Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro was a country in Southeast Europe, created from the two remaining republics of Yugoslavia after its breakup in 1991. The republics of Serbia and Montenegro together established a federation in 1992 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (abbreviated FRY, sometimes and as FR Yugoslavia; Serbian: Savezna Republika Jugoslavija (abbreviated SRJ, sometimes and as SR Jugoslavija), Serbian Cyrillic: Савезна Република Југославија (abbreviated СРЈ, sometimes and as СР Југославија)). In 2003, it was reconstituted as a state union officially known as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, transitioning to two independent nations by 2006.

The FRY aspired to be a sole legal successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but those claims were opposed by other former republics. The United Nations also denied its request to automatically continue the membership of the former state. Eventually, after the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević from power as president of the federation in 2000, the country rescinded those aspirations and accepted the opinion of the Badinter Arbitration Committee about shared succession. It re-applied for UN membership on 27 October and was admitted on 1 November 2000. From 1992 to 2000, some countries, including the United States, referred to the FRY as "Serbia and Montenegro".

Montenegro Airlines

Montenegro Airlines a.d. (Montenegrin: Монтенегро ерлајнс / Montenegro erlajns) is the flag carrier of Montenegro, headquartered in Podgorica. It operates scheduled and charter services throughout Europe from its hub at Podgorica Airport with a second base maintained at Tivat Airport.

History

The airline was founded on October 24, 1994 by the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The first aircraft, a Fokker 28 Mk4000 (nicknamed "Lovćen"), was purchased almost two years later in 1996. The first commercial flight took place on May 7, 1997, at exactly 10:30 between Podgorica and Bari, Italy.

In April 2000, Montenegro Airlines became a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). In June 2000, the first of five Fokker F100 aircraft was delivered to Podgorica Airport. The airline joined Amadeus CRS on March 5, 2003. In 2004, Montenegro Airlines' pilots were the first in the region to be granted the IIIA certificate. On July 2 of the same year the airline carried its millionth passenger.

Serbia

Coordinates: 44°N 21°E / 44°N 21°E / 44; 21

Serbia (ⁱ/ˈsɜːrbiə/, Serbian: Србија / Srbija, IPA: [sř̩bija]), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија / Republika Srbija), is a sovereign state situated at the crossroads between Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. Serbia is landlocked and borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro to the west; it also claims a border with Albania through the disputed territory of Kosovo. The capital of Serbia, Belgrade, is one of the largest cities in Southeast Europe. Serbia numbers around 7 million residents.

Following the Slavic migrations to the Balkans from the 6th century onwards, Serbs established several states in the early Middle Ages. The Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by Rome and Constantinople in 1217; it reached its peak in 1346 as a relatively short-lived Serbian Empire. By the mid-16th century, the entire territory of modern-day Serbia was annexed by the Ottoman Empire, at times interrupted by the Habsburgs. In the early 19th century, the Serbian Revolution established the nation-state as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory. Following disastrous casualties in World War I, and subsequent unification of Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina with Serbia, the country co-founded Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples, which would exist in various political formations until the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, which had devastating effects for the region. As a result, Serbia formed a union with Montenegro in 1992, which broke apart in 2006, when Serbia again became an independent country. In 2008 the parliament of Kosovo, Serbia's southern province with an Albanian ethnic majority, declared independence, with mixed responses from the international community.

Montenegro

Coordinates: 42°30′N 19°18′E / 42.500°N 19.300°E / 42.500; 19.300

Montenegro (ⁱ/ˌmɒntᵻˈneɪɡroʊ/ MON-tən-AYG-roh or /ˌmɒntᵻˈniːɡroʊ/ MON-tən-EEG-roh or /ˌmɒntᵻˈnɛɡroʊ/ MON-tən-EG-roh; Montenegrin: Crna Gora / Црна Гора [t͡sr̩̂ːnaː ɡɔ̌ra], meaning "Black Mountain") is a sovereign state in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the south-east. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Prijestonica, meaning the former Royal Capital City.

In the 9th century, there were three principalities on the territory of Montenegro: Duklja, roughly corresponding to the southern half, Travunia, the west, and Rascia, the north. In 1042, archon Stefan Vojislav led a revolt that resulted in the independence of Duklja and the establishment of the Vojislavljević dynasty. Duklja reached its zenith under Vojislav's son, Mihailo (1046–81), and his grandson Bodin (1081–1101). By the 13th century, Zeta had replaced Duklja when referring to the realm. In the late 14th century, southern Montenegro (Zeta) came under the rule of the Balšić noble family, then the Crnojević noble family, and by the 15th century, Zeta was more often referred to as Crna Gora (Venetian: monte negro). Large portions fell under the control of the Ottoman Empire from 1496 to 1878. Parts were controlled by Venice. From 1515 until 1851 the prince-bishops (vladikas) of Cetinje were the rulers. The House of Petrović-Njegoš ruled until 1918. From 1918, it was a part of Yugoslavia. On the basis of an independence referendum held on 21 May 2006, Montenegro declared independence on 3 June of that year.

Miss Universe

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. Along with its rival contests, Miss World and Miss Earth, this pageant is one of the most publicized beauty contests in the world. The pageant was founded in 1952 by the California clothing company Pacific Mills, and is owned, along with Miss USA, by WME/IMG.

In 1998, Miss Universe, Inc. changed its name to Miss Universe Organization, and moved its headquarters from Los Angeles to New York City.

In 1998, the logo of Miss Universe – "the woman with stars" – was created, representing the beauty and responsibility of women around the world. The same logo is used in present-day pageants.

In 2015, after Donald Trump made statements about immigrants from Mexico in his presidential campaign kickoff speech, NBC decided to end their business relationship and stated that they will no longer air the pageant, or the Miss USA pageant, on their networks. In September 2015, Trump bought the entire stock of the Miss Universe Organization from NBC, becoming its sole owner for three days until selling the entire stock to WME/IMG.