
Serbian leader vows tough response to protesters following riots
'Our country is in grave danger, they have jeopardised all our values, normal life, each individual,' Mr Vucic said, alleging an elaborate scheme that would eventually install 'anarcho-leftist' authorities in the future.
He did not offer any concrete evidence for his claims.
'Unless we undertake tougher steps it is a question of days when they (protesters) will kill someone,' Mr Vucic said.
'I am saying this for history.'
The stern warnings came after five consecutive nights of clashes between the protesters on one side and police and Mr Vucic's loyalists on the other.
Angry protesters on Saturday evening torched Mr Vucic's governing Serbian Progressive Party offices in a town in western Serbia, and of other ruling coalition allies.
The demonstrators on Saturday evening also clashed with police in Belgrade, the capital, and in the northern city of Novi Sad.
Riot officers used tear gas against demonstrators who hurled stun grenades, flares and bottles at them.
Mr Vucic did not specify what will be the state response that he said would come within a week. But he stressed that a state of emergency is not imminent.
Scores of people already have been detained and injured in the past days while police have faced accusations of excessive force and arbitrary detentions of protesters.
'You will witness the determination of the state of Serbia,' Mr Vucic said. 'We will use everything at our disposal to restore peace and order in the country.'
The clashes this week marked a major escalation following more than nine months of largely peaceful demonstrations that started after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Serbia's north, killing 16 people.
Many in Serbia blamed the tragedy on alleged widespread corruption in state-run infrastructure projects that they say fuelled poor renovation work.
The Serbian president has faced accusations of stifling democratic freedoms while allowing organised crime and corruption to flourish. He has denied this.
Serbia is formally seeking EU membership, but Mr Vucic has maintained strong ties with Russia and China.
On Sunday, he praised Russia's backing for his government against what he called a 'coloured revolution' against his government.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Western Telegraph
41 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Timeline of territorial shifts in Russia's war on Ukraine
In the three-and-a-half years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the front line has continued to move slowly with some unexpected strikes also redrawing the map. Here is a look at some of the main events in the conflict. An aerial view of Chasiv Yar shows the frontline city in ruins after heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces for over a year (AP) February 24 2022: Russian President Vladimir Putin launches an invasion of Ukraine from the north, east and south. Russian troops quickly reach Kyiv's outskirts, but their attempts to capture the capital and other cities in the north-east meet stiff resistance. March 5 2022: Russian advances toward Kyiv and Kherson reach their height. The port city of Mariupol is surrounded. April 2 2022: Ukraine defeats Russian forces in Kyiv after throwing them back in Chernihiv. August 29 2022: Ukraine's first counter-offensive starts in the east and south. September 30 2022: Russia illegally annexes Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, even though it does not fully control either of the four. September to November 2022: Ukrainian forces reclaim vast parts of the Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions in the first counter-offensive, including the city of Kherson itself. President Vladimir Putin and Russian officials during a ceremony to sign the treaties for four regions of Ukraine to join Russia at the Kremlin in 2022 (Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) May 22 2023: Russia claims control of Bakhmut after months of fighting. June 6 2023: As Ukraine's long-anticipated second counter-offensive starts, the Russian-controlled Kakhovka Dam explodes, sending a wall of water into southern Ukraine and upending Ukrainian battle plans. Autumn 2023: The second Ukrainian counter-offensive ends, with little change to the front line. February 18 2024: Russian forces take complete control of the eastern city of Avdiivka after months of combat. April 19 2024: The US House of Representatives approves a 61 billion dollar package for Ukraine after months of delay. May 10 2024: Russia launches a new offensive in the north-eastern region of Kharkiv, capturing a string of villages and opening a new front in the war. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels (AP) August 6 2024: Ukraine launches a lightning incursion into Russia's Kursk region, holding territory along the border in an unexpected and embarrassing episode for the Kremlin. January 20 2025: Mr Trump is inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States. His election raises uncertainty as to whether Washington will continue to support Ukraine. April 26 2025: Moscow says all Ukrainian troops have been forced out from Russia's Kursk region. Several weeks later, Mr Putin visits the area in a show of strength and is filmed speaking with local volunteers. June 1 2025: Ukraine strikes airfields deep inside Russia by launching drones that have been secretly stored and transported across the country on the back of trucks. The attack is codenamed Operation Spider Web. Summer 2025: Russia and Ukraine both step up drone strikes with the ability to strike deep into each other's territory. June 30 2025: Russia says it has taken full control of Ukraine's Luhansk, one of four regions that Moscow illegally annexed in September 2022. July 31 2025: Russia says it has taken full control of the strategically important Ukrainian city of Chasiv Yar after a grinding, months-long assault. August 2025: Russian forces continue their push in the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has focused the bulk of military efforts, capturing small villages and closing in on Pokrovsk, a strategically important city. August 15 2025: Mr Putin meets Mr Trump in Alaska for the first Russia-US summit in four years to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and European officials say Mr Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that it controls as part of a deal.


Spectator
43 minutes ago
- Spectator
Serbia is descending into violence
Belgrade There are two kinds of Balkan crises: the ones that actually happen, and the ones that feel inevitable until they fizzle out. Serbia's current descent into street violence and political dysfunction is somewhere in between. Whether it ends in fresh elections, implosion, or continued chaos depends on one man. In the past week, long-running student protests against the government of President Aleksandar Vucic have turned into something far less orderly. Sit-ins and marches have given way to nightly clashes between anti-government protesters on one side and pro-regime thugs and riot police on the other. The offices of the ruling Serbian Progressive party (SNS) have turned into urban warzones, guarded by burly men wielding sticks and pyrotechnics. Belgrade hasn't felt this volatile since 2000, when former ruler Slobodan Milosevic was overthrown. At least now there are fewer tanks and more iPhones. The protests were initially sparked last year by the collapse of a concrete canopy outside Novi Sad railway station. The student-led protests then gained momentum due to wider disaffection with Vucic's Erdogan-style rule. Peaceful marches have since given way to violence. Youths are coming out on the streets looking for a fight after watching videos of police beating men half to death in the streets. In Valjevo, armed police were filmed beating a man lying on the ground. In Novi Sad, a 12-year-old boy was detained after he was found near a protest. He was eventually released to his grandfather – but not before being lined up against a wall on his knees with his hands tied behind his back. Authorities defended the arrest as perfectly legal. While protesters are handcuffed and humiliated, the government has been forgiving toward its own. Individuals who rammed cars into protesters or beat students with baseball bats have received presidential pardons. The government does not seem interested in calming tensions. The president's brother was spotted leading a column of people through the capital on Wednesday night toward a pro-government encampment, shouting about Ustaše (Croatian fascists). By describing the protesters as Ustaše and terrorists, while encouraging violence from its own supporters, the regime appears to be baiting the opposition into overreacting. If enough young people throw stones, Vucic can claim he's the last line between Serbia and chaos. It's a dangerous game. Party loyalists acting like football hooligans on amphetamines risks alienating the wider public. Vucic, who likes to pose as Serbia's great stabiliser, now seems to be a source of instability. Historically, the president has called only elections when he's sure of winning. Recent polls show his once-dominant support slipping. Even the usual cocktail of a pro-regime propaganda by state media, character assassinations against opponents of the government and electoral trickery may not be enough to guarantee a win. Elections are unlikely before Vucic feels assured of victory – which may not be until Expo 2027, an international event in Belgrade that he's staked his legacy on. Any disruption before then would be inconvenient. But time may not be on his side. Serbia's opposition is currently fragmented and leaderless – it's a mix of students, professors and disillusioned citizens – but they've mobilised hundreds of thousands to the streets and have pledged to unite behind a 'student list' by the time of the next election. Voters might opt for the unknown instead of more of the same. Vucic claims he won't seek re-election when his presidential term comes to an end. Perhaps he'll retire and finish writing his forthcoming book on colour revolutions. More likely, he'll return as prime minister, appoint a compliant president and rule from behind the scenes. Is the regime on the brink of collapse? Not yet. Is Serbia headed for major political unrest? Maybe – but ask again in a few months. The government is asking for escalation, and some citizens are increasingly willing to accept the invitation. The longer Vucic tolerates violence while portraying himself as its remedy, the more dangerous his game becomes. Eventually, voters may tire of being extras in a state-sponsored psychodrama. And when that happens, even Serbia's most seasoned political tactician could face the one thing he's long avoided: real democratic opposition.


Reuters
43 minutes ago
- Reuters
Britain cancels extra border checks for animals ahead of UK-EU deal
LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Britain is suspending the previously planned introduction of extra border checks on live animal imports from the European Union to ease trade ahead of the implementation of a deal agreed in May to reduce friction, the UK government said on Monday. Extra border checks on some animal and plant goods imported from Ireland will also be suspended. May's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal, part of a wider reset in UK-EU relations, will reduce paperwork and remove routine border checks on plant and animal products moving between the UK and EU, while maintaining high food standards. However, the deal is yet to be implemented as details are still being negotiated. In the meantime, British traders must continue to comply with the terms of the UK's Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) that protect the country's biosecurity, including existing checks. The suspension of the introduction of additional border checks follows the announcement in June that checks on EU fruit and vegetable imports had been scrapped. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs could not give a timeline for implementation of the SPS deal. When Britain left the EU's single market in 2021, the EU immediately enforced its rules, leading to port delays and prompting some British exporters to stop selling to the bloc. Britain was much slower implementing its post-Brexit border arrangements, and after repeated delays and confusion it started to set new rules in phases from January last year.