Thousands set up street blockades in Serbia after arrests of anti-government protesters
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of people Sunday set up street blockades in Serbia, angry over the arrest of anti-government protesters who clashed with police at a massive rally a day earlier demanding early elections.
Protesters put up metal fences and garbage containers at various locations in the capital Belgrade, also blocking a key bridge over the Sava river. Protesters in the northern city of Novi Sad pelted the offices of the ruling populist Serbian Progressive Party with eggs.
Serbian media said similar protest blockades were organized in smaller cities in the Balkan country.
Protesters on Sunday demanded that authorities release dozens of university students and other protesters who were jailed for attacking the police or for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government at the rally Saturday in Belgrade.
Tens of thousands of people attended the rally held after nearly eight months of persistent dissent that has rattled populist President Aleksandar Vucic.
Protesters also declared the current populist government 'illegitimate' and laid the responsibility for any violence on the government.
Clashes with riot police erupted after the official part of the rally ended. Police used pepper spray, batons and shields while protesters threw rocks, bottles and other objects.
Police said on Sunday that 48 officers were injured while 22 protesters sought medical help. Out of 77 people detained, 38 remained in custody Sunday, most of them facing criminal charges, said Interior Minister Ivica Dacic.
At least eight more people were detained during the day, the prosecutors said.
Vucic earlier Sunday announced the arrests at a press conference, accusing organizers of the rally of inciting violence and attacks on police, urging legal prosecution.
He also criticized "terrorists and those who tried to bring down the state,' singling out University of Belgrade's head dean, Vladan Djokic, who was among the protesters.
'There will be more arrests,' Vucic said. 'Identification of all individuals is underway.'
Anti-government protests started after a renovated rail station canopy collapsed in November, killing 16 people. Many in Serbia blamed the tragedy in the northern city of Novi Sad on corruption-fueled negligence in state infrastructure projects.
Vucic has repeatedly rejected the student demand for an immediate snap vote instead of regular elections planned for 2027.
'Serbia won. You cannot destroy Serbia with violence,' Vucic said Sunday. 'They consciously wanted to spur bloodshed. The time of accountability is coming.'
Critics say Vucic has become increasingly authoritarian since coming to power over a decade ago, stifling democratic freedoms while allowing corruption and organized crime to flourish. He has denied this.
Serbia is formally seeking European Union entry, but Vucic's government has nourished its relations with both Russia and China.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why the traditional college major may be holding students back in a rapidly changing job market
Colleges and universities are struggling to stay afloat. The reasons are numerous: declining numbers of college-age students in much of the country, rising tuition at public institutions as state funding shrinks, and a growing skepticism about the value of a college degree. Pressure is mounting to cut costs by reducing the time it takes to earn a degree from four years to three. Students, parents and legislators increasingly prioritize return on investment and degrees that are more likely to lead to gainful employment. This has boosted enrollment in professional programs while reducing interest in traditional liberal arts and humanities majors, creating a supply-demand imbalance. The result has been increasing financial pressure and an unprecedented number of closures and mergers, to date mostly among smaller liberal arts colleges. To survive, institutions are scrambling to align curriculum with market demand. And they're defaulting to the traditional college major to do so. The college major, developed and delivered by disciplinary experts within siloed departments, continues to be the primary benchmark for academic quality and institutional performance. This structure likely works well for professional majors governed by accreditation or licensure, or more tightly aligned with employment. But in today's evolving landscape, reliance on the discipline-specific major may not always serve students or institutions well. As a professor emeritus and former college administrator and dean, I argue that the college major may no longer be able to keep up with the combinations of skills that cross multiple academic disciplines and career readiness skills demanded by employers, or the flexibility students need to best position themselves for the workplace. I see students arrive on campus each year with different interests, passions and talents – eager to stitch them into meaningful lives and careers. A more flexible curriculum is linked to student success, and students now consult AI tools such as ChatGPT to figure out course combinations that best position them for their future. They want flexibility, choice and time to redirect their studies if needed. And yet, the moment students arrive on campus – even before they apply – they're asked to declare a major from a list of predetermined and prescribed choices. The major, coupled with general education and other college requirements, creates an academic track that is anything but flexible. Not surprisingly, around 80% of college students switch their majors at least once, suggesting that more flexible degree requirements would allow students to explore and combine diverse areas of interest. And the number of careers, let alone jobs, that college graduates are expected to have will only increase as technological change becomes more disruptive. As institutions face mounting pressures to attract students and balance budgets, and the college major remains the principal metric for doing so, the curriculum may be less flexible now than ever. In response to market pressures, colleges are adding new high-demand majors at a record pace. Between 2002 and 2022, the number of degree programs nationwide increased by nearly 23,000, or 40%, while enrollment grew only 8%. Some of these majors, such as cybersecurity, fashion business or entertainment design, arguably connect disciplines rather than stand out as distinct. Thus, these new majors siphon enrollment from lower-demand programs within the institution and compete with similar new majors at competitor schools. At the same time, traditional arts and humanities majors are adding professional courses to attract students and improve employability. Yet, this adds credit hours to the degree while often duplicating content already available in other departments. Importantly, while new programs are added, few are removed. The challenge lies in faculty tenure and governance, along with a traditional understanding that faculty set the curriculum as disciplinary experts. This makes it difficult to close or revise low-demand majors and shift resources to growth areas. The result is a proliferation of under-enrolled programs, canceled courses and stretched resources – leading to reduced program quality and declining faculty morale. Ironically, under the pressure of declining demand, there can be perverse incentives to grow credit hours required in a major or in general education requirements as a way of garnering more resources or adding courses aligned with faculty interests. All of which continues to expand the curriculum and stress available resources. Universities are also wrestling with the idea of liberal education and how to package the general education requirement. Although liberal education is increasingly under fire, employers and students still value it. Students' career readiness skills – their ability to think critically and creatively, to collaborate effectively and to communicate well – remain strong predictors of future success in the workplace and in life. Assuming the requirement for students to complete a major in order to earn a degree, colleges can also allow students to bundle smaller modules – such as variable-credit minors, certificates or course sequences – into a customizable, modular major. This lets students, guided by advisers, assemble a degree that fits their interests and goals while drawing from multiple disciplines. A few project-based courses can tie everything together and provide context. Such a model wouldn't undermine existing majors where demand is strong. For others, where demand for the major is declining, a flexible structure would strengthen enrollment, preserve faculty expertise rather than eliminate it, attract a growing number of nontraditional students who bring to campus previously earned credentials, and address the financial bottom line by rightsizing curriculum in alignment with student demand. One critique of such a flexible major is that it lacks depth of study, but it is precisely the combination of curricular content that gives it depth. Another criticism is that it can't be effectively marketed to an employer. But a customized major can be clearly named and explained to employers to highlight students' unique skill sets. Further, as students increasingly try to fit cocurricular experiences – such as study abroad, internships, undergraduate research or organizational leadership – into their course of study, these can also be approved as modules in a flexible curriculum. It's worth noting that while several schools offer interdisciplinary studies majors, these are often overprescribed or don't grant students access to in-demand courses. For a flexible-degree model to succeed, course sections would need to be available and added or deleted in response to student demand. Several schools also now offer microcredentials– skill-based courses or course modules that increasingly include courses in the liberal arts. But these typically need to be completed in addition to requirements of the major. We take the college major for granted. Yet it's worth noting that the major is a relatively recent invention. Before the 20th century, students followed a broad liberal arts curriculum designed to create well-rounded, globally minded citizens. The major emerged as a response to an evolving workforce that prioritized specialized knowledge. But times change – and so can the model. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: John Weigand, Miami University Read more: Will the 'right' college major get you a job? Why do we need the humanities? Some want to get rid of college majors – here's how that could go wrong John Weigand does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Extra 150,000 people will still be forced into poverty despite welfare U-turn
An extra 150,000 people will still be pushed into poverty despite the government making significant concessions on its plans to cut welfare, according to its own analysis. The government document, published today, reflects its decision to water down some of the more severe changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and the health top-up for universal states that an estimated 150,000 people will now be pushed into poverty after housing costs if the new welfare cuts come into effect - . Under the original reforms, the eligibility criteria for . Ministers also intended to freeze the health top-up of Universal Credit at £97 a week during this parliament. However, in the face of a large rebellion by Labour MPs, the government changed the proposals for PIP to . All current recipients of the health element of Universal Credit will also now have their incomes protected in real terms, as will any new applicants who meet the "severe conditions criteria". The government will hope that the reduction of 100,000 people will be enough to persuade Labour MPs to vote for the new package of reforms when they are . The new assessment also states the impact on the number of pensioners and children in poverty is "expected to be negligible" after the original analysis said 50,000 children would be in relative poverty by the end of the decade. The new modelling does not take account of extra money the government is putting in to support people with disabilities and long-term health conditions into work. Before the government announced its changes, 127 Labour MPs signalled publicly that they would be willing to vote down the welfare bill in its entirety by that would have stopped its progress through parliament. It has been reported that the number of Labour rebels now stands at around 50 following the concessions. Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, indicated she would still vote against the bill despite the concessions. In a post on X, she said: "Even with the concessions, the government's own analysis forecasts that 150,000 people could still be pushed into poverty by disability benefit cuts by the end of the decade. "As Labour MPs, we didn't enter politics to make struggling constituents poorer. We must stop this bill." Read more: Downing Street said the updated modelling on the impact of the government's welfare cuts "doesn't reflect the full picture". A spokesperson said there was still "uncertainty" around the projections because they don't take into account other government action, including NHS investment and employment support. "All our support directly helps people moving to work and becoming financially independent," they added.
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Wall Street Journal
China's Communist Party Now Has 100 Million Members. Many Are in It for the Paycheck.
When President Trump started restricting study visas this spring in what he described as a move to safeguard national security, his administration zeroed in on students from China—pledging to keep out those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. But for many in China, being a party member isn't necessarily about ideology or loyalty to leader Xi Jinping and his efforts to challenge the U.S. Rather, joining the party is widely considered a step toward securing an 'iron rice bowl'—stable and guaranteed employment, typically in the government or a state enterprise.
