Brussels asks EU countries to use less water
The target — which is not legally binding — is part of the EU's European Water Resilience Strategy, released Wednesday, which aims to restore a water cycle 'deeply affected' by pollution, climate change and environmental degradation.
In a seperate recommendation, the European Commission encourages EU countries to 'set their own targets for water efficiency, based on their national circumstances.'
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It comes as Europe faces multiple water-related problems, including PFAS and nitrate pollution, leaky infrastructure, more severe droughts and higher intensity rainfall.
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Serbia's protesters accuse police of brutality as they prepare to rally again on Friday
Serbia's police said Friday they have detained scores of demonstrators who took part in anti-government protests throughout the country this week. The arrests came amid reports of police brutality and excessive use of force during the riots. The three days of clashes between the police and loyalists of autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic on one side and the anti-government protesters on the other left dozens injured or detained. The unrest in the capital, Belgrade, and throughout Serbia this week marked a serious escalation of more than nine months of largely peaceful demonstrations led by Serbia's university students that have shaken Vucic's firm grip on power in the Balkan country. Another protest, under the slogan 'Let's show them we are not a punching bag,' is scheduled for Friday evening. The protests that have rattled Vucic first started in November after a renovated train station canopy collapsed in Serbia's north, killing 16 people. Many in Serbia blame the tragedy on alleged corruption-fueled negligence in state infrastructure projects. Several social media posts from this week show baton-wielding riot police beating people to the ground and then kicking them with their boots before they were handcuffed. The apparent targets were often women and young people. Serbia's Interior Minister Ivica Dacic denied Friday that police used excessive force, blaming the demonstrators for allegedly attacking the officers, who were protecting themselves with riot shields. 'The police were massively and brutally attacked without any provocation. There were violent attempts to breach the cordons,' Dacic said. 'Last night, 75 police officers were injured, and several vehicles were damaged. Those who spread lies about police brutality should comment on this fact.' Opposition leaders called for Dacic to be removed from office. 'They are beating up people on the streets,' said opposition leader Dragan Djilas. 'They also beat up politicians, literally anyone who opposes Aleksandar Vucic, with the clear goal of inflicting serious bodily harm on them.' Another social media video purported to show several young detainees kneeling with their faces to the wall as police officers stood to attention behind them. Some of the apparent detainees had bloodstains on their backs. The EU's Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos earlier this week said the reports of violence at the protests were 'deeply concerning.' Serbia is formally seeking EU membership, but Vucic has maintained strong ties with Russia and China. The Serbian president has faced accusations of stifling democratic freedoms while allowing organized crime and corruption to flourish. He has denied this.
San Francisco Chronicle
4 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Serbia's protesters accuse police of brutality as they prepare to rally again on Friday
Serbia's police said Friday they have detained scores of demonstrators who took part in anti-government protests throughout the country this week. The arrests came amid reports of police brutality and excessive use of force during the riots. The three days of clashes between the police and loyalists of autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic on one side and the anti-government protesters on the other left dozens injured or detained. The unrest in the capital, Belgrade, and throughout Serbia this week marked a serious escalation of more than nine months of largely peaceful demonstrations led by Serbia's university students that have shaken Vucic's firm grip on power in the Balkan country. Another protest, under the slogan 'Let's show them we are not a punching bag,' is scheduled for Friday evening. The protests that have rattled Vucic first started in November after a renovated train station canopy collapsed in Serbia's north, killing 16 people. Many in Serbia blame the tragedy on alleged corruption-fueled negligence in state infrastructure projects. Several social media posts from this week show baton-wielding riot police beating people to the ground and then kicking them with their boots before they were handcuffed. The apparent targets were often women and young people. Serbia's Interior Minister Ivica Dacic denied Friday that police used excessive force, blaming the demonstrators for allegedly attacking the officers, who were protecting themselves with riot shields. 'The police were massively and brutally attacked without any provocation. There were violent attempts to breach the cordons,' Dacic said. 'Last night, 75 police officers were injured, and several vehicles were damaged. Those who spread lies about police brutality should comment on this fact.' Opposition leaders called for Dacic to be removed from office. 'They are beating up people on the streets,' said opposition leader Dragan Djilas. 'They also beat up politicians, literally anyone who opposes Aleksandar Vucic, with the clear goal of inflicting serious bodily harm on them.' Another social media video purported to show several young detainees kneeling with their faces to the wall as police officers stood to attention behind them. Some of the apparent detainees had bloodstains on their backs. The EU's Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos earlier this week said the reports of violence at the protests were 'deeply concerning.' Serbia is formally seeking EU membership, but Vucic has maintained strong ties with Russia and China. The Serbian president has faced accusations of stifling democratic freedoms while allowing organized crime and corruption to flourish. He has denied this.
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5 hours ago
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In August of 2021, I was in Kabul with my infant daughter, waiting to apply for her identification card, when I learned the Taliban had officially seized power in Afghanistan. As I looked down at my baby, my first thought was the need to seek our safety. My second: We have to fight. In the first objective, I was fortunate. My family and I were able to flee Afghanistan to Poland. But for the millions of my fellow Afghani citizens who were not so lucky, their lives are now a nightmare. Women and girls in particular are living a special form of hell. After two decades of unprecedented progress and opportunity, they risk public punishment — beatings or worse — for showing their hair or walking alone. It doesn't matter if a woman was previously a judge, journalist, a doctor or a professor. Today, she is barred from holding nearly all jobs, attending parks and gyms and even beauty salons. Young girls cannot attend school beyond sixth grade, leaving 1.4 million unable to learn. The stories I have heard from the women surviving in this dystopian universe, trickled through whispers and covert messaging apps, have shaken me to my core. A young woman was abducted, raped and tortured for refusing to give up her job at a hospital — then warned not to speak to any international media about what she had endured. Another was nearly stoned to death for seeking a divorce from an abusive marriage. A former female police officer was beaten in Taliban custody. For every story I hear, I know there are hundreds of others that are not getting out. Between January 2022 and June 2024, Afghan Witness documented 840 incidents of gender-based violence against women and girls in Afghanistan, including 332 killings, based on open-source information. The Taliban has of course, abolished the legal framework and institutions dedicated to protecting women — like the Ministry of Women's Affairs, family courts, and prosecution units for gender-based violence, so that victims are left without protection, perpetrators act with near-impunity, perpetuating the cycle. I am confident this situation would engender global outrage if it were happening in Europe or the U.S. But the international response has been limited to symbolic statements, weak sanctions, and grossly underfunded aid. The U.S and European Union sanctions against the Taliban don't mean much when countries that host and support them remain untouched. With the world's attention turned elsewhere, Afghan women are trying to force change unilaterally at great personal risk. They run underground schools, whispering lessons in secret. They organize protests and try to relay their dire straits to the outside world. 'We are not silent,' one woman told me. 'The world is deaf.' Their courage deserves to be rewarded with solidarity and acknowledgement, but most importantly action to force real change. This can include funding the fight for women's rights. Grassroots projects like the Afghan Women's Network run underground schools on shoestring budgets. There should also be sanctions against national governments that enable the Taliban, such as Pakistan and Qatar. Ban them from global forums like the G20 and impose real trade restrictions until they take responsibility. We must elevate Afghan women's voices, amplifying their strategies and solutions, not just their suffering. Programs like the Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund help women lead change in their own communities and deserve far greater support. We have seen some progress in the international arena. On July 8, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Supreme Leader Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani for crimes against humanity, including gender- and political-based persecution from August 2021 to January 2025. And Groups like the World Liberty Congress, the world's largest global alliance of dissidents, human rights defenders, and pro-democracy leaders, are working diligently to implement these objectives. But we need more support. The world must not look away. This fight is not just about Afghanistan — it's about defending dignity and freedom everywhere. If we fail to act now, history will remember our silence as complicity.
