MILO DJUKANOVIC

Montenegro Government Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic speaks during the parliament session in Cetinje, Montenegro, Thursday, April 28, 2022. Montenegrin lawmakers on Thursday approved a new, pro-Western government, ending a political deadlock that fueled fears of instability in the small Balkan nation. The government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic won support from 45 lawmakers in the 81-member parliament while three votes were against. “I am a great optimist and I believe in the bright future of our Montenegro,” Abazovic told parliament. Djukanovic has alleged that pro-Serbian parties in Montenegro want to restore the influence of Serbia and Russia.

Montenegrin lawmakers have approved a new, pro-Western government that promised to speed up European Union integration and make an effort to bridge a deep political divide in the small Balkan nation.

Some European countries watching Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine fear they could be next.

State Premier Dominic Perrottet had resisted mandating mask-wearing indoors until Thursday’s record caseload led him to reconsider. ___HONOLULU — Hawaii has reported 1,511 new coronavirus cases for the latest 24-hour period as officials say the omicron variant is likely spreading widely throughout the islands. The state’s first confirmed case of the omicron coronavirus variant was detected earlier this month in a St. Louis resident. The county recorded 774 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the largest one-day total since early January. Dr. Scott Harris, the state health officer, said the drug will be available to people who aren’t hospitalized with the illness but isn’t a substitute for vaccinations.

(AP Photo/Daniel Cole) (Daniel Cole)DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa state officials anticipate spending $9.2 million in federal funds to shore up health care staffing at strained hospitals amid the latest surge in COVID-19 cases. The Des Moines Register reports that 100 out-of-state nurses and respiratory therapists began arriving in Iowa earlier this month. The state’s first confirmed case of the omicron coronavirus variant was detected earlier this month in a St. Louis resident. The county recorded 774 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the largest one-day total since early January. Dr. Scott Harris, the state health officer, said the drug will be available to people who aren’t hospitalized with the illness but isn’t a substitute for vaccinations.

___ROME — Italy has again tightened COVID restrictions, including barring the unvaccinated from more public spaces, as it registered a record high of new coronavirus infections. The state’s first confirmed case of the omicron coronavirus variant was detected earlier this month in a St. Louis resident. The county recorded 774 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the largest one-day total since early January. ___DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates has recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since August. There was no word on whether the virus was the newly surging omicron variant or the far more common delta.

Australia’s New South Wales state is reporting more than 5,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours for the second straight day as the state and federal governments roll out measures meant to curb the spread of the virus.

Chile Pandora Papers Chilean President Sebastian Piñera gives a press conference at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. The investigation, dubbed the Pandora Papers, was published late Sunday and involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. ___MONTENEGROMontenegro’s President Milo Djukanovic and his son in 2012 allegedly established a trust and hid their wealth in a complicated network of companies, according to the investigation. ___LEBANONLebanon’s billionaire prime minister, Najib Mikati, cropped up in the Pandora Papers while the country is embroiled in a wrenching financial crisis. ___BRAZILThe documents showed Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes had multimillion dollar investments in an offshore company named Dreadnoughts International in the British Virgin Islands.

A global investigation has revealed how the rich and powerful have being hiding their investments in mansions, exclusive beachfront property, yachts and other assets for the past quarter-century.

A global investigation has revealed how the rich and powerful have being hiding their investments in mansions, exclusive beachfront property, yachts and other assets for the past quarter-century. Collectively these assets are worth trillions of dollars. The investigation, dubbed the Pandora Papers, was published late Sunday and involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries.

Montenegro Tensions Church Head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, center, and Mitropolitan Joanikije, left, at the arrival ceremony in front of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Christ's Resurrection in Podgorica, Montenegro, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. Serbian patriarch Porfirije arrives at Podgorica ahead of the inauguration of the new bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro scheduled in the historic capital of Cetinje, sparking tensions. The ceremony scheduled in Cetinje, a former capital of the small Balkan nation, has angered opponents of the Serbian church in Montenegro, which declared independence from neighboring Serbia in 2006. Since Montenegro split from Serbia, pro-independence Montenegrins have advocated for a recognized Orthodox Christian church that is separate from the Serbian one. The Serbian Orthodox Church played a key role in demonstrations last year that helped topple a long-ruling pro-Western government in Montenegro.

Riot police in Montenegro have fired tear gas at protesters who fired gunshots in the air and hurled bottles and stones during the inauguration of the new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the small Balkan nation.

Montenegro Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic, left, speaks in parliament building in Podgorica, Montenegro, Friday, Dec. 4, 2020. Montenegro's parliament voted Friday to approve a new coalition government, ending the domination of a pro-Western party that has ruled the small Balkan nation for almost three decades. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)PODGORICA – Montenegro’s parliament on Friday voted to approve a new conservative, pro-Serb coalition government, which will succeed a pro-Western party that has ruled the small Balkan nation for almost three decades. Lawmakers in the 81-seat parliament voted 41-28 Friday for the new government, with 12 abstentions. Serbia and Montenegro were part of the same country before an independence referendum in 2006 led to Montenegro splitting away.

In this photo taken early Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic speaks at his party headquarters in Podgorica, Montenegro. The coalition party leaders said that the priority of the new government will be economic development and the fight against endemic corruption which has been one of the main burdens of previous governments. Tensions soared in the deeply divided nation days after the vote when thousands of opposition party supporters staged boisterous victory celebrations throughout the country. Participants waved Serbian flags and chanted derogatory slogans against Montenegro President Milo Djukanovic, despite appeals by opposition party leaders to refrain from provocations. Djukanovic, who has ruled Montenegro for 30 years either as president or prime minister, has been a key Western ally in pushing the volatile Balkans toward a more pro-Western orientation.

PODGORICA Several thousand protesters waving Montenegro flags gathered in the capital on Sunday in a show of support for the ruling pro-Western party, which could lose power if the pro-Serb and pro-Russian groups manage to form a ruling coalition. Tensions have soared in the small Adriatic state since last week, when thousands of opposition party supporters staged boisterous victory celebrations throughout the small Balkan state. Participants waved Serbian flags and chanted derogatory slogans against Montenegro President Milo Djukanovic, despite appeals by opposition party leaders to refrain from provocations. Djukanovic defied Russia in 2017 to lead his country into NATO after gaining independence from much larger Serbia in 2006. The opposition leaders have sought to alleviate those fears.

BELGRADE Serbian officials have denied that Serbia and its president have interfered in Montenegros parliamentary election that was narrowly won by pro-Belgrade and pro-Russian political groupings. President Vucic and the current state politics in Serbia have shown two very problematic intentions, Djukanovic told Nova.rs television late Tuesday. Vucic, who once served as information minister in Milosevics government, has repeatedly denied meddling in Montenegros affairs and the election. There is no way that Montenegro is in any form threatened by Serbia, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said. Djukanovic defied Russia in 2017 to lead his country into NATO after gaining independence from much larger Serbia in 2006.

Voters in Montenegro on Sunday cast ballots in a tense election that is pitting the long-ruling pro-Western party against the opposition seeking closer ties with Serbia and Russia. The parliamentary vote is marked by a dispute over a law on religious rights that is staunchly opposed by the influential Serbian Orthodox Church. The election was marked by by a dispute over a law on religious rights that is staunchly opposed by the influential Serbian Orthodox Church. The pro-Russian Serbian Orthodox Church has argued that the law allows the Montenegrin state to confiscate its property as a prelude to setting up a separate Montenegrin church. About one third of Montenegro's people declare themselves as Serbs, which makes relations with Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church a highly sensitive issue.

Supporters of Democratic Party of Socialists wave Montenegrin flags as they drive in front of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Christ's Resurrection in Podgorica, Montenegro, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. Montenegro is holding a parliamentary election this weekend with the pro-Western government facing pressure over the new coronavirus outbreak and ongoing tensions in relations with Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church because of a religious property law. Pre-election opinion polls have suggested that the ruling party will win the most votes but not enough to govern alone. During the previous parliamentary vote in 2016, Montenegro thwarted an attempted coup by pro-Serb groups that was orchestrated by two Russian former military intelligence officers. The alliance, dubbed For the future of Montenegro, has backed protests against the religious law that the Serbian Orthodox Church says will allow the state to take away its property.