of my raspberries are gone, half of the corn as well."
And the rain fell in the night between Sunday and Monday all over the Balkans, bringing a little relief to a region where hundreds...
Bulgaria: The Dark Side of Serbia’s Oil Shale Fairy Tale
Posted by Inter Press Service: Vesna Peric Zimonjic on January 19th, 2012
Inter Press Service: According to an old Serbian fairy tale, God tells a poor man who enters a gold mine that no matter what he chooses to do inside, he'll be sorry when he leaves. If he takes some gold, he'll be sorry for not taking more; if he doesn't, he'll be sorry for not taking any at all.
Modern Serbia now finds itself in a similar situation to the hero of that ancient tale.
Experts have revealed that parts of South-eastern Serbia lie on two billion tons of oil shale that could be processed into oil worth...