ATHENS, July 17 (Reuters) – A Ukrainian cargo plane carrying munitions from Serbia to Bangladesh crashed near the city of Kavala in northern Greece late on Saturday, killing the crew members on board, Serbian authorities and Meridian airline said on Sunday.
Drone images from the scene showed smouldering debris from the Antonov An-12 aircraft strewn in fields. Greek authorities said there were eight crew members on board and a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman said they were all Ukrainian citizens.
Ukrainian-based airline Meridian, which operated the aircraft, said all the crew members were killed in the crash. read more
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Serbia’s defence minister said the plane was carrying 11.5 tonnes of products, including mortar and training shells, made by its defence industry. The buyer of the cargo was the defence ministry of Bangladesh, he said.
Denys Bogdanovych, Meridian’s general director, confirmed Serbia’s account of events. “This is not related to Ukraine or Russia,” Bogdanovych told Reuters by telephone.
Witnesses said the aircraft came down in a ball of flames before exploding on impact in corn fields around midnight local time. Earlier the pilot had reported engine trouble and had requested an emergency landing.
Greek authorities could not provide information on the aircraft’s cargo or the crew. The special disaster response unit and army experts were dispatched to the scene, while local authorities issued a ban on people moving in the area.
Serbia’s defence minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said the cargo included illuminating mortar shells and training shells. It had taken off at 1840 GMT Saturday from Nis in Serbia.
“The plane carried 11.5 tonnes of products made by our defence industry. The buyer was the Bangladesh defence ministry,” Stefanovic said.
He said the plane’s cargo was owned by Serbian company Valir, a company registered to perform foreign trade activities of armament military equipment and other defence products.
Greek state TV ERT said the aircraft’s signal was lost soon after the pilot requested an emergency landing from Greek aviation authorities due to an engine problem.
Amateur video footage uploaded on ertnews.gr showed the aircraft in flames descending fast before hitting the ground in what appeared to be an explosion.
“I wonder how it didn’t fall on our houses,” one witness, Aimilia Tsaptanova, told reporters. “It was full of smoke, it had a noise I can’t describe and went over the mountain. It passed the mountain and turned and crashed into the fields.”
A senior source at Jordan’s civil aviation regulatory commission denied initial reports that the plane was headed to Jordan. The source said that its flight itinerary included a stopover in Jordan’s Queen Alia international airport at 9:30 pm (0630 GMT), to refuel, state news agency Petra reported on Sunday.
It was also due to stop in Riyadh and Ahmedabad in India before heading to Dhaka, Serbia’s defence minister said.
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Reporting by Renee Maltezou, Ivana Sekularac, Tom Balmforth, Max Hunder, Michele Kambas, Thanasis Elmazis, and Yasmin Hussein; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Jane Merriman
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SKOPJE, July 16 (Reuters) – Lawmakers in North Macedonia on Saturday passed a French-brokered deal aimed at settling a dispute with Bulgaria and clearing the way to long-due European Union membership talks.
With 68 votes, the 120-seat parliament voted in favour of the agreement. Opposition lawmakers did not participate in the vote and left the room.
“Today we are opening a new perspective for our country…from today we are moving with accelerated steps to join the EU family,” Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski said in a press conference after his cabinet approved parliament’s conclusions.Kovacevski said the first meeting between his government and the EU would be held on Tuesday.
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The deal proposes that North Macedonia’s constitution be amended to recognise a Bulgarian minority. The proposal does not require Bulgaria to recognise the Macedonian language.
In exchange, Bulgaria will allow its West Balkan neighbour to start membership talks with the EU.After the agreement was adopted, governing party deputies rolled out EU and North Macedonian flags.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who travelled to Skopje and urged lawmakers on Thursday to vote the deal, said the vote “paves the way for opening the accession negotiations rapidly.”
Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama, whose country has been held back because the EU has linked its progress to that of North Macedonia, said an Albanian delegation would travel to Brussels on Monday to start membership talks.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the vote, saying Washington recognised “the difficult tradeoffs considered in this compromise, which acknowledges and respects North Macedonia’s cultural identity and the Macedonian language.”
The leader of the biggest opposition party VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, whose party protested against the deal since the beginning of July, said “nothing was over”. He added his party would not back constitutional changes which require two-thirds of the vote.Bulgaria’s parliament lifted its veto on Macedonian-EU talks last month. This also triggered protests in Bulgaria and contributed to a no-confidence vote that toppled the government.
North Macedonia, a former Yugoslav republic, has been a candidate for EU membership for 17 years but approval for talks was first blocked by Greece and then by Bulgaria.
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Reporting by Fatos Bytyci and Ognen Teofilovski; Editing by Christina Fincher
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June 23 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday declared the EU’s move to accept Ukraine as a candidate for accession as a victory and promised not to rest until Russia’s defeat and full membership had been secured.
European Union leaders formally accepted Ukraine as a candidate to join the 27-nation bloc, a bold geopolitical move hailed by Ukraine and the EU itself as an historic moment. read more
“This is a victory,” a smiling Zelenskiy said in a brief video posted to his Instagram channel, noting Ukraine had waited 30 years for this moment.
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with local authorities during a visit to the southern city of Mykolaiv, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Ukraine June 18, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
“We can defeat the enemy, rebuild Ukraine, join the EU, and then we can rest,” he said in a low voice.
“Or perhaps we won’t rest at all – our children would take offence. But without any doubt, we will win.”
Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said Kyiv would quickly implement the plan needed for accession talks to begin.
“Ukraine will be in the EU,” he tweeted.
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Reporting by David Ljunggren and Ronald Popeski;
Editing by Mark Porter and Sandra Maler
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BELGRADE, April 3 (Reuters) – Serbians go to the polls on Sunday in presidential and parliamentary elections that pit incumbent President Aleksandar Vucic and his Progressive Party (SNS) against an opposition pledging to fight corruption and improve environmental protection.
Vucic is running for a second five-year term on a promise of peace and stability at a time of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has put Serbia under pressure from the West to choose between its traditional ties with Moscow and aspirations to join the European Union (EU).
Polling stations for Serbia’s estimated 6.5 million electorate opened at 0500 GMT and will close at 1800 GMT.
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Polls show Vucic, a conservative, on course to win in the first round, ahead of Zdravko Ponos, a retired army general who is the candidate for the pro-European and centrist Alliance for Victory coalition.
“I expect Vucic to win. He has proven to be capable of running the country,” Zorica Jovanovic, a pensioner told Reuters after casting the ballot. “If it were not for him we would not have had enough COVID-19 vaccines.”
A poll by Faktor Plus pollster published in the Blic daily on Wednesday saw the SNS winning with 53.6% of the vote. The Alliance for Victory was second with 13.7% and Vucic’s coalition partner, the Socialists, third with 10.2%. A grouping of environmentalists would get 4.7% of votes, above the 3% threshold required to win seats in parliament, the poll showed.
The opposition largely boycotted a parliamentary election in 2020, allowing SNS and its allies to secure 188 seats in the 250-seat parliament.
“There is always hope that elections will bring a change,” Ferik, who declined to give his last name, said after voting early in the morning.
SHADOW OF WAR
Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has had a big impact on campaigning in Serbia, which is still recovering from the Balkan wars and isolation of the 1990s.
Serbia is almost entirely dependant on Russian gas, while its army maintains ties with Russia’s military.
The Kremlin is also supporting Belgrade’s opposition to the independence of Kosovo, Serbia’s predominantly Albanian former southern province.
Although Serbia backed two United Nations resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it refused to impose sanctions against Moscow.
Bojan Klacar, head of the CeSID pollster, said the war forced a swing from the main campaign topics such as corruption, the environment and the rule of law.
“The electorate is now seeking answers to their concerns regarding economic stability, living standards and political stability,” Klacar told Reuters earlier this week.
A veteran politician who served as information minister in 1998 under former strong man Slobodan Milosevic, Vucic had transformed from a nationalist firebrand to a proponent of EU membership, but also of military neutrality and ties with Russia and China.
Ponos has accused Vucic of using the war in Ukraine in his campaign to try to capitalise on people’s fears.
Opposition and rights watchdogs also accuse Vucic and his allies of an autocratic style of rule, corruption, nepotism, controlling the media, attacks on political opponents and ties with organised crime. Vucic and his allies have repeatedly denied that.
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Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Alex Richardson and Jacqueline Wong
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Feb 2 (Reuters) – A diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics over human rights in China and concerns about coronavirus have reduced the number of world leaders and foreign dignitaries attending the Games.
Here is a list of who is expected to go and who is staying away.
IN
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-President Vladimir Putin of Russia
-Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia
-President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt
-President Andrzej Duda of Poland
-President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia
-Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan
-Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar
-President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan
-President Sadyr Zhaparov of Kyrgyzstan
-President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan
-President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan
-President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan
-Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates
-Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Prince Albert II of Monaco
-President Alberto Fernández of Argentina
-President Guillermo Lasso Mendoza of Ecuador
-Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene of Mongolia
-Prime Minister James Marape of Papua New Guinea
-King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia
-President Halimah Yacob of Singapore
-Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand
-National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-Seug of the Republic of Korea
-Secretary-General António Guterres of the United Nations
-President Abdulla Shahid of the United Nations General Assembly
-Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization
-Director General Daren Tang of the World Intelligence Property Organization
-President Marcos Troyjo of the New Development Bank
-Secretary-General Zhang Ming of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
-Prime Minister undersecretary Valentina Vezzali of Italy
OUT
-United States
-Canada
-Australia
-United Kingdom
-Taiwan
-North Korea
-Lithuania
-Denmark
-Netherlands
-New Zealand
-Japan
-Germany
-Switzerland
-Austria
-Slovenia
-Sweden
-Estonia
-Belgium
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Compiled by Gayle Issa, Hugh Lawson, Rohith Nair and Shrivathsa Sridhar
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Share prices drop as cancellation seen as major setback
Cancellation will mean greater shortage of lithium – analyst
MELBOURNE, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Shares in Rio Tinto tumbled on Friday after Serbia revoked its lithium exploration licences over environmental concerns, hurting the Anglo-Australian miner’s ambition to become Europe’s largest supplier of the metal used in electric vehicles.
The decision by Serbia comes as it approaches a general election in April, and as relations between Belgrade and Canberra have soured after Sunday’s deportation of tennis star Novak Djokovic from Australia over its COVID-19 entry rules.
It is also a major setback for Rio (RIO.L), (RIO.AX), which was hoping the project would help make it one of the world’s 10 biggest producers of lithium, a key ingredient in batteries.
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The mine is Rio’s only lithium project and the company announced just a month ago a deal to buy a second lithium asset for $825 million, as it looks to build its battery materials business.
Rio’s shares in Australia closed down 4.1% after falling as much as 5.1% in the Australian stock market, its worst intra-day drop since August 2021. The benchmark index ended down 2.3%.
In London, Rio’s shares were down more than 3% by 0855 GMT, slightly underperforming their peers.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told a news conference in Belgrade that the decision came after requests by various green groups to halt the $2.4 billion Jadar lithium project that had planned to start production in 2027.
Thousands of people blocked roads last year in a protest against the government’s backing of the project, demanding Rio Tinto leave the country and forcing the local municipality to scrap a plan to allocate land for the facility.
The decision came days after ties between Australia and Serbia hit rock bottom as tennis star Djokovic was deported before he could play in the Australian Open.
Djokovic spoke out in support of “clean air” in a December Instagram story post captioning a picture of the anti-mining protests, which was published by digital sports platform The Bridge.
Twitter users were quick to joke about Rio being deported from Serbia.
Rio said it was “extremely concerned” by Serbia’s decision and was reviewing the legal basis for it.
The Australian government said it regrets Serbia’s decision to revoke Rio’s licences.
“We note the strong economic benefits of the significant investment by Rio Tinto in Serbia. Australian resources companies have an outstanding reputation around the world, particularly when it comes to their expertise,” the government said in a statement to Reuters.
Rio has already spent US$450 million in pre-feasibility, feasibility and other studies on Jadar to understand the nature of the deposit, the company said in a project fact sheet in July.
“The level of opposition to it has really ratcheted up over the last six months,” Credit Suisse analyst Saul Kavonic said of the Jadar mine.
“We’ve been highlighting for a while now there would be about $2 a share at risk if the government cancels it,” Kavonic said.
This week, Rio pushed back the timeline for first production from Jadar by one year to 2027, citing delays in approvals. read more
‘EVEN GREATER SHORTAGE’
At full capacity, the Jadar mine was expected to produce 58,000 tonnes of refined battery-grade lithium carbonate a year, making it Europe’s biggest lithium mine by output.
Experts said the world’s shortage of lithium had been forecast to last for another three years at least, but with the cancellation of the Jadar project, the shortfall would now last for several years. read more
“We’re at the point now where lithium supply is going to set the pace of electric vehicle rollout,” Kavonic said.
Robust global demand for the metal far outstripping supply growth has pushed lithium prices to a record in recent years.
Lithium futures , which started trading on the CME in May last year, have jumped 171% to a record $38/kg on Thursday, according to Refinitiv data.
In China, cash prices of lithium hydroxide monohydrate are trading around a record 262,500 yuan ($41,387.47) per tonne, up by more than 400% from a year ago.
Its state planner said on Friday that restrictions on purchases of new energy vehicles including EVs will be gradually removed in a “vigorous” push to promote “green consumption”, a plan likely to further increase demand for lithium. read more
($1 = 6.3425 Chinese yuan)
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Benchmark lithium hydroxide prices surge to record highs on global demand boom
Reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne; additional reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore; writing by Praveen Menon; editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Raju Gopalakrishnan
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BELGRADE, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Serbia revoked Rio Tinto’s (RIO.L) lithium exploration licences on Thursday, bowing to protesters who opposed the development of the project by the Anglo-Australian mining giant on environmental grounds.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said the government’s decision came after requests by various green groups to halt the$2.4 billion Jadar lithium project which, if completed, would help make Rio a top 10 lithium producer.
“All decisions (linked to the lithium project) and all licences have been annulled,” Brnabic told reporters after a government session. “As far as project Jadar is concerned, this is an end.”
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Earlier this week, Rio had pushed back the timeline for first production from Jadar by one year to 2027, citing delays in key approvals. read more
Rio Tinto said it was “extremely concerned” by Serbia’s decision and was reviewing the legal basis for it.
The company committed to the project just last year, as global miners pushed into the metals needed for the green energy transition, including lithium, which is used to make electric vehicle batteries.
Brnabic accused Rio Tinto of providing insufficient information to communities about the project. In a statement, Rio said “it had always operated in compliance” with Serbian laws.
Thousands of people blocked roads last year in protest against the government’s backing of the project, demanding Rio Tinto leave the country and forcing the local municipality to scrap a plan to allocate land for the facility. read more
Thursday’s decision comes as Serbia approaches a general election in April and as relations between Belgrade and Australia have soured after the high-profile deportation of tennis star Novak Djokovic from Australia over the country’s COVID-19 entry rules. read more
Djokovic himself spoke out in support of “clean air” in a December Instagram story post captioning a picture of the protests, which was published by digital sports platform The Bridge.
Twitter users were quick to make jokes about Rio being deported from Serbia.
Serbia’s populist ruling coalition, led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), had initially showed support for lithium and copper mining, a stance that made it come under fire, helping erode the comfortable majority the party enjoyed in a 2020 vote.
Sasa Djogovic of the Belgrade-based Institute for Market Research said that the ruling elite “is losing popularity and because of that it is forced to fulfil the demands by activists.”
The SNS-led coalition is expected to hold parliamentary and presidential elections on April 3, although the date is yet to be officially confirmed by President Aleksandar Vucic.
“We are listening to our people and it is our job to protect their interests even when we think differently,” Brnabic said on Thursday.
Earlier this month, Brnabic said Rio’s Jadar development would be likely paused at least until after the elections.
“A compromise will be probably reached after the elections, so that there could be a renegotiation of royalties or value-sharing,” said a Rio Tinto shareholder, who declined to be named.
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Reporting by Ivana Sekularac, additional reporting by Clara Denina; editing by David Evans, Amran Abocar and Jonathan Oatis
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MELBOURNE, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Tennis star Novak Djokovic faces an 11th-hour court hearing on Sunday that will decide if he can defend his Australian Open title or must leave the country – the climax to days of drama over COVID-19 entry requirements and his unvaccinated status.
The build-up to the tournament, which starts on Monday and which Djokovic has won nine times previously, has been virtually eclipsed by the roller-coaster controversy over Djokovic’s visa, his treatment by immigration officials, and the government’s handling of the case.
Justice David O’Callaghan set a Federal Court hearing for 9:30 a.m. Sunday (2230 GMT Saturday). Three judges will hear the appeal and their decision will be final, the court said.
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Djokovic, who is the men’s top ranked player and is chasing a record 21st Grand Slam win, spent Saturday night at Melbourne’s Park Hotel, according to a Reuters witness, returning to the same immigration detention hotel where he was held for four nights last week.
A judge freed him on Monday after finding the decision to cancel his visa on arrival had been unreasonable. Djokovic has declined to be vaccinated against coronavirus and had sought to enter the country with a medical exemption from rules mandating all visitors to be vaccinated. read more
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke cancelled Djokovic’s visa again on Friday night, prompting the appeal by his lawyers that will be heard on Sunday.
Court documents released after an initial Federal Court hearing on Saturday showed Hawke had justified his decision on the grounds that Djokovic’s presence could whip up more anti-vaccination sentiment in Australia at a time that the country is in the midst of its worst outbreak of the virus.
“Although I … accept that Mr Djokovic poses a negligible individual risk of transmitting COVID-19 to other persons, I nonetheless consider that his presence may be a risk to the health of the Australian community,” Hawke said in a letter to Djokovic and his legal team.
This explanation in Djokovic’s affidavit was more detailed than the brief statement Hawke released on Friday, saying his decision was based on “health and good order grounds”.
Djokovic’s lawyers said they would argue that deportation would only further fan anti-vaccine sentiment and would be as much a threat to disorder and public health as letting him stay.
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic departs the Park Hotel while under immigration detention, to convene with his legal team after his visa to play in the Australian Open was cancelled a second time, in Melbourne, Australia, January 16, 2022. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
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‘TIRED OF THE SITUATION’
On Saturday afternoon, about a dozen refugee activists chanted “stop the torture … let them out” as Djokovic and Border Force guards drove into the underground garage of the Park Hotel, which is also being used to hold 33 asylum seekers and travellers in COVID-19 quarantine.
A man cycling past the hotel shouted: “Go home, Novak!”
Djokovic’s medical exemption from vaccine requirements to play in the Open prompted widespread anger in Australia, which has undergone some the world’s toughest COVID-19 lockdowns and where more than 90% of adults are vaccinated, but where hospitalisation rates continue to hit record highs.
The controversy over the tennis player has become a political touchstone for Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he prepares for an election due by May.
His government has won support at home for its tough stance on border security during the pandemic, but it has faced criticism for its handling of Djokovic’s visa application.
Djokovic’s leading rivals have become increasingly impatient with the uncertainty hanging over the draw and the cloud hanging over their sport.
“Honestly I’m little bit tired of the situation because I just believe that it’s important to talk about our sport, about tennis,” Spaniard Rafa Nadal, who is tied on 20 major titles with Djokovic, told reporters at Melbourne Park, where the event will be played.
German Alexander Zverev, the world number three, said Djokovic had been treated unfairly and that the Serb might have been used as a political pawn by Australian authorities, something Canberra has denied.
“This is obviously not a nice thing for everyone, for him especially. But don’t question his legacy because of this,” Zverev said.
Djokovic, who is scheduled to play fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovi in the first round of the Open, could still withdraw and leave Australia of his own accord rather than suffer the humiliation of being deported.
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Reporting by Sonali Paul, Sudipto Ganguly, Ian Ransom and Kirsty Needham; Additional reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Frances Kerry and Daniel Wallis
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Djokovic calls immigration form mistake ‘human error’
Australia still considering cancelling his visa again
Serbian apologises for photoshoot while COVID-19 positive
World No 1 training for shot at record 21st Grand Slam win
Anger simmers among Australian public at his presence
MELBOURNE, Jan 12 (Reuters) – World tennis No. 1 and vaccine sceptic Novak Djokovic blamed human error on Wednesday for a mistake in his Australian immigration paperwork and apologised for breaking isolation for a photoshoot when he had COVID-19 last month.
The 34-year-old Serbian superstar is chasing a record-breaking 21st men’s Grand Slam title at the Australian Open beginning on Monday, but he could be deported by a government unhappy with his medical exemption from inoculation against the coronavirus.
Djokovic was held alongside asylum-seekers at an immigration detention hotel in Melbourne for several days before a judge said that treatment was unreasonable and ordered him freed.
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Though training now for the tournament at Melbourne Park, Djokovic could still have his visa cancelled again if Immigration Minister Alex Hawke exercises discretionary power.
Djokovic’s cause was not helped by a mistake in his entry declaration, where the box stating he had not travelled abroad in the two weeks prior to leaving for Australia was ticked.
In fact, he had gone to Spain from Serbia. read more
“This was submitted by my support team on my behalf – as I told immigration officials on my arrival – and my agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake,” Djokovic said on Instagram. read more
“This was a human error and certainly not deliberate.”
Giving wrong information on the form carries a maximum penalty of 12 months’ prison plus a fine and potential visa cancellation.
There is widespread anger over the saga among Australians, who have a 90% vaccination rate among adults.
“I don’t like his arrogance,” said one Melbourne resident, Teyhan Ismain. “It does seem that he’s been telling a few fibs too. So I think he should just probably go back.”
‘ERROR OF JUDGEMENT’
Djokovic was also contrite over an interview and photoshoot for French newspaper L’Equipe on Dec. 18 while infected with COVID-19 for the second time.
“I didn’t want to let the journalist down, but did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask except when my photograph was being taken,” he said. “This was an error of judgement.”
The International Tennis Writers Association said it was deeply concerned Djokovic did not inform L’Equipe’s team that he had tested positive. “As journalists, we take great care to adhere to all Covid-19 rules in place and we would expect all players to do the same,” its co-presidents said in a statement.
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic practices at Melbourne Park as questions remain over the legal battle regarding his visa to play in the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, January 12, 2022. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
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Djokovic said he would not comment more on the vaccine controversy out of respect for Australian authorities. “I just want to have the opportunity to compete (there),” he posted.
Djokovic’s visa was initially cancelled on grounds he was unvaccinated and his exemption – based on having COVID-19 last month – was deemed unsatisfactory.
He denied media reports he also knew he was infected when he attended a Dec. 17 event in Belgrade to present awards to children.
“I was asymptomatic and felt good, and I had not received the notification of a positive PCR result until after that event,” he said, adding that a rapid antigen test before the event was negative.
However, in an affidavit to an Australian court, Djokovic said he was diagnosed on Dec. 16, the day before.
‘ARROGANT, SELFISH INDIVIDUAL’
Fans, including many Serbian Australians, gave him noisy support when he was detained, anti-vaxxers have hailed him as a hero, and his family have portrayed him as a champion for individual rights.
But Djokovic may face hostility from the crowd if and when he walks out on court. read more
Australians are battling a wave of the Omicron variant and Melbourne has endured one of the world’s strictest lockdowns.
“If an unvaccinated man with untenable views on the science of immunology, who chooses to mix with children without even a mask one day after testing positive to COVID-19, is inexplicably allowed to compete in a sporting event in Melbourne, the holders of tickets to the Australian Open should demand an immediate refund,” a The Age reader, Dr David Edgar, wrote to the Melbourne-based newspaper.
His was one among a series of mainly angry letters.
There may also be resentment in the dressing room, where all but three of the top 100 men are inoculated
With sensitivities heightened as governments and medics worldwide push vaccination as the only way out of the pandemic, Australia’s top-rating TV network unwittingly revealed passions behind the scenes.
Two Seven West Media anchors were caught in an expletive-laden “hot mic” off-air conversation condemning Djokovic as sneaky. read more
There was at last some sympathy on the streets though.
“I’m desperately waiting for him to just come onto the court and play in front of Australian people and entertain us, that’s it,” said Nick Shukla, also in Melbourne.
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Reporting by Sonali Paul and Courtney Walsh in Melbourne; Byron Kaye in Sydney; Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade; Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Angus MacSwan and John Stonestreet
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BELGRADE, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic was in Serbia in the two weeks before flying to the Australian Open from Spain, according to three Belgrade residents, whose accounts to Reuters backed social media posts that contradict information contained in his immigration declaration on arrival in Melbourne.
The accounts from two eyewitnesses and another individual, obtained by Reuters on Tuesday and previously unreported, corroborated earlier social media posts that appear to show Djokovic in Belgrade less than two weeks before he headed to Spain and then on to Australia.
These accounts of his travel history are at odds with a declaration submitted as part of immigration formalities for Djokovic’s entry to Australia that stated he had not travelled in the 14 days prior to leaving for Australia.
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Giving false or misleading information in the form is an offence, carrying a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison, and a fine of up to 6,600 Australian dollars (US$4,730) and can lead to cancellation of the offender’s visa.
Djokovic, the world number one in men’s tennis, is in Australia to play in next week’s Australian Open. The federal government cancelled his visa when he landed, on the grounds he has not had a COVID-19 vaccination and his medical exemption was not satisfactory.
A judge on Monday quashed that decision after Djokovic made a successful legal challenge. But the Australian government said it was considering whether to use discretionary powers to cancel Djokovic’s visa.
Two representatives for Djokovic, and his Australian lawyers, did not respond to emailed requests for comment on his movements in the 14 days before Jan. 5, and about the information given in the immigration form.
Djokovic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, responding to Reuters questions, sent a statement which said: “If anything had not been cleared up as some journalists stipulate, the verdict would have been different.”
Three separate social media posts have purported to show Djokovic photos and video of Djokovic in Belgrade and were posted on Dec. 25. It has not been possible to independently verify when and where the images were recorded.
However, two eyewitnesses who spoke to Reuters said they saw the athlete in Belgrade on or after Dec. 24, that is within the 14-day window before his arrival in Australia, via Spain. The two witnesses said they could not recall the exact dates they saw the tennis player. A third person confirmed that video of Djokovic posted on social media was recorded on Dec. 25 in Belgrade.
TRAVEL DECLARATION
Before boarding his Emirates flight to Melbourne, Djokovic – like all travellers to Australia – was required to fill out a form called an Australia Travel Declaration.
Among the questions on that form, Djokovic or his representatives had checked a box stating that he had not, or would not, travel in the 14 days prior to his flight to Australia, according to a copy of the completed form submitted to the Australian federal court by his lawyers as part of his legal challenge.
Djokovic told Australian authorities that when he arrived in Australia on Jan. 5, he had travelled there from Spain, according to documents his lawyers submitted to the court and seen by Reuters.
In order to have not travelled in the 14 days prior to his flight to Australia, Djokovic needed to have been in Spain from Dec. 23 at the latest.
Asked to comment on whether it was investigating if Djokovic’s form contained misleading information, the Australian Border Force said it did not comment on operational matters.
It said that as part of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 Omicron variant, it is an enforceable requirement that travellers, among other things, “make a declaration setting out their travel history for the 14 days before their scheduled flight”.
STREET TENNIS
Part of the evidence placing Djokovic in Serbia within the 14-day window before he went to Australia centres around a video of an impromptu tennis match showing Djokovic playing with an unidentified individual on Dec. 25 on a Belgrade street.
The video posted on the Instagram account of Belgrade real estate executive Igor Rogan showed someone matching Djokovic’s description, wearing jeans and a raincoat, playing tennis in a street. Reuters identified the location as West 65, a high-end apartment complex in Belgrade’s Novi Beograd district. A branch of Rogan’s real estate firm can be seen in the background.
The video was posted on Dec. 25, with a caption saying it was recorded on the same day. When the firm was contacted by Reuters, a female employee at the company where Rogan works said the branch in West 65 was open for business on Dec. 25 and that Rogan recorded the video in Belgrade the same day.
“I remember it was on the Catholic Christmas,” she said. Orthodox Christians, who are the majority in Serbia, celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7. She asked not to be identified. She declined to answer further questions, referring inquiries to Rogan. He told Reuters he did not wish to comment.
The two eyewitnesses who spoke to Reuters, and who declined to be named, said they had seen Djokovic in the vicinity of the same apartment complex.
The accounts the three individuals provided to Reuters support prior posts on social media.
A picture posted on Twitter, also on Dec. 25, by a user called Danilo Skerovic showed Djokovic posing with a fan in front of the same apartment block. The tennis player was wearing the same outfit as he had in the video posted by Rogan, with a tennis racket in one hand and a tennis ball in the other. Skerovic did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Another picture of Djokovic was posted on the same day on the Instagram account of Petar Djordjic, an athlete who plays handball for the Serbian national team and the Portuguese club side S. L. Benfica. The photo showed Djokovic, in the same outfit and against the same backdrop, posing alongside Djordjic. Djordjic did not respond to messages sent on Tuesday to his mobile phone number. S. L. Benfica did not respond to a request for comment.
While being interviewed by an immigration official at Melbourne airport, Djokovic said the Australian travel declaration was completed by his agent, according to a transcript of the interview released as part of the legal challenge. Elena Cappellaro, who acts as his agent, did not respond to a request for comment on whether she completed the form.
Djokovic’s case provoked a row between Canberra and Belgrade and fuelled heated debate over mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies.
Public opinion in Australia, which is battling an Omicron wave of infections and where more than 90% of the adult population is double vaccinated, has been largely against the player. Serbian supporters of the tennis player alleged he was being made a scapegoat by the Australian authorities.
(One Australian $ = US$0.72)
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Additional reporting by Ivana Sekularac, Leela de Kretser, Sonali Paul, Aislinn Lang and Belen Carreno; Writing by Christian Lowe, Editing by Angus MacSwan and Jon Boyle
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.