cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/24022603

> > Police clashed with anti-government protesters in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, on Saturday night, as demonstrators demanded an early parliamentary election and an end to the rule of President Aleksandar Vucic. > > > Earlier protesters, led by students, issued an ultimatum, saying the government must call a snap election or face a civil disobedience campaign. The main demonstration then ended, but some protesters marched toward the pro-government rally outside parliament. Many were wearing goggles, masks and helmets. > > > Police detained several dozen protesters, while six police officers were reported injured in clashes, according to Dragan Vasiljevic, the director of police. > > > Vucic's refusal has only energized demonstrators, particularly university students, who have become a driving force behind the movement. > > > "The reluctance of Vucic makes it all the more important to be there now," said Tara, a student who only gave DW her first name. "We want to show the president that we want elections. The fight is not over, and the protests are not over yet." > > > "Realistically, we have to prolong the protest a little longer," added Kristina. > > > "But we're almost at the finish line," said Teodora. "Vucic is on his last legs." > > > In a now routine pre-protest crackdown, more than a dozen people have been arrested, including five on Friday who were remanded for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government, according to Serbia's Higher Court.

>21 June 2025 – A major forest fire broke out early this morning in the area of Pisak, a coastal village situated between Omiš and Makarska on the Dalmatian coast. > >The blaze is reported to have started in the forest above the Adriatic highway, which has since been closed to traffic in that section. > >The fire has spread rapidly, fuelled by strong winds and dense pine woodland, and has moved dangerously close to residential areas in Pisak and Marušići and evacuations are underway as there are houses at risk. > >[...] > >There is growing concern among residents that the fire may have been deliberately set. “People have seen someone on a motorbike over the past few days, and there are suspicions that they are starting fires,” one local resident told reporters.

> The Republika Srpska government says a deal with China’s ELINC is purely about protecting data, but a lack of transparency and limited means of oversight has critics worried about the potential for surveillance. > >Concern is growing over a cyber-security software deal between the Republika Srpska entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina and China’s ELINC, owned by a conglomerate sanctioned by the United States over alleged ties to China’s ‘military-industrial complex’. > >Bypassing regular public procurement procedures, the pro-Russian government of predominantly Serb-populated Republika Srpska signed the 29-million-euro, 10-year deal in June 2024, though it only became public thanks to media reports.

> As Israel and Iran continued to exchange fire, sparking fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East, several Balkan countries have transported their citizens home by plane. > >Hundreds of citizens of Balkan states have been urgently repatriated by their governments as fears grow of a further escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, with Israel and Iran continuing to bomb each other’s cities.

#Israel #IsraelIran #IranIsrael #Balkans

>As Israel and Iran continued to trade missiles and airstrikes on Saturday, Croatian consul Ivica Sertić and his wife Katica were injured in the Iranian attack on Tel Aviv. > >The news was confirmed Saturday by Foreign Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman. The couple was injured when their apartment building was hit. They are shaken but their injuries are minor. They spent the night in the emergency room but have since been discharged.

Personal comment: I'm glad that the injuries are minor and I hope they both recover fast.

> Montenegro’s parliament on Thursday approved a request to send a non-combat military contingent in support of Ukraine as part of an EU mission. > > Montenegro’s parliament on Thursday voted to send members of the armed forces to join the European Union’s Military Assistance Mission, EUMAM, in support of Ukraine – the first of its kind since the beginning of the war. > > The decision was supported by 49 MPs in the 81-seat parliament. Most remaining lawmakers were absent or abstained. > > Defense Minister Dragan Krapovic emphasized that Montenegrin troops would not be deployed to Ukraine itself but would instead hold non-combat roles within the EU mission framework.

> Kosovo has agreed to host up to 50 immigrants deported from the US – one of the few countries to respond positively to a US request for its allies to take in deportees. > > Kosovo on Wednesday offered to shelter up to 50 people deported from the US as President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal or unauthorised immigrants steps up. > > “Individuals who are subject to this decision, during the time of their stay in Kosovo, will act in line with the legislation in force and enjoy rights designated according to the law,” the Kosovo government said.

Personal comment: I'm surprised that they didn't offer to take more.

> Former Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Gabrijela Žalac has been sentenced to two years in prison for corruption, under the terms of a plea deal with prosecutors. > > Žalac and three other defendants - who remain on trial - are accused of influence peddling, abuse of office, and manipulating public procurement. According to prosecutors, their actions caused losses of at least 300,000 euros to Croatia and over 1 million euros to the European Union. > > "I have no comment..." said Žalac as she left the Zagreb County Court on Thursday.

Personal comment: I bet she won't even serve the full two years. She will be released after a short while for "good behavior" or something like that...

> Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ivan Anušić and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia General Tihomir Kundid officially presented the basic documents to reintroduce compulsory military service, which was abolished in 2008. > > "An employed conscript undergoing basic military training is entitled to a compensation of 1 100 euros net per month, paid food and transportation costs, paid leave and all other applicable rights..." Minister Anušić said. > > Conscientious objectors will have the option of three months of training in the civil protection system, or four months of work in local government. Fines for men who do not serve will range from €250 to €1320.

> Police in Split acted swiftly today following reports of a mass altercation between Torcida and Bad Blue Boys in the Pujanke district, just hours before the highly anticipated derby between Hajduk Split and Dinamo Zagreb at Poljud Stadium.

What a bunch of morons.

Seen flying in front of the county administration building.

>Exactly five years ago on 22 March - at 6:24 am - Zagreb was hit by a devastating earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale. > >The epicenter was seven kilometers north of the city center, in Markuševac. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the Zagreb area in the last 140 years. > >Tragically, a fifteen-year-old girl lost her life, while the capital city and surrounding area suffered an estimated 11.5 billion euros in damage.

> A government order to ban TikTok to protect children from violent material came into force more than a week ago, but the mobile phone app for the video-sharing platform is still partially working in Albania. > > Albanian internet providers were ordered to block TikTok in the country on March 13 after a government decision to impose a one-year ban – but it was still working for some users in its mobile phone app version on Friday.

> A 19-year-old student who was seriously injured in November’s Novi Sad railway station disaster - the incident that sparked an outbreak of mass protests across Serbia - has died in hospital.

> In response to the evolving geopolitical landscape and security concerns in Southeast Europe, Croatia, Albania, and Kosovo have strengthened their defence cooperation by signing a trilateral declaration in Tirana.

Edit (March 22nd, 2025): Due to the public interest the full text of declaration has been released.

> March 16 (Reuters) - Fifty-one people were killed and more than 100 injured when a fire broke out in a nightclub early on Sunday in the North Macedonian town of Kocani, Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said.

> March 16 (Reuters) - Fifty-one people were killed and more than 100 injured when a fire broke out in a nightclub early on Sunday in the North Macedonian town of Kocani, Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said.

>Protesters waving flags, chanting slogans and blowing whistles massed in the Serbian capital on Saturday to join the latest in a series of student-led demonstrations that have mounted an unprecedented challenge to President Aleksandar Vučić’s government. > >Traffic was at a halt across the city and the main boulevards and intersections were completely blocked as masses of protesters headed for the city centre on foot. > >As well as students and members of the public, farmers driving tractors and large groups of bikers also joined the protest. Many of the protesters chanted “Pump it!”, a slogan of the ongoing protests.

>Protesters waving flags, chanting slogans and blowing whistles massed in the Serbian capital on Saturday to join the latest in a series of student-led demonstrations that have mounted an unprecedented challenge to President Aleksandar Vučić’s government. > >Traffic was at a halt across the city and the main boulevards and intersections were completely blocked as masses of protesters headed for the city centre on foot. > >As well as students and members of the public, farmers driving tractors and large groups of bikers also joined the protest. Many of the protesters chanted “Pump it!”, a slogan of the ongoing protests.

>Supporters of Calin Georgescu threw stones and bottles at riot police in Bucharest after the Central Election Bureau voted to bar the right-wing, pro-Russian candidate from competing in upcoming presidential polls. > >The Central Election Bureau voted 10-4 to bar Georgescu, saying his candidacy did not meet the legal requirements and that he had “violated the very obligation to defend democracy”. > >Georgescu condemned the decision as a “direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide”. He now has 24 hours from Sunday’s ruling to file an official appeal with Romania’s Constitutional Court, which is expected to issue a decision on Wednesday at the latest.