Serbia on Sunday honoured 2019 Nobel Literature Prize winner Peter Handke, who is known for his apologist views over Serbia's nationalist policies and Serb war crimes during the 1990s wars in the Balkans, AP reported. The Austrian novelist and screenwriter received a state decoration from Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic, a former ultranationalist who now says he wants his country to join the EU.

Several thousand people in Serbia rallied on Saturday demanding that the government protect the environment in a Balkan nation that has seen record levels of air pollution and scores of other ecological problems following decades of neglect, AP reported.

Thousands of vaccine-seekers from countries neighbouring Serbia flocked to Belgrade on Saturday after Serbian authorities promised foreigners free coronavirus jabs if they showed up over the weekend. As a result, long lines of Bosnians, Montenegrins and North Macedonians - often entire families - formed in front of the main vaccination center in the Serbian capital as police kept watch.

Serbia will close down all nonessential shops, bars and restaurants during the weekend in attempt to fight coronavirus infections surge, AP reported. The crisis body said on Friday said the measures will take effect on Friday evening and last until Monday. Authorities will decide on Monday how to proceed. The decision is expected to be formally endorsed by the government later Friday.

Serbia will begin production of the Russian-designed coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V on 20 May, according to a deal signed by the two countries in Moscow on Thursday, dpa reported.

Struggling with surging COVID-19 infections, several Balkan countries said on Wednesday that they would step up restrictions in hopes of easing the pressure on their overburdened health systems, AP reported.

Serbia is struggling to contain a wave of new Covid-19 cases triggered by more infectious strains and health experts have urged the government to impose another lockdown despite the country's massive vaccine rollout, news wires reported.

Serbia on Sunday donated a first batch of 8,000 doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines to North Macedonia, which is yet to deliver its first jabs, AP reported. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and North Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev attended a border checkpoint handover ceremony of the shipment, praising friendship between the two neighboring Balkan states.

Nearly 5,000 doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccines were flown on Tuesday to Serbia, the first country in the Balkans to get a COVID-19 vaccine, news wires reported.

Serbia’s PM Ana Brnabic said on Monday the Balkan country plans to start laboratory testing of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus and it will also continue talks with drugmaker Pfizer about purchasing its shot.