Croatia warned its citizens Thursday to postpone unnecessary travel to neighboring Serbia after the deportation of five Croatian activists who had taken part in a meeting of civil society organizations in the Serbian capital,

Country calls on citizens to cancel planned trips to Serbia, advises Croatian nationals in country to avoid crowded places

Croatia has lodged a protest with Serbia after five Croatian citizens were deported from Belgrade during a civil society meeting. The incident has reignited tensions between the Balkan nations, with protests in Serbia over related governmental actions raising concerns about democratic freedoms and corruption.

Croatia on Thursday recommended its nationals postpone non-essential travel to Serbia, alleging Belgrade had expelled five Croatian women citing security reasons.

Croatia's opposition-backed President Zoran Milanović, a critic of the European Union and NATO, overwhelmingly won reelection for another five-year term on Sunday, defeating a candidate from the ruling conservative party in a runoff vote,

Serbia's highest state officials, without providing evidence, claim in their statements that student blockades and protests are under the influence of Western intelligence services.

A total of 13 foreign nationals were detained without explanation during the past night in Belgrade, after which they were expelled from Serbia with a one-year entry ban, one of the detainees told Autonomija.

The European Parliament on Tuesday ratified an agreement allowing the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) to deploy personnel across all of Serbia’s territory, including borders with non-EU countries,

Croatia's media enjoy a high degree of independence. Croatian Radio-TV, HRT, is the state-owned public broadcaster and is financed by advertising and a licence fee. Public TV is still the main source of news and information, but HRT is losing audience share and privately-owned Nova TV is now the top station.

As the war in Ukraine continues to reshape global priorities, some nations have ramped up their defense spending. Among the most powerful military forces globally, the United States, Russia, and China remain dominant.

China and in Croatia. Associated Press writers Dušan Stojanović and Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report.

[EPA-EFE/ANDREJ CUKIC] Serbia's student-led protests against ... who wrote that the brothers were paid by Croatia’s secret service. In Belgrade on Friday, tens of thousands of anti-government ...