Latest news with #AmelEmric
Straits Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Bosnians honour Srebrenica genocide victims 30 years on
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Bosnian Muslims gather amid grave stones of victims killed during the Srebrenica genocide, at the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial in Potocari, Bosnia and Herzegovina, July 11, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SREBRENICA, Bosnia - Thousands of Bosnians gathered at a cemetery near Srebrenica on Friday to mark the 30th anniversary of a massacre in which more than 8,000 Muslim Bosniak men and boys were executed by Bosnian Serb forces during a 1992-5 war. About 1,000 victims have yet to be found from Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two, which still haunts Bosnia and Herzegovina's 3 million people decades later. Families who retrieved victims' remains have increasingly opted to bury even just a few bones to give them a final resting place. At a ceremony on Friday, the partial remains of seven victims were to be buried alongside 6,750 already interred. Survivors, families and dignitaries walked along rows of white gravestones. Some prayed and cried at the gravesides or sat motionless, heads buried in their hands. "I feel such sadness and pain for all these people and youth," said a woman called Sabaheta from the eastern town of Gorazde. The massacre unfolded after Srebrenica - a designated U.N. "safe area" for civilians in Bosnia's war that followed the disintegration of federal Yugoslavia - was overrun by nationalist Bosnian Serb forces. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Nuclear safety research gets boost with new institute, $66m funding as S'pore weighs energy viability Singapore Man who killed 5-year-old daughter gets life sentence after he appeals against 35-year jail term Singapore More than 14,300 people checked during 7-week-long anti-crime ops Singapore Over 150 e-bikes and other non-compliant mobility devices impounded in last 2 months: LTA Singapore S'porean who defaulted on NS obligations used fake Malaysian passports at checkpoints over 800 times Singapore Over 12,000 lower-income households to receive $60 in transport vouchers by end-July Business CEO salaries: At Singapore's top companies, whose pay went up and whose saw a drop? Singapore NDP 2025: Leopard tank transmission fault identified, vehicle to resume role in mobile column While the women opted to go to the U.N. compound, men tried to escape through nearby woods where most of them were caught. Some were shot immediately, and others were driven to schools or warehouses where they were killed in the following days. The bodies were dumped in pits then dug up months later and scattered in smaller graves in an effort to conceal the crime. General Ratko Mladic, who commanded the forces, was convicted of genocide by a U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague along with Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic. As part of the commemoration, nearly 7,000 people took part in a three-day peace march in reverse of the 100 km route that some Muslim Bosniak men managed to take from Srebrenica to escape the Bosnian Serb death squads. Two international courts have ruled the massacre was genocide but Serb leaders in Bosnia and Serbia dispute the term, the death toll and the official account of what went on – reflecting conflicting narratives of the Yugoslav wars that still feed political divisions and stifle progress toward integration with Western Europe and the EU. Last year, the U.N. General Assembly declared July 11 an international day of remembrance of the Srebrenica genocide, with many countries organising commemorations this year. "This can never be forgotten. Who can say this wasn't a genocide? Only a person without a soul," Sabaheta said. REUTERS
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bosnia's women rugby pioneers target Olympic qualification
By Amel Emric ZENICA, Bosnia (Reuters) -Erna Huseinovic fell in love with rugby after coaching young children at a local club in the central town of Zenica, the home of Bosnia's first women's rugby sevens team. A speedy winger, Huseinovic is preparing with her teammates for their first international competition in Croatia in September. "I found in rugby something that I did not find in other sports," said Huseinovic, a 25-year-old student at the Zenica faculty for sports. "The goal of my team is to achieve success in regional competitions and qualify for the 2032 Olympic Games," she said. Rugby has been played for 50 years in Zenica, and Celik, regular winners of rugby championships in the former Yugoslavia, established the first women's team last year after a previous attempt had failed during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our goal is to form women's teams in several cities across Bosnia so they can compete in domestic and international competitions," said Mirza Oruc, a vice-president of Bosnia's rugby association and coach of the national women's team. "We want to compete in rugby sevens and qualify for the Brisbane Olympic Games," Oruc told Reuters, adding that sevens was a version of rugby helping to break stereotypes about the tough sport being exclusively for men. Sara Hadzic, 25, heard about rugby at Zenica university, where she studies German language and literature. "I wanted to try something new and different, to meet new girlfriends," said Hadzic, who did karate as a child. "I am playing now recreationally but I might go professional in the future." The mothers of several children training at the Celik club decided to try out the sports themselves. "Rugby is love, friendship, socializing, family," said Brankica Sekerovic. "I have come to the club as a supporter during tournaments and met some wonderful mums ... and then came a love for rugby."
Straits Times
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Bosnia's women rugby pioneers target Olympic qualification
Members of female section of the rugby club Celik practice with the ball during a training with the hope that they will soon be ready to compete in regional and international competitions, with the ultimate goal of participating in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric Members of female section of the rugby club Celik run with the ball during training with the hope that they will soon be ready to compete in regional and international competitions, with the ultimate goal of participating in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric Members of female section of the rugby club Celik practice with the ball during a training with the hope that they will soon be ready to compete in regional and international competitions, with the ultimate goal of participating in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric Members of female section of the rugby club Celik practice with the ball during a training with the hope that they will soon be ready to compete in regional and international competitions, with the ultimate goal of participating in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric Members of female section of the rugby club Celik prepare for training with the hope that they will soon be ready to compete in regional and international competitions, with the ultimate goal of participating in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric ZENICA, Bosnia - Erna Huseinovic fell in love with rugby after coaching young children at a local club in the central town of Zenica, the home of Bosnia's first women's rugby sevens team. A speedy winger, Huseinovic is preparing with her teammates for their first international competition in Croatia in September. "I found in rugby something that I did not find in other sports," said Huseinovic, a 25-year-old student at the Zenica faculty for sports. "The goal of my team is to achieve success in regional competitions and qualify for the 2032 Olympic Games," she said. Rugby has been played for 50 years in Zenica, and Celik, regular winners of rugby championships in the former Yugoslavia, established the first women's team last year after a previous attempt had failed during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our goal is to form women's teams in several cities across Bosnia so they can compete in domestic and international competitions," said Mirza Oruc, a vice-president of Bosnia's rugby association and coach of the national women's team. "We want to compete in rugby sevens and qualify for the Brisbane Olympic Games," Oruc told Reuters, adding that sevens was a version of rugby helping to break stereotypes about the tough sport being exclusively for men. Sara Hadzic, 25, heard about rugby at Zenica university, where she studies German language and literature. "I wanted to try something new and different, to meet new girlfriends," said Hadzic, who did karate as a child. "I am playing now recreationally but I might go professional in the future." The mothers of several children training at the Celik club decided to try out the sports themselves. "Rugby is love, friendship, socializing, family," said Brankica Sekerovic. "I have come to the club as a supporter during tournaments and met some wonderful mums ... and then came a love for rugby." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
06-06-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Bosnia's women rugby pioneers target Olympic qualification
Members of female section of the rugby club Celik prepare for training with the hope that they will soon be ready to compete in regional and international competitions, with the ultimate goal of participating in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric ZENICA, Bosnia (Reuters) -Erna Huseinovic fell in love with rugby after coaching young children at a local club in the central town of Zenica, the home of Bosnia's first women's rugby sevens team. A speedy winger, Huseinovic is preparing with her teammates for their first international competition in Croatia in September. "I found in rugby something that I did not find in other sports," said Huseinovic, a 25-year-old student at the Zenica faculty for sports. "The goal of my team is to achieve success in regional competitions and qualify for the 2032 Olympic Games," she said. Rugby has been played for 50 years in Zenica, and Celik, regular winners of rugby championships in the former Yugoslavia,established the first women's team last year after a previous attempt had failed during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our goal is to form women's teams in several cities across Bosnia so they can compete in domestic and international competitions," said Mirza Oruc, a vice-president of Bosnia's rugby association and coach of the national women's team. "We want to compete in rugby sevens and qualify for the Brisbane Olympic Games," Oruc told Reuters, adding that sevens was a version of rugby helping to break stereotypes about the tough sport being exclusively for men. Sara Hadzic, 25, heard about rugby at Zenica university, where she studies German language and literature. "I wanted to try something new and different, to meet new girlfriends," said Hadzic, who did karate as a child. "I am playing now recreationally but I might go professional in the future." The mothers of several children training at the Celik club decided to try out the sports themselves. "Rugby is love, friendship, socializing, family," said Brankica Sekerovic. "I have come to the club as a supporter during tournaments and met some wonderful mums ... and then came a love for rugby." (Reporting by Amel Emric and Daria Sito-Sucic, editing by Ed Osmond)
Straits Times
29-04-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Bosnian centre trains dogs for Ukrainian demining efforts
Mine detection dog Gina trains to detect mines and explosive devices at the Norwegian People's Aid Global Training Centre for Mine and Explosive Detection Dogs, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric Trainer Abdulah Jukanovic trains a dog named Maddy to detect mines and explosive devices, at the Norwegian People's Aid Global Training Centre for Mine and Explosive Detection Dogs, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric Trainer Abdulah Jukanovic trains a dog named May to detect mines and explosive devices, at the Norwegian People's Aid Global Training Centre for Mine and Explosive Detection Dogs, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric Trainer Stefan Relic trains a dog named Mira to detect mines and explosive devices, at the Norwegian People's Aid Global Training Centre for Mine and Explosive Detection Dogs, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric Mine detection dog Revka trains to detect mines and explosive devices at the Norwegian People's Aid Global Training Centre for Mine and Explosive Detection Dogs, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric SARAJEVO - Mey, a Belgian shepherd, and her trainer Kenan Muftic learned how to effectively detect mines and unexploded ordnance last week, negotiating various obstacles and scenarios in a grass field in Sarajevo's suburb of Butmir. Since its establishment in 2004, the Norwegian People's Aid Global Training Centre for Mine and Explosive Detection Dogs in Sarajevo has trained more than 500 dogs. The trained dogs have been deployed to conflict zones across the globe, including Cambodia, Zimbabwe and Iraq. The centre has also sent 26 dogs to Ukraine, the world's most densely mined country according to a 2024 estimate by the United Nations and Ukrainian government. Soon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Norwegian People's Aid sent dogs to assist in the effort to clear millions of mines and unexploded ordnance devices, Muftic said. In Ukraine, dogs from Butmir assist deminers in clearing fields in heavily affected regions such as Kharkiv in the northeast and Mykolaiv in the south. 'In some places, they are close to the front lines,' Muftic said. Landmines laid since Russia's 2022 invasion cost Ukraine over $11 billion in annual GDP, according to a 2024 report by Ukraine's Economy Ministry and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Minefields and unexploded ordnance render vast agricultural areas inaccessible, slashing Ukraine's exports and tax revenue. Bosnia, still grappling with the legacy of its 1990s war, faces similar challenges. Data from Bosnia's Mine Action Centre in 2023 shows landmines planted across the country by Serb, Bosniac and Croat troops still affect around 15% of the population. Specialised dogs are sometimes indispensable in clearing minefields. 'In demining, we say: one mine found, one family saved,' said Muftic, who over the past 27 years has helped to clear thousands of mines and unexploded ordnance devices. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
