BELGRADE (Serbia) – For followers of the FIBA ​​youth game, Sika Kone was always a viable Top 10 pick for the 2022 WNBA draft, and a perfect shooting night for Mali in Belgrade may have slienced any doubters.

Kone caught fire for the African nation in her first outing at the FIBA ​​Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament with a staggering 10 of 10 from the floor as she erupted with 26 points in a 77-66 loss to France.

Two-way phenomenon

Yet it wasn’t just the shooting that turned heads. She also weighed in with 9 rebounds, as we as 5 steals, with her energy and relentless defensive effort also standing out.

It was the kind of display that will no doubt have WNBA Draft projection sites thinking long and hard whether they have her high enough on their lists. In fact, some observers and women’s basketball specialists believe Kone should be knocking on the door of the top five.

It comes off the back of her spectacular performances at the FIBA ​​U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup last year when she propelled her team to history and a first ever Semi-Finals spot.

Already the best in Africa?

If her amazing showing in the Serbian capital has re-ignited a debate as to how high she should be picked in the forthcoming draft, it has also sparked a conversation about whether she is already the best African player. What is undeniable is that this is a moniker which she looks absolutely destined for.

For those unaware of her explosive talent, it may come across as just hyperbole. But hold that thought right there. Because there’s even more.

Mali head coach Joaquin Luis Brizuela Carrion believes Kone has the ability to do truly great things.

“Sika is young player, but also a great player as she showed in her 35 minutes against a leading team like France. She can play now in the WNBA because she is clearly ready and in another 4-5 years she is going to be one of the great players in the world – she could even be the greatest.”

Over to you Sika…!

Kone and Mali face China on day 2 in Belgrade at 15:00 CET, while Nigeria play France at 18:00 CET.

FIBA

Turkey will think of revenge when the women’s national volleyball team takes on defending champions Serbia in the semi-finals of the 2021 CEV European Championship in Belgrade on Friday.

Turkey, the current runner-up, had lost the EuroVolley final against Serbia in 2019 in Ankara.

On the way to the final, Serbia defeated France 3-1 in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The Turkish women’s team, on the other hand, defeated Poland 3-0 in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

The Sultans of the Nets have won all seven games of this year’s tournament. They were drawn in Pool D with Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, the Netherlands and hosts Romania.

The Turkish national team arrived in Serbia on Wednesday and was later received by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who is also visiting the country.

The quarter-final match in Belgrade’s Stark Arena will be broadcast live on Turkish state broadcaster TRT 1 at 6 p.m. (1500 GMT).

In the other semi-final game, the Netherlands will face Italy later on Friday.

The third place match and the final will be played in Belgrade on September 4th.

Citizens and businesses are not aware at all, this is due not only to the lack of education, but also to the lack of penalties from inspectors and police who are negligent.

Various wastes, including solid ones, continue to be ruthlessly dumped on the green area in the ‘Dardania’ neighborhood of Gjilan by irresponsible residents and businesses, damaging the green area there.

Despite the fact that the citizens have informed the inspectors and municipal officials and the police about the successive dumping of waste by citizens and businesses in that little green area on Tefta Tashko and Muharrem Ibrahimi streets, for a long time now, except for the inspectors leaving in vain, no fines have been imposed. .

Residents of this part, where the best nursery in our country is built, built by the American people, continue to complain about the parking of trucks and environmental pollution by them, but in fact inspectors and police continue to neglect the complaints of residents , while police officers are also part of this crime.

The British spent a week of mourning in re-examining their own history through the prism of the life of the Duke of Edinburgh and his service to the people and the Queen, which lasted over seven decades. For the royal family, the mourning will last for two weeks.

The surveyed citizens say that they wanted to pay tribute to the duke, but also that they are sorry for the queen because she lost someone with whom she spent her whole life.

“She must be desperate, like all of them, because after all, they are just one normal family,” says one woman.

And those who did not know much about Prince Philip in the previous days could learn about him by watching programs about his life.

“He was a joke. He was fun and full of spirit. Yes, he had his gaffes, but it also depends on who understood it all. A wonderful husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather and an example for all of us,” says one girl.

In Windsor, everything is ready for the departure of the exiled Greek-Danish prince and hero of the Second World War with the longest tenure of a sovereign’s husband in history, for the last time to the chapel of St. George in Windsor, where he will be buried in the tomb of the royal family.

Due to the pandemic, only thirty members of Prince Philip’s family, including its German branch, will attend the funeral.

For the media, the most important thing is that the grandchildren, Princes William and Harry, will not accompany their grandfather by walking next to each other, as they did at the funeral of their mother, Princess Diana.

The end of Prince Philip’s life represents the beginning of a re-examination of the role of the monarchy in Britain: do the people want a king after the queen and should the reign change?

BELGRADE, Serbia, February 10 (SeeNews) – China’s Shandong Hi-Speed ​​Group (SDHS) is considering building a logistics complex in Valjevo, western Serbia, Vecernje Novosti reported on Monday.

“The company is interested in the acquisition of land in Valjevo for the construction of a logistics complex for this part of Serbia,” Vecernje Novosti quoted the director of the Serbian subsidiary of SDHS, Zhang Jianchao.

SDHS is also considering investing in the Divcibare mountain resort development near Valjevo as interest from Chinese tourists to Serbia increases, Jianchao said.

During a meeting with Serbia’s Minister of Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlovic, in November, the company’s vice chairman Meng Yang said SDHS was also interested in the projects for the construction of expressways in Serbia connecting Zrenjanin with Belgrade and Novi Sad.

In August, SDHS completed the construction of the Lajkovac-Ub section of the Europe-wide transport corridor XI in Serbia.

According to the Serbian daily “Danas”, one of the three leading airline groups in China has expressed an interest in taking over Etihad Airways’ minority stake in Air Serbia. The Chinese government has informed its Serbian counterpart that a “state-owned Chinese company is ready to take over a 49% stake in another troubled Serbian company”. A source close to the government told the newspaper: “It would be appropriate for the Serbian government for a large Chinese airline to become a shareholder of Air Serbia and Etihad’s stake. With that in mind, the government stands ready to approve the proposal. However, there are concerns that Brussels would disapprove of this. ”

China is strong and controversial in Europe. Last year the European Parliament passed new regulations that create a framework for screening foreign direct investment into the EU, primarily targeting China. In essence, the new framework allows the EU to review purchases by foreign companies targeting Europe’s strategic assets, including aviation. Even non-EU states like Serbia that want to join the bloc are likely to do so. As a result, according to “Danas”, the Serbian government has yet to react to the Chinese offer and has not published the information for this reason. The three largest airlines in China, all of which are state-owned, are Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines.

Last week, Etihad Airways suspended flights between Abu Dhabi and Belgrade for an indefinite period and appears to be ending its codeshare partnership with Air Serbia next year, indicating that its stake in the company is also coming to an end. The Serbian government has indicated that Etihad may withdraw from its partial ownership of Air Serbia. In October, she passed a decree that allows her to recapitalize Air Serbia. Through recapitalization, the state can increase its stake in the company, which it can later sell. The Serbian president indicated in the summer that another strategic partner could be called in if Etihad were to leave the airline in whole or in part. “We could introduce a few other strategic partners, but we will continue to hold a majority stake. Air Serbia will be our flagship and it will be stronger than it is today, ”he said.