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SERBIA HAS ANNOUNCED the winning slogans in a competition to help boost the birth rate in the Balkan country, where the population is decreasing by tens of thousands each year.
A campaign to tackle the declining numbers is due to start “soon”, a spokeswoman at the ministry dealing with demographics told AFP on Wednesday.
But government officials have already chosen their favourite slogans from more than 1,000 entries in a nationwide cash-prize competition.
The winner was: “Give birth, don’t delay! Love and babies are what we need first!”
“Mum, I don’t want to be alone. Dad, I want a brother,” came in joint second place, along with the more direct command: “Enough of words! Let babies’ cries be heard!”
Serbia’s ageing population of seven million people is dropping off by around 36,000 people a year, according to the national statistics office.
In 2016, 100,834 people died while just 64,734 were born. On top of that, a “brain drain” has seen Serbian youngsters flocking abroad to study and work in richer countries.
But the planned campaign to boost births has angered Serbia’s influential deputy prime minister Zorana Mihajlovic, who warned that it could “only be counter-productive”.
“Most of the slogans chosen in this initiative require women to give birth as an imperative,” she was quoted as saying by the local Beta news agency.
Mihajlovic recently came up against the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church on the matters of childbirth and abortion, which is strongly opposed by religious officials.
The leader of the Church, Patriarch Irinej, met President Aleksandar Vucic in October to discuss their concerns over the country’s “very low birth rate”.
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No, really? FFS, when are they going to crack down on bookies. Not only giving free range to every criminal to explain their strange excess of money is all “from a good day on the horses”. Betting isn’t a right and has serious negative social consequences as it is, nevermind how open it is to abuse from criminality. Regulate so accounts are linked to a pps number. Make gamblers pay tax on their annual profits (not all winnings) and have all payouts accounted for. Make the lads at the tracks scan a card. They’re making more than enough money, they can well afford the overheads
@*The* Brendan Gordon: stop..
@*The* Brendan Gordon: Ah, give it a rest. What about my pal from Drumcondra who is a wizz at picking the ponies and he doesn’t have a bank account. Crack down on the bookies and he’ll be only coming to me for another dig out.
Legalise drugs.
The taxpayer is funding irish racing by 64 million this year. why isin’t the bookies funding it.
So it’s not just Bertie who doesn’t have a bank account?
C.A.B :so where did you accumulate this money?
Shytebag:good day at race’s paaal
Either way…..
The bookies still win.
BREAKING NEWS: Criminals launder money
@Peter W: hope they don’t mix the €100 with the €50 bills!!!!! the colors could run!!!
This has been going on since Gilligan at least. According to the books. I know nothing about this kinda thing and I knew this.
@Eoin Scanlon: wow that was some oxymoron right there!!!
What happen if they lose the bet ?
@Dominic Leleu: this won’t change, bookies have too much influence in this country. The US, for its many other ills, has addressed this and has gambling controls that would never be accepted by the lobbyists here.
Hardly surprising. Drug dealers, Bookies etc. They’re from the same group of bloodsuckers that prey on the vulnerable, the addicts, the youth and the less well off. It’s sold as fun.
For well over ten years this is going on and there is so many choices to hide the money with, PP, Bet365, William Hill, Betdak etc.
Used to work in a bookmakers myself, and one or two of our “customers” who were obviously drug dealers or involved in crime would have us keep their money in our safe overnight, sometimes maybe 2 grand in cash, nobody ever said a word, so it’s hardly surprising this goes on. And they would always bet big on races often 200/300 a go. You would want to be Mr Bean to not be able to work out what they are doing
It’s all old hat, everybody knows that Paddy Power and Boyles were allowed to grow their shop chain on drug money.
I see the Helen Lovejoy brigade are out in force this morning.
@Weldoninhio: Answers on a postcard please to Paddy Powers Pr division and the Dept of Sureweloveannaulrogue
Morally reprehensible, and the drug dealers are even worse.
have your say