Bridge resurrected
The week's news at a glance.
Mostar, Bosnia
Mostar’s 16th-century Ottoman bridge, blown up in 1993 during the Balkan wars, was reopened this week. The bridge over the Neretva river connected the Bosnian Croat side of the city with the Bosnian Muslim side, and its destruction by Croat shells was seen as a symbol of the bitter ethnic strife that tore Yugoslavia apart. At the gala ceremony to dedicate the repaired bridge, Muslim and Croat dance groups and musicians performed together. As a climax, 12 young men dove headfirst from the bridge, a traditional rite of passage in Mostar and one that had been missed in the past decade. “Mostar was full of love,” said Sarajevo’s Dnevni Avaz newspaper. “The streets have a special smell—they say it is the smell of goodwill.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How military service works for K-pop idols
Under The Radar All seven members of K-pop sensation BTS have now completed mandatory national service
-
The Week contest: Flight fraud
Puzzles and Quizzes
-
Is Trump sidelining Congress' war powers?
Today's Big Question The Iran attack renews a long-running debate