Thousands attend pro-Serbia government rally after months of unrest
Tens of thousands of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's supporters have held a rally in Belgrade following months of unrest across the country.A monitoring organisation said around 55,000 people had gathered in front of the National Assembly. Despite some Vucic followers travelling from neighbouring countries, attendance was significantly lower than last month's huge anti-government protest.There have been regular demonstrations in Serbia since November when the collapse of a railway station canopy in the city of Novi Sad killed 15 people, triggering widespread public anger.A number of Serbians blamed the incident on alleged corruption and corner-cutting by Vucic's Progressive Party.
The Serbian leader had promoted the rally on Saturday as the launch of a "Movement for the People and the State", which would "save" Serbia from forces working to "destroy" the country.In a speech at the event, he called on prosecutors to work to restore order and peace. He claimed the student-led protests had been threatening Serbia's peace and stability, accusing attendees of being paid by "foreign intelligence agencies"."Certain foreign powers cannot bear to see a free, independent and sovereign Serbia", he said, without clarifying which "powers" he was referring to. Vucic also criticised national broadcaster RTS, describing it as a "key participant" in an attempted "colour revolution".
After the Novi Sad incident last November, some blamed what had happened on more than a decade of governing by the Progressive Party of Vucic - who closely associated himself with the station's prior renovation.It was considered a key part of the government's flagship infrastructure project - the high-speed line from Belgrade to Budapest in Hungary.The demonstrations that followed the disaster saw attendees use the slogan "corruption kills". They claimed that the opaque procurement procedures the government used for infrastructure projects had enriched a few favoured contractors while putting public safety at risk.Despite multiple resignations - and Vucic's insistence that he was going nowhere - protests grew.Last month, hundreds of thousands of people descended on Serbia's capital.An independent monitor estimated 325,000 - if not more - had gathered, making it Serbia's largest protest ever.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Ecuador national assembly passes gang-fighting reforms
QUITO, June 7 (Reuters) - Ecuador's National Assembly on Saturday approved a reform backed by President Daniel Noboa to arm the government with new legal powers to confront armed groups and dismantle the drug-trafficking networks that fuel their criminal enterprises. The bill was backed by 84 of the 141 lawmakers who were present in the legislature. Forty-six lawmakers voted against it, 10 abstained and one turned in a blank vote. Noboa, 37, who began a full four-year term last month, declared an "internal armed conflict" in January 2024 against criminal gangs, just a couple of months after he was first inaugurated as president. Since declaring the campaign against gangs, Noboa has issued emergency decrees, opens new tab to put military boots on the ground alongside police, significantly ramping up security forces. He has also overseen an increase in prison sentences for drug-related crimes and is pursuing closer collaboration with the United States and other nations for intelligence sharing and resources. The new legal framework gives Noboa more freedom to redirect resources toward crime-fighting measures. He will also have the power to pardon police and military personnel for their conduct in security operations. Officers under criminal investigation will also avoid pre-trial detention but will be subject to evaluations every six months, according to the approved text. The reforms as well introduce penalties of up to 30 years for fuel theft, which costs hundreds of millions of dollars for the oil industry. Authorities say this crime, along with illegal mining, has grown in recent years and is a key source of funding for criminal gangs. Assets linked to criminal groups can be directly seized by security forces, a significant shift allowing for more immediate confiscation compared to previous, often lengthy, judicial processes for asset forfeiture. Individuals who lead, belong to, or collaborate with these groups will face prison sentences of up to 30 years. The reforms also include economic incentives for sectors affected by the violence.
NBC News
4 days ago
- NBC News
Vietnam scraps two-child policy as aging threatens economic growth
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has abolished its long-standing two-child limit to try and reverse declining birth rates and ease the pressures of an aging population. The National Assembly passed amendments scrapping rules that limit families to having one or two children, the state-run Vietnam News Agency reported Wednesday. The rules were usually stricter for members of the ruling Communist Party, who could miss out on promotions or bonuses if they had a third child. Vietnamese families are having fewer children than ever before. The birth rate in 2021 was 2.11 children per woman, just over the replacement rate required for a population to avoid shrinking over the long term. Since then, the birth rate has steadily declined: to 2.01 in 2022, 1.96 in 2023 and 1.91 in 2024. Vietnam is not the only Asian country with low fertility. Also on Wednesday, government data in Japan showed the number of newborns there decreasing faster than projected, falling for the 16th straight year to a record low of 686,061 in 2024, a drop of 5.7% compared with the previous year. But, unlike Japan, South Korea or Singapore, Vietnam is still a developing economy. Nguyen Thu Linh, 37, a marketing manager in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, said she and her husband decided to have only one child because they wanted to give their 6-year-old son the best education and upbringing that they could afford. 'Sometimes, I think about having another child so my son can have a sibling, but there's so much financial and time pressure if you have another child,' she said. Vietnam introduced rules blocking families from having more than two children in 1988 to reduce pressure on limited resources after years of war, first with France and then the United States, as the country transitioned into a more market-oriented economy. The population rose from about 62 million then to just over 100 million in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available. Vietnam's 'golden population' period — when working-age people outnumber those who depend on them — began in 2007 and is expected to last until 2039. The number of people who can work is likely to peak in 2042 and, by 2054, the population may start shrinking. All of this could make it harder to grow the economy, since there will be fewer workers while the cost of supporting the needs of the elderly increases. Vietnam is also dealing with a unbalanced gender ratio, partly due to long-standing preferences for sons. Doctors are not allowed to tell parents the baby's sex before birth, and sex-selective abortions are banned. Despite this, some still hint at the baby's sex using coded language, said state media VN Express, citing a government report. On Tuesday, the health ministry proposed tripling the fine for choosing a baby's sex before birth to $3,800, state media reported. China imposed a one-child policy in 1979 amid worries about overpopulation. But as the country faces growing concerns about the long-term economic and societal challenges of an aging population, it has been slowly easing the policy to allow a second child and then a third child in 2021, but with little success in boosting birth rates. In Japan, the fertility rate fell to a new low of 1.15 in 2024, compared with 1.2 a year earlier, according to Health Ministry data. Experts say the government's measures have not addressed a growing number of young people reluctant to marry, largely focusing on already married couples. The younger generation are increasingly reluctant to marry or have children due to bleak job prospects, a high cost of living and a gender-biased corporate culture that adds extra burdens for women and working mothers, experts say. Japan's population of about 124 million people is projected to fall to 87 million by 2070, with 40% of the population over 65.
The Independent
5 days ago
- The Independent
Vietnam scraps 2-child policy as aging threatens economic growth
Vietnam has abolished its long-standing two-child limit on Tuesday to try and reverse declining birth rates and ease the pressures of an aging population. The National Assembly passed amendments scrapping rules that limit families to having one or two children, state media Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday. Vietnamese families are having fewer children than ever before. The birth rate in 2021 was 2.11 children per woman, just over the replacement rate required for a population to avoid shrinking over the long term. Since then, the birth rate has steadily declined: to 2.01 in 2022, 1.96 in 2023 and 1.91 in 2024. Vietnam isn't the only Asian country with low fertility. But, unlike Japan, South Korea or Singapore, it is still a developing economy. Nguyen Thu Linh, 37, a marketing manager in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, said that she and her husband decided to have only one child because she and her husband wanted to ensure that they could give their 6-year-old son the best education and upbringing that they could afford. "Sometimes, I think about having another child so my son can have a sibling, but there's so much financial and time pressure if you have another child.' Vietnam introduced rules blocking families from having more than two children in 1988, with the idea that women would spend less time on childcare and more time working. Vietnam's 'golden population' period — when working age people outnumber those who depend on them — began in 2007 and is expected to last until 2039. The number of people who can work is likely to peak in 2042 and, by 2054, the population may start shrinking. All of this could make it harder to grow the economy, since there will be fewer workers while the cost of supporting the needs of the elderly grows. Birth rates in Vietnam aren't falling evenly. In Ho Chi Minh City — the country's biggest city and economic hub — the fertility rate in 2024 was just 1.39 children per woman, much lower than the national average. At the same time, nearly 12% of the city's population was over 60, putting pressure on welfare services. To help, local officials started offering about $120 to women who have two children before turning 35 last December. Vietnam is also dealing with a unbalanced gender ratio, partly because due long-standing preferences for sons. Doctors aren't allowed to tell parents the baby's sex before birth, and sex-selective abortions are banned. On Tuesday, the health ministry proposed tripling the fine for choosing a baby's sex before birth to $3,800, state media reported. China imposed a one-child policy in 1979 amid worries about overpopulation. But as the country faces growing concerns about the long-term economic and societal challenges of an aging population, it has been slowly easing the policy to allow a second child and then a third child in 2021, but with little success at boosting birthrates.
