Latest news with #AmelEmric
Yahoo
4 days ago
- 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
4 days ago
- 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
4 days ago
- 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.
The Star
21-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Bosnia's truck drivers protest, demand government help for the sector
A drone view shows truck drivers from across Bosnia taking part in a protest demanding a stronger government support for the transportation sector, which suffers from what they say is an unfair treatment in the European Union, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric SARAJEVO (Reuters) - More than 500 trucks drove through the Bosnian capital Sarajevo on Monday, blowing horns in a protest against the government's failure to help the struggling transportation sector and warning they may block borders unless a deal is reached. Around 47,000 workers are employed in Bosnia's transportation industry, which is worth about 4 billion euros ($4.60 billion), but administrative barriers and excessive taxes are endangering its survival, said Velibor Peulic, chief coordinator of the Logistika consortium of 600 companies. Peulic said a key problem has been a 90-day cap set by the European Union on the amount of time Bosnian truck drivers can stay in the bloc without leaving, out of 180 days permitted annually. This has forced many companies to re-register in neighbouring EU members Croatia and Slovenia, and many Bosnian drivers to leave their country. "We are not terrorists, we are doing our jobs," Peulic told reporters in Sarajevo, urging the foreign minister to expedite bilateral deals with EU member states to lift the time limitations for drivers. He also said that transport companies want a refund of excise taxes on oil and shorter border procedures, calling for greater digitalisation to cut red tape and long queues. Transportation Minister Edin Forto said last week the government will form a working group to meet the sector's demands and will appoint a transportation adviser to act as a point person on behalf of the government. Unless a deal with the government on proposed changes has been reached by the end of the week, the truck drivers will block state borders on April 28, the transporters said. "Since we have been blocked, then the state will be blocked," said Zijad Saric, a member of the consortium's managing board. ($1 = 0.8692 euros) (Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
