Boats Pluck People from Roofs as Sloods Sweep Serbia and Bosnia
Boats sailed through the streets of a Serbian town on Friday on a mission to rescue people trapped by rising waters as the worst floods ever recorded swept Serbia and Bosnia. Some residents of Obrenovac, 30 km (20 miles) southwest of the capital Belgrade, were stranded on the roofs of their homes, calling for help. Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said all 25,000 citizens would have to be evacuated. At least five people have died in the unfolding disaster this week. Thousands have been evacuated from homes in central and western areas of Serbia and in neighbouring Bosnia. Around 135,000 households were without power across Serbia and the government approved emergency electricity imports. Another 65,000 were without electricity in Bosnia. "This is a catastrophe.
NIS Q1 Net Profit Up 18 %
Serbian oil company NIS , majority owned by Gazprom Neft, reported an 18 percent rise in net profit in the first quarter of 2014 on higher sales and improved production efficiency. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to 15.5 billion dinars from 8.3 billion in the same period last year, NIS said in a statement on Tuesday. Net profit reached 8.6 billion dinars compared with 7.3 billion in the first quarter of 2013. NIS is Serbia's second largest exporter and a major contributor to the Balkan country's budget. NIS produces around 1.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe) from fields inSerbia and is engaged in oil exploration in neighbouring Bosnia, Hungary andRomania. (Reporting by Ivana Sekularac. Editing by Jane Merriman)
