The famous Argentine artist, Enrique Breccia, one of the world's greatest authors of comic books, is the new confirmed guest of this year's 13th edition of Herceg-Novi comic festival (HSF), which will be held from 6th to 11^th September. With the previously announced superstars of the Italian comic creation, Andreu di Vita and Maria Alberti, with the confirmation of the guest appearance by Enrique Breccia, HSF again raises the scale in the quality of the festival, which has put Herceg Novi and Montenegro into the very top of the European manifestations dedicated to the ninth art. 

"It is a great honor to be able to host an author whose creation literally marked the twentieth century. We are especially pleased to hear that in communication with such authors they are already well informed about Herceg Novi Strip Festival, that a good voice is spread throughout Europe, and that they will be honored to participate. Such things give additional energy and motivation to go ahead with our Festival and to present every September in our city a truly artistic spectacle of the European level," said one of the organizers of the HSF, Jovan Subotic.

Subotic recalled that the announcement of the possible hosting of one of the greatest artists in the world of ninth art Enrique Breccia, as unconfirmed news arouse on the recently completed fourth Herceg Novi Strip Weekend, which was dedicated to the Italian cultural phenomenon Tex Willer and who, according to custom, brought plenty artistic content and fun times. On the well-attended tribute to Tex, hosted by the special guests at the Strip Weekend, Italian writer and screenwriter Tito Faracci and editor of “Veseli Cetvrtak” publishing company, Dusan Mladenovic, during the announcement of the next, third edition of the super-luxury edition Gigant Tex “Captain Jack ", written by Tito Faracci, and illustrated by legendary Enrique Breccia, the organizers revealed to the general enthusiasm of numerous comic strip fans that this celebrated Argentinean may be the guest of this year’s HSF in September.

Seventy-four-year-old Enrique Breccia is one of the most important authors of ninth art in the world. The son of Albert Breccia, whom many consider being one of the greatest artists of all time, Enrique did not allow himself to live in the shadow of the famous father, but soon entered the stage with his authentic artistic expression. Immediately after the debut and collaboration with his father on the controversial "Life of Che", "Spy 13" and "Good God" followed, and then, in collaboration with one of the most important scriptwriters of our time, Carlos Trillo drew his most famous work, the saga of "Alvar Major" and cemented his own place among the world's giants of comics. The successes followed this, practically on all of the world scenes of comics, American, Latin American, British, French, Italian with works such as "The Pilgrim of the Stars", "Traveling of Mark Mon", "The Kingdom of the Blue", "Dreamer".

Such opus and talent automatically conditioned the engagements for American giants Marvel and DC, for whom he illustrates many well-known titles such as X Force and Batmen. He was the central drawer of the cult series "The Monster from the Swamp" for which he made as many as 22 episodes. He has drawn a series of strip adaptations of the greatest literary classics, as well as a comic book about the life of the writer H.P. Lovecraft. He proved himself to be a great screenwriter and a colorist of his own comics. There are many titles on which this extraordinary author has worked on, and a large number of them are available in the HSF's comic book store "Pasara".

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Text by CdM, on March 2nd 2019, read more at CdM

With a great concert in the full hall Park last night, the local music orchestra Djenovic marked its big jubilee, 100 years of existence and uninterrupted work. Nearly 40 musicians performed 13 compositions from all around the world, from marching and waltz to rock and roll, and then, invited by long audience applause, came back on encore three times.

"Founded in a modest way and by modest people, the local music Djenovic achieved much higher altitudes and much better results than anyone could have ever guessed. At all times it proudly represented its place of origin, Herceg Novi and Boka bay, inheriting the musical traditions of such orchestras and performing music of almost all genres from all over the world," said the president of the local orchestra Djenovic, Mirko Mustur.

He pointed out that the Jubilee is celebrating together with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Mimosa Festival, whose active participants have been from the very beginnings.

Mustur, on behalf of the local music Djenovic, thanked all who helped the orchestra survive, work and advance, who affirmed it and gave it the opportunity to show itself to the societies and orchestras with whom they cooperated for years, whose representatives were guests at the concert last night.

The oldest members of the Music orchestra, who have over 50 years of active playing - Janko Vukasovic and Djordje Odalovic, received special awards presented by Milos Vujnovic on behalf of the Assembly of the Society.

"I played 65 years in this music orchestra, and I received the biggest reward by playing here tonight," said Djordje Odalovic, when getting the plaque.

It is a great fortune for Herceg Novi to have two orchestras with over 100 years of tradition, which are side by side, emphasized after the concert, a member of the local music Djenovic, Milica Matovic.

"I'm still gathering impressions, I do not know what happened, but according to the audience's reaction, it seems to me that this is a great success," Matovic said.

Introduction to the concert was a film devoted to the history and future of the local music band Djenovic, and dance performances and a rock song supplemented the compositions that followed.

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Text by CdM, on March 2nd 2019, read more at CdM

March 6, 2019 - According to the unofficial information of TV Vijesti, conversations by representatives of the civic movement Odupri Se - 97,000 and leaders of opposition political parties are in progress, and the next step should be the signing of a binding document on the boycott of all elections until normal conditions for their maintenance are made.

Opposition deputies did not attend the regular parliamentary session yesterday, the first since they received a request for a boycott of the Assembly and all the elections from civil protests until the conditions for their regular maintenance were created.

The Democratic Front (DF) in the meantime has said it will not participate in the Assembly session and will not do anything that could endanger the success of the protest.

They think the same in a club of independent deputies.

It is still unknown the decision of Krivokapic's Social Democratic Party (SDP), which still insists that any change must have the support of European and Euro-Atlantic partners.

All opposition parties agree that there is no going to the elections until the establishment of a democratic environment.

"I regret that there are no opposition representatives in the hall. My appeal and I guess my colleague from the ruling majority is that we would like them to join us as soon as possible," said Ivan Brajovic, President of the Montenegrin Assembly.

It is how the first session of the Assembly began after Saturday's civil protest in Podgorica, where citizens demand the opposition to leave the parliament and boycott all the elections, to the fair conditions for their maintenance.

Why they are not in the assembly benches from the DF, have explained in the statement - although, say, the microphone, the only free media available to them, will not pull any moves that could damage the civil protest on March 16.

"The DF team has decided for the lack of education of our deputies at the meeting of the Montenegrin Assembly, but on 16 March, together with the citizens, we will be on the protest organized by the civic movement as a breakthrough to meet the demands."

The SDP has avoided answering the question of leaving parliament on the request of civilian protest organizers.

They reiterated their support for a justified revolt of citizens but also stressed that any change must have the support of European and Euro-Atlantic partners.

They were related to today's inaction of the session.

"The Social Democratic Party's Deputies Club will not attend the Second Session of the First Regular Session of the Assembly of Montenegro," the SDP said.

United Montenegro has no dilemma both for this and for future parliamentary sessions.

"We have been very excited about what the citizens are expecting from us first and decided to come out to meet, so definitively, to meet the demands of the citizens given on a protest rally, we will not participate, or we will honor their will," said Goran Danilovic, President of the United Montenegro.

"I believe that my duty and colleagues from other opposition parties are also on the street at the moment," said Independent deputy Neđeljko Rudović to the MINA agency.

"Until I do some discussions with the organizers in the name of solidarity and goodwill I will be absent from today's session of the plenary session," said Independent MP Aleksandar Damjanovic for the MINA agency.

Demos also say they will not participate in the work of parliament until further notice and will make the final decision to the Presidency in the coming days.

The Democrats and the URA boycott the Assembly since the convening, while the Socialist People's Party (SNP) reported that the Democratic Democrats were fully eligible for this party.

Concerning the boycott of yesterday's session of the Assembly, they also reacted to the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).

They say the demands of the protest organizers brought confusion to the opposition and confused its leaders.

"After a series of failed political projects (such as the URA and the like) and taking into account the opposition's inability, it seems that the order of breaking the existing parties is being inaugurated. The" organizers of civil protests "are inaugurated in opposition to the opposition scene, and worn leaders compromise and send to political retirement," said Nikola Divanovic, a DPS delegate.

The municipality of Budva, in cooperation with the Tourist Organization Budva, started works on constructing three more open training facilities.

The new training facilities will be located at three locations: near the Red building, in settlement of Bijeli Do, and on the central part of Becici beach.

With previously performed works at the pool, the value of the works is 40,000 euros.

Assistant Secretary from the Secretariat for Municipal Housing Affairs, Aleksandar Popovic, said that they are paying attention that the devices they installed for the outdoor gyms are of the highest possible quality.

Citizens of Budva actively use the first outdoor gyms, located in the nearby city’s swimming pool in the hotel resort Slovenska beach.

"The gym is used every day, especially when there are favorable weather conditions. There are many devices, they can be used for a variety of exercises and are excellent for maintaining fitness and good health. They are made in America and Denmark, and each part of the device is made of aluminum and special types of inox, which is resistant to seawater and does not require special maintenance. "

Also, a special device for people with disabilities is provided, so that people in wheelchairs can access and perform certain exercises.

With this, the Municipality Budva continued to renovate the city and sports fields, and one of the goals is to include as many fellow citizens as possible in various sports activities, concluded the Assistant Secretary from the Secretariat for Communal Housing Affairs.

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Text by Vuk Lajovic, on March 5th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

March 6, 2019 - British Minister for Europe Sir Alan Duncan wrote on his Twitter that two agreements on extradition and the fight against smuggling of cigarettes were signed with Montenegrin Minister of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegrin Government, Zoran Pazin.

“At the 2018 #WBSummitLondon, we committed to combating organized crime in the #WesternBalkans. Today, Deputy PM Pazin & I signed two UK-Montenegro agreements, one on extradition and one on tackling cigarette smuggling," wrote Sir Alan Duncan.

In yesterday's statement, the Government of Montenegro informed Pazin and Duncan signed a bilateral agreement extending the European Convention on Extradition and facilitating its implementation, while the consensus on combating smuggling of cigarettes was not mentioned.

In its statement, the Montenegrin Government states:

"Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Zoran Pazin met in London with British Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Alan Duncan.

Montenegro and the United Kingdom are resolved to steadfastly oppose organized crime and severe criminal offenses through closer cooperation; it was noted at the meeting.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Duncan signed a bilateral agreement, complementing the European Convention on Extradition and facilitating its application.

The main novelty of this agreement is that Montenegro and the United Kingdom express their readiness to extradite their citizens to one another if one country seeks them for serious crimes for which a prison sentence of five or more years has been foreseen.

"This agreement unambiguously indicates that there is a high degree of mutual respect and trust between Montenegro and the United Kingdom, with the conviction that the legal systems of both states will guarantee the right to a fair trial of every person who is extradited, respecting the presumption of innocence," DPM Pazin emphasized.

The agreement states that the parties are "aware of the guarantee of the right to a fair trial of the accused within their legal systems, including the right to trial before an impartial tribunal established by law."

DPM Pazin signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Minister Duncan and Financial Secretary to the Treasury Mel Stride to further deepen cooperation in the area of security, the rule of law and the joint fight against organized crime, especially against various types of financial crime," concludes the statement on the Government website Montenegro.

The same announcement was published on the site of the Ministry of Justice.

Source: Vijesti

March 6, 2019 - Gornja Lastva is a small Mediterranean settlement in the hill of Vrmac separating the Kotor and Tivat bays. It is the best preserved so-called upper settlement on Vrmac mountain, succeeding to save the cultural landscape confessing dynamic and rich past of this area.

Gornja Lastva lies at an altitude of 300m above sea level, 3 km away from the Adriatic highway. The settlement is located on the sunlit slope of Vrmac commanding a spectacular view of Tivat bay and even farther, over the peninsula of Lustica, of the open sea. The settlement has existed here ever since the ancient times.

Gornja Lastva, a stone lace, photo by Antonela Stjepcevic

Stone, as a primary building material, and Mediterranean flora, hiding the settlement from view, reflect the recognizable Mediterranean atmosphere. From the early days, stone houses were built and torn down only to be replaced by new, modern ones. Although many of the houses and pertaining stone walls were deserted and destroyed in time, the authenticity of the traditional method of building and overall environment was never disturbed before the last two decades when some of the inadequate interpolations are allowed.

The best preserved and the most prominent houses today date back mostly to the 19th century. The olive mill dates back to the same period, and nothing has changed in it until the present day, olives are being milled in the same way as they used to be a long time ago, the mill being man-powered. Thus, during olive milling days, many inhabitants gather in the mill, socialize, sing songs making this occasion a cultural event of its kind.

St. Mary's parish church dates from the 14th century. Lastva inhabitants adorned their church with numerous valuable objects of art, like Romanesque golden cross, multi-colored marble altar, altarpiece with the picture of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary believed to be the work of Andrea Trevisano, etc.

Older church of St. Vid was built in the 9th century on top of the hill above Gornja Lastva bearing the same name.

Copyright: www.montenegro-for.me

During the period of its full life, in the first half of the 20th century, Gornja Lastva had about 500 inhabitants and more than 100 residential units. It was a self-sustainable system; enough food was being produced to satisfy the needs, there were seven olive mills, one water mill for grain threshed on 12 threshing floors, 24 wells, and five capping. On nearby slopes, there were numerous vineyards, olive groves, orchards. Gornja Lastva had its local government until World War II; it had had its school since 1845, parish priest, tamburitza orchestra... People from Gornja Lastva were excellent craftsmen, masons in particular. Many of them navigated on board Bokelian ships.

After World War II, Gornja Lastva, following broader economic and political movements, and people started leaving the village. The population moved closer to the sea, most often to Donja Lastva or to Tivat. The inhabitants of Gornja Lastva also moved to other places of Boka Bay, and usually even farther.

Majority of inhabitants of Gornja Lastva live today mostly at Donja Lastva and Tivat, but they come to Gornja Lastva daily. Gornja Lastva was spared the sale and destruction of units of architectural heritage, which happened elsewhere even to whole villages of exceptional environmental value. Rich cultural and economic past has got the strength which moves even the present day generations of the inhabitants of Gornja Lastva.

House of Stjepcevic Family Hiding Valuable Ethnological Collection, Photo by Antonela Stjepcevic

For the reasons of the preservation of traditional values and way of life, protection and restoration of cultural heritage, the inhabitants of Gornja Lastva got organized in 1975 into the Association of Friends of Gornja Lastva, which in 1991 was renamed to Cultural Heritage Association “Napredak” Gornja Lastva. “Napredak” is a nongovernmental organization founded for the sake of preservation and improvement of cultural identity, preservation of traditional customs and architectural heritage.

Friends of Gornja Lastva Often Organize Eco Actions, Photo by Antonela Stjepcevic

Former Association of friends of Gornja Lastva, today Cultural Heritage Association NAPREDAK Gornja Lastva, was founded with the intention to preserve the original values and particularities of Gornja Lastva by protecting the cultural identity, the environment, and architectural heritage. At the same time, the intention is to restore life in this settlement based upon these values. Aware of the fact that many circumstances and conditions of life have changed, NAPREDAK tries to find new motivation for present and future generations of Gornja Lastva inhabitants to restore life at the village, respecting traditional values. The intention is to find the right measure and ways of a restoration of architectural heritage which will not destroy, through “modernization,” what has so far been only touched by the time and survived in its original beauty. Often just declarative and somewhat politicized ecological slogans are intended here to be transformed into the way of living which feeds on the sources of the past of Gornja Lastva. Striving for complete restoration of the place also means the preservation of its cultural life.

In front of the Cultural Centre Ilija Markovic, Gornja Lastva, Photo by Antonela Stjepcevic 

Thanks to this organization, Gornja Lastva was recognized as the dynamic address of cultural deities, especially during the summer months. Napredak is organizing numerous programs dedicated to the natural and cultural heritage of the village and Vrmac, as well as cultural manifestations which present the Vrmac space as an exceptional stage in the open sky.

In addition to the traditional Gornja Lastva Feast, which will be organized this year for the 42nd consecutive time, Napredak has been hosting the manifestation "Landscape Days" for five years, where visitors can enjoy numerous concerts of classical and popular music, exhibitions and literary evenings. The feature of this event is organizing programs at unusual times in unusual locations.

The Concert "Music at Down" in front of the parish church of St. Mary, Copyright: www.gornjalastva.org  

Source: www.gornjalastva.org

March 6, 2019 - Olivera Lakic, a journalist of the daily newspaper “Vijesti,” is the winner of the International Women of Courage Award (IWOC), awarded by the US State Department. The award ceremony will be held on Thursday, March 7, and Lakic is the only journalist and one of two Europeans among the ten graduates of this year.

05 March 2019 - On the occasion of the World Energy Efficiency Day (March 6), the sixth assembly of the network "CIVINET Slovenia – Croatia – South East Europe" was held in Tivat, Montenegro. The goal of this network is to reduce pollution in cities through a sustainable transport system - with cycling, hiking, and public transport. This summer, at the network assembly, the representatives of Tivat Municipality announced the establishment of a sea line service between the cities of Bay of Kotor which will run with new electric ships.

CIVINET Slovenia – Croatia – South East Europe was established in 2013 as a network of cities and other stakeholders from neighbouring countries that deal with sustainable mobility planning and traffic management. The objective of the system is knowledge sharing and good practice exchange as well as the implementation of partner projects which are meant to finance future sustainable mobility activities. The activities of the organisation include networking and all forms of cooperation (which are crucial for more effective solving of urban traffic and mobility problems), from the exchange of experience, knowledge, and ideas to joint participation and synergy of the cities, thus enabling better usage of EU funds.

At the assembly, it was noted that Tivat has just over 14,000 inhabitants, but the city managed to initiate and realize significant projects in improving energy efficiency.

"Our goal is for Tivat to continue its development as a city which priorities include balanced economic development, spatial planning, and environmental protection. In this regard, in the past ten years, the Municipality of Tivat has been putting great effort into work in the field of sustainable mobility by introducing various models that show results," said the Mayor of Tivat Siniša Kusovac at the opening of the 6th Assembly of CIVINET and the round table on sustainable mobility that is being held in Tivat in cooperation with the network for sustainable movement in the cities of Slovenia, Croatia and South East Europe.

As the Mayor of Tivat explained, in 2018, the local government of Tivat Municipality paid special attention to promoting the use of alternative means of transport, to the temporary suspension of traffic to “return the roads” to pedestrians and cyclists, and continuing education of children and youth on this subject. “We are also successful in the field of EU funds, from which we managed to reconstruct a significant part of public lighting and build solar collectors on the roof of the Sports Hall. We have several new complete projects for which we hope will be competitive enough in terms of EU funds, "Kusovac added.

The round table on sustainable mobility also presented projects of electromobility in Montenegro and many other projects. On the occasion of World Energy Efficiency Day, the distribution of LED bulbs and promotional materials to citizens was organized in front of the municipal building.

05 March 2019 - On March 5, President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović departed for Brussels at the invitation of the President of the European Jewish Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, where he will speak at the meeting of the board of this association on the Montenegrin model of inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations.

At the official ceremony in his honour, Rabbi Margolin, in the presence of the representatives of the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission, as well as European Jewish communities, will present President Đukanović the "European King David Award", the highest recognition given by the Jewish European Association to prominent figures.

The event, which will take place on March 7, is dedicated to the Montenegrin people’s great accomplishment of building a tolerant, inclusive and pluralistic society based on the principles of mutual respect and coexistence. As explained by the European Jewish Association, the event will be attended by dignitaries from across Europe, MEPs and senior representatives of European Jewry. “We are gathering to present the European King David Award to the President, in recognition of his huge contribution in safeguarding Jewish life in Montenegro, and building a tolerant society that should be emulated across the European Continent,” says the statement by the EJA.

President Đukanović will use his stay in Brussels to meet with European Council President Donald Tusk, to discuss issues related to the EU negotiation process, as well as current processes in Montenegro and the region.

He will also meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, whose agenda will also include some of these topics.

March 5, 2019 - Kotor Municipality, the Women's and Peace Education Center "Anima" and the Women's Rights Center have organized a program of marking March 8, International Women’s Day, emphasizing a great jubilee - hundred years since the first protest gathering in Montenegro organized by women, held in Kotor in 1919.

100 years since the first march on March 8 in Montenegro- March 8 Conference 2019 Program: