Serbia's Vucic nominates medical professor as prime minister
BELGRADE, April 7 (Reuters) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has nominated a politically inexperienced medical professor, Djuro Macut, to become prime minister after the previous occupant resigned during anti-government protests.
Demonstrations have spiralled since the collapse of a railway station roof in November killed 16 people, with protesters denouncing government corruption and incompetence in the biggest challenge to Vucic's 12-year grip on power.
The government denies the accusations and says Western intelligence agencies are backing a push to destabilise the Balkan nation of 6.6 million people.
Vucic announced his nominee in a public address late on Sunday, saying Macut needs to propose a cabinet for a new government to be formed by April 18. The 62-year-old lectures in endocrinology at Belgrade University and has backed Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the past.
Opposition parties scoffed at Macut's nomination, saying he would be a figurehead for Vucic.
"The prime minister-designate can be anyone or nobody as long as Vucic remains the head of the state," said Pavle Grbovic, head of the Movement of Free Citizens.
"Knowledge about polycystic ovaries is not a reference for running the government, which requires a completely different kind of expertise," said Boris Tadic, a former president and head of the opposition Social Democratic Party.
The government-controlled parliament is expected to endorse Macut, who will succeed SNS head Milos Vucevic after his resignation in March.
Protesters want a transitional government in place prior to parliamentary and presidential elections due in 2027.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
SNP's naive and immature approach to defence industry needs to change
Vanguard-class submarine HMS Vigilant, one of the four UK subs armed with Trident nuclear missiles, at HM Naval Base Clyde Anyone who thought that Scotland had a grown-up government capable of taking sensible decisions will be appalled by the choices the SNP are making Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The events of the last week in the Middle East throw into focus ever more sharply the need for Western governments to increase defence capabilities. With the war in Ukraine now well into its fourth year, and with an increasingly isolationist US administration, that means countries like the UK having to devote more resources to military spending. The UK Labour Government is at least giving the appearance of taking this seriously, with the announcement in last week's spending review from the Chancellor Rachel Reeves that defence spending will rise from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.6 per cent by 2027. If delivered, this equates to an £11 billion uplift coupled with the £600 million increase for security and intelligence agencies. Within these totals there will be £4.5 billion investment in munitions made across the country, and more than £6 billion to upgrade nuclear submarine production. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad These commitments are important in terms of the obligation on government to properly defend the realm. But they also have a significant economic opportunity attached, and one which will disproportionately benefit Scotland. Already, Scotland's defence sector provides a considerable contribution to the Scottish economy. As of 2023-24, the Ministry of Defence spends almost £2.1 billion per year in Scotland, and more per head of population than in the rest of the UK. Of course, we don't just make military equipment for the UK armed forces. The contribution of the Aerospace, Defence and Security industries to Scotland was estimated at £3.2 billion in 2022, employing 35,500 people and 1,500 apprentices. Right across the country, we see companies providing high-quality well-paid jobs in the STEM sector as part of ADS: BAE Systems building frigates on the Clyde for the Royal Navy and directly employing 2,700 people, Babcock at Rosyth and Faslane supporting more than 3,000 jobs. Leonardo, under different names, long part of the Edinburgh economy, building world-leading avionics, and supplying radar systems for Lockheed Martin amongst others. Thales employing nearly 800 people across two sites in Glasgow and Rosyth. And we have Raytheon in Glenrothes manufacturing the Javelin anti-tank missile being used to great effect by the Ukrainian army against Russian invaders. As it stands, the contribution of defence to the Scottish economy is substantial, and is projected to grow. With governments across the West, including our own, committed to increasing defence spending, the opportunities for expansion and the creation of yet more jobs are substantial. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One might expect, therefore, that the Scottish Government would be celebrating this defence sector, and doing all it can to support this key sector. We are, after all, continually being told by SNP ministers how much they value the Scottish economy and how they are committed to seeing it grow – a welcome change in rhetoric from the period when they were in coalition with the anti-growth Greens. It was immensely disappointing, therefore, to see that a plan by Rolls-Royce to establish a specialist submarine welding facility on the Clyde has collapsed after Scottish Enterprise withdrew a critical £2.5 million grant for the project. This was an £11 million investment which would have delivered a world-leading facility to support the construction and maintenance of submarines. It was a project that had been developing for years and would have reduced costs, reduced carbon emissions, and created high-value jobs. But as a consequence of SNP policy not permitting public funds to be used for 'munitions' the project cannot receive the funding it seeks, leaving Rolls-Royce with no option but to pull the plug. Steve Carlier, President of Submarines at the company, has stated that: 'The project cannot continue, and the facility will not be built and resourced in Scotland.' Now it looks like another part of the UK, or even another country altogether, will get the benefit of this investment, and these jobs, due to SNP policy. And yet, as Carlier himself has pointed out, this was not a project involving weapons systems, but simply to build nuclear-powered submarines. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Andrew Bowie MP, put it accurately when he accused the SNP of 'student politics'. It is a naive and immature approach to the defence sector, which will simply do immense damage to the Scottish economy. The SNP have an ambition, as we all know, to create an independent Scotland. Presumably that independent Scotland would have to have armed forces to defend it, who would then need to be supplied with weaponry and equipment. Is it really the SNP's position that these could not be produced at home, but would be better produced elsewhere? Because that is the logic of their refusal to support projects such as Rolls-Royce's naval welding centre. If that were not bad enough, we learnt at the weekend that the Scottish Government have apparently attached conditions to a donation of surplus NHS equipment to Ukraine, stipulating that this must only be used for civilian purposes. This means that those injured in the fight against the despotic government of Vladimir Putin and his illegal invasion of a sovereign country will not be able to benefit from these welcome donations. Anyone who thought that Scotland had a grown-up government capable of taking sensible decisions will be appalled by the choices the SNP are making. This week at Holyrood the Scottish Conservatives will be asking the SNP to think again on their policy towards supporting defence jobs in Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
NBC News
9 hours ago
- NBC News
Iran plunged into a near-internet blackout during deepening conflict
Iran plunged into a near-total internet blackout on Tuesday as Israel continued to bombard the country. Two companies that track global internet connectivity, Kentinc and Netblocks, told NBC News that Iran's internet connectivity plummeted around 5:30 p.m. local time, limiting Iranians' ability to access and share information with the outside world as the country becomes more deeply involved in conflict. The drop appears to be a result of a decision by Iran's government, rather than due to Israeli strikes on infrastructure. Fatemeh Mohajerani, a spokesperson for Iran's government, said it had restricted internet access in response to Israeli cyberattacks. Iran's government has historically shut down or reduced its internet connectivity with the outside world in times of civil unrest. Most recently, in 2019, it implemented a six-day full blackout as protesters took to the streets across the country and the government issued a crackdown on civilians, leading to more than 100 people reportedly killed. The country's internet access has been reduced, but not fully blocked, in the aftermath of Israel's strikes on Iran last week, which Iran has said killed at least 224 people. Israel said that Iran's retaliatory attacks have killed at least 24. The internet slowdowns appeared to particularly affect services like VPNs used to access foreign sites. Amir Rashidi, the director of digital rights and security at the Miaan Group, a nonprofit that advocates for human rights in Iran, told NBC News that some Western apps for communicating, including WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, had been blocked in the country. A WhatsApp spokesperson told NBC News that its parent company, Meta, has been engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with Iran, which has been blocking internet providers used by the company. Iran's National Information Network, a nationwide network of government-approved sites that are not connected to the outside world, has largely remained accessible to people in Iran. Data published Tuesday by internet services company Cloudflare found that two major Iranian mobile network providers were effectively disconnected. As internet services have been reduced in the country, some online have called for Elon Musk's satellite internet service provider Starlink to step in. In an X post on June 13, Musk wrote, 'The beams are on' in response to a call for Starlink access for Iranians. Iran has formally banned Starlink satellite internet terminals, and the country's Saed News agency has warned that the use of Starlink in the country could be used to help direct Israeli attacks. While Starlink does not formally have an option to operate within Iran's borders, it does offer users a Global Roam option, marketed for international travel. Starlink's parent company, SpaceX, did not respond to a request for comment. But a spokesperson for Holistic Resilience, a nonprofit that advocates for information access in closed societies, said that the organization estimates there are between 30,000 and 40,000 Starlink terminals spread across Iran, based on network scans and conversations with people involved in selling them to people in the country. Meanwhile, Iran's National Cybersecurity Command announced that Israel had launched a broad cyberwarfare campaign against Iran's digital infrastructure in order to disrupt services to the public, but did not provide specifics of what was affected. Iranian news site Shargh Daily reported that Iran's cyber police agency, FATA, said Tuesday that the Iranian government had imposed some internet disruptions after the cyberattacks, and that service would be restored soon. That statement came after a prominent pro-Israel hacker group that calls itself Predatory Sparrow claimed on X and Telegram, where it maintains a social media presence, to have conducted a destructive cyberattack against Bank Sepah, a national bank under U.S. sanctions for alleged ties to Iran's military. Some Iranian ATMs were not functional Tuesday, a source on the ground told NBC News. The members of Predatory Sparrow are unknown and the group did not respond to a request for comment. It was not possible to determine if the group is affiliated with any Israeli military or intelligence agency.
Scottish Sun
13 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘I know where Ayatollah is hiding,' says Trump but ‘won't kill him for now' – as Israel warns he may HANG like Saddam
EASY TARGET 'I know where Ayatollah is hiding,' says Trump but 'won't kill him for now' – as Israel warns he may HANG like Saddam DONALD Trump has sent a direct warning to Iran's Ayatollah saying he is an "easy target" with the US and Israel knowing exactly where he is hiding. Israel threatened the Supreme Leader just hours earlier saying he will face the same grisly fate as Iraq's Saddam Hussein who was hanged by his own people if he doesn't start to negotiate soon. 5 Donald Trump has sent a direct warning to Iran's Ayatollah saying he is an 'easy target' with the US and Israel knowing exactly where he is hiding. Credit: AP 5 Trump posted a trio of Truths on the ongoing conflict in Iran Credit: Truth Social 5 Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was warned he could be ousted by his own people like Sadam Hussein Credit: Reuters 5 Iran State Radio and Television (IRIB) building was smoking after a direct Israeli strike Credit: REXNEWS The threat of regime change came after Trump demanded a "real end" to Iran's nuclear programme which is the root of the ongoing conflict. And the US president cranked up pressure on the evil mullah's crumbling reign by firing a warning as he moved the might of America's war machine towards the war zone. The US leader called for an "unconditional surrender" in a trio of Truth Social posts as he told Tehran they have lost complete control of the skies after five days of Israeli airstrikes. Trump refused to say he would allow Israel to kill Khamenei "for now" but did warn his patience is wearing thin. But Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said Khamenei should "remember what happened to the dictator in the neighbouring country" - directly referring to the death of Saddam Hussein. Fanatical Islamist terror stoker Khamenei, 86, and his family are believed to have bolted to a fortified underground hiding place in a suburb of capital Tehran. He went to ground after swathes of military top brass and nuclear scientists were wiped out in in simultaneous surgical strikes at the start of Israel's Operation Rising Lion on Friday. America's involvement in the Middle East has been widely speculated in the past 24 hours with Trump even ditching the G7 summit on Monday as he urged Tehran to evacuate "everyone". The president is said to have rushed back to Washington to convene a meeting in the White House Situation Room over Iran today. He has refused to specify the endgame, but has ominously warned: "You're going to find out over the next two days." But two Israeli officials have told Axios they believe Trump is likely to enter the war in the coming days. Israel has started to boast it is "on the verge of destroying" at least ten nuclear targets in Iran and could soon attack the mountain-fortress Fordow facility. The nuclear watchdog confirmed for the first time today it had detected "direct hits" on the key underground enrichment zone of Iran's Natanz nuclear site. Israel and Iran have continued to trade missiles today, with Tehran's civilians fleeing the city in their thousands and a handful of casualties reported by Tel Aviv. The IDF said it has killed Iran's most senior military commander - and the person closest to the Supreme Leader - for the second time in five days. Iran claimed it had hit the HQ of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad - though this has not been confirmed - and repeatedly warned of stepping up missile and drone attacks. Tension across the Middle East is now skyrocketing as the conflict threatens to spiral into a wider regional war after Pakistan called for the Islamic world to back Iran. Islamabad even warned they will nuke Israel, a senior Iranian general claimed. 5 Stay up to date with the latest on Israel vs Iran with The Sun's live blog below...
