Several arrested in Serbia as tensions mount ahead of anti-corruption rally in Belgrade on weekend

Several arrested in Serbia as tensions mount ahead of anti-corruption rally in Belgrade on weekend
People take part in a demonstration aiming at pressuring Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic to call early elections in Belgrade on June 1, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 26 June 2025

Several arrested in Serbia as tensions mount ahead of anti-corruption rally in Belgrade on weekend

Several arrested in Serbia as tensions mount ahead of anti-corruption rally in Belgrade on weekend
  • Protesting university students have called Saturday’s rally to press their demand for an early election
  • Authorities made similar arrests back in March, ahead of what was the biggest ever anti-government protest

BELGRADE: Police in Serbia have arrested several people accused of allegedly plotting to overthrow the government as tensions soared ahead of a major anti-government rally planned this weekend in the capital Belgrade.

Police said six were detained on Wednesday evening, suspected of “preparing criminal acts against the constitutional order and security of Serbia” and “calling for violent change of the constitutional order.”

At least one other university student was arrested earlier this week accused of preparing “an act of terrorism” based on his private conversations over a mobile phone. Hundreds on Thursday demonstrated against the arrest in Belgrade.

Protesting university students have called Saturday’s rally to press their demand for an early election after nearly eight months of almost daily anti-corruption demonstrations that have shaken the populist government of President Aleksandar Vucic.

Persistent protests started in November after a renovated rail station canopy collapsed that killed 16 people and which many blamed on rampant government corruption and negligence in state infrastructure projects. University students have been a key force behind the nationwide movement.

Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party have refused the students’ demand for a snap vote, instead accusing the protesters of planning to spur violence at Saturday’s gathering.

Police alleged the detained group met last week in a hotel in the central town of Kraljevo to plan a violent change of government and attacks on police and pro-government media outlets. One of the suspects had a gun and ammunition, they said.

No other details were immediately available. Serbian media reported that those arrested include an opposition politician, veteran of the wars of the 1990s, and others.

Authorities made similar arrests back in March, ahead of what was the biggest ever anti-government protest in the Balkan country, which drew hundreds of thousands of people.

Vucic’s loyalists also set up a camp in a park outside his office which still stands. The otherwise peaceful gathering on March 15 came to an abrupt end when part of the crowd suddenly scattered in panic, triggering allegations that authorities used a sonic weapon against peaceful protesters, which they have denied.

Vucic, a former extreme nationalist, has become increasingly authoritarian since coming to power over a decade ago. Though he formally says he wants Serbia to join the European Union, critics say Vucic has stifled democratic freedoms as he strengthened ties with Russia and China.


UK police arrest two after ‘multiple people’ stabbed on train

UK police arrest two after ‘multiple people’ stabbed on train
Updated 02 November 2025

UK police arrest two after ‘multiple people’ stabbed on train

UK police arrest two after ‘multiple people’ stabbed on train
  • No details about how many people have been stabbed have been released, or the status of those attacked

LONDON: UK police said they had arrested two suspects Saturday after “multiple people” were stabbed on a train in Cambridgeshire, eastern England.

“We are currently responding to an incident on a train to Huntingdon where multiple people have been stabbed,” British Transport Police said on X, adding that “two people have been arrested.”

More than 30 officers, including armed officers, attended the scene and two men were arrested following emergency calls, the BBC reported.

No details about how many people have been stabbed have been released, or the status of those attacked.

“Two men have been arrested by police this evening after more than 30 officers were called to Huntingdon Train Station,” a Cambridgeshire Police spokesperson said.

“We were called at 7.39pm with reports that multiple people had been stabbed on a train. The incident remains ongoing and the A1307 has been closed as you approach the town center.”

All lines are currently closed while the incident is dealt with, and operator LNER said in a statement: “Trains running between these stations may be delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised. Major disruption is expected until the end of the day.”

* With AFP


Explosion at Harvard Medical School appears to have been intentional, authorities say. No one hurt

Explosion at Harvard Medical School appears to have been intentional, authorities say. No one hurt
Updated 02 November 2025

Explosion at Harvard Medical School appears to have been intentional, authorities say. No one hurt

Explosion at Harvard Medical School appears to have been intentional, authorities say. No one hurt
  • The Boston Fire Department determined that the explosion was intentional

BOSTON: There was an explosion early Saturday at Harvard Medical School that appears to have been intentional, but no one was injured, authorities said.


A university police officer who responded to a fire alarm tried to stop two unidentified people who ran from the Goldenson Building before going to where the alert was triggered, university police said in a statement.
The Boston Fire Department determined that the explosion was intentional and officers did not find additional devices in a sweep of the building, police said.


More than $2m in weapons seized in deadly Rio anti-drug raid: govt

More than $2m  in weapons seized in deadly Rio anti-drug raid: govt
Updated 02 November 2025

More than $2m in weapons seized in deadly Rio anti-drug raid: govt

More than $2m  in weapons seized in deadly Rio anti-drug raid: govt
  • The Rio de Janeiro state government announced “one of the largest seizures” of military weapons in a single day from the raid
  • According to authorities, some of the weapons come from other countries such as Argentina, Belgium, Germany, Peru, Russia and Venezuela

RIO DE JANEIRO: Authorities confiscated more than $2 million worth of weapons during a recent anti-drug raid in Rio de Janeiro, the deadliest in Brazil’s history, the state government said Saturday.
On Tuesday, the massive police operation in two favela complexes left at least 117 suspected criminals and four police officers dead, according to the latest official tally.
The Rio de Janeiro state government announced “one of the largest seizures” of military weapons in a single day from the raid — 120 weapons in all, including 93 rifles, valued at 12.8 million reais (about $2.4 million).
They also found ammunition, explosives, drugs and military equipment in the raid, which targeted Comando Vermelho, one of the oldest and most powerful gangs in the country, which controls large swathes of Rio de Janeiro.
According to authorities, some of the weapons come from other countries such as Argentina, Belgium, Germany, Peru, Russia and Venezuela, and included models used in conflict zones such as the AK-47 and the FAL.
Some rifles belong to foreign militaries.
“We are looking at an arsenal typical of a war scenario,” Rio de Janeiro Civil Police Secretary Felipe Curi said in a statement.
Curi said authorities would investigate the routes used by criminal groups to bring the weapons to Rio de Janeiro.
The police raid has drawn condemnation from human rights organizations, and the United Nations has called for an investigation.
Relatives of some of the victims denounced summary executions. An AFP journalist on the scene saw a decapitated body.
Polls, however, show that the majority of Brazilians approved of the operation, which was described as a success against “narco-terrorism” by state Governor Claudio Castro.
Even leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, accused by critics of being soft on crime, has sought to project a tougher stance against the gangs in his response to the raid.
“We cannot accept that organized crime continues to destroy families, oppress residents, and spread drugs and violence throughout the cities,” Lula wrote on the X social media platform.
He has presented a bill to Congress proposing a 30-year prison sentence for members of criminal gangs.
On Thursday, Lula signed new measures into law to strengthen the fight against organized crime.


Tens of thousands protest in Serbia on anniversary of deadly roof collapse

Tens of thousands protest in Serbia on anniversary of deadly roof collapse
Updated 01 November 2025

Tens of thousands protest in Serbia on anniversary of deadly roof collapse

Tens of thousands protest in Serbia on anniversary of deadly roof collapse
  • Protesters streamed into the northern city of Novi Sad, where the disaster occurred, in cars, buses or on foot, some having walked long distances
  • Protesters held up large red hearts bearing the names of the collapse victims

NOVI SAD, Serbia: Tens of thousands of protesters poured into Serbia’s second city on Saturday a year after a railway station roof collapse that killed 16 people, unleashing discontent over alleged corruption and a lack of accountability many blame for the disaster.
Months of protests across Serbia, stoked by anger over the failure so far to prosecute those responsible for the roof collapse have rattled President Aleksandar Vučić’s long grip on power and raised calls for early elections.
Protesters streamed into the northern city of Novi Sad, where the disaster occurred, in cars, buses or on foot, some having walked long distances, witnesses said. One of Novi Sad’s main boulevards was packed with people.
The protesters — many of them young people — observed 16 minutes of silence — one for every victim — from 11:52 a.m. (1052 GMT), when the roof caved in following renovation work on November 1, 2024.
Protesters held up large red hearts bearing the names of the collapse victims, clutched white flowers and laid wreaths in front of the railway station.
The tearful father of one of the victims, dressed in black, stood for hours staring at his daughter’s name affixed among others to the station’s perimeter fence.
There were no reports of violence, which had marred some protests during the summer when riot police used stun grenades and tear gas to break up rallies.

’WE SAY THAT THIS IS ENOUGH’
“This is a major tragedy for the Serbian people. We cannot bring those people back but we can feel the pain with their families and say that this is enough,” said Sladjana Burmaz, a 51-year-old economist from the central town of Valjevo.
“These people were not killed by accident, their deaths were the result of a poor system, poor politics ... Justice would be served if those responsible were held accountable,” she said.
Vučić, in an Instagram post, published a photo of himself in a church holding a candle at a commemoration ceremony in the capital Belgrade for the victims of the disaster.
“Let the names of those killed be a reminder that human life is above any divisions (in society),” Vučić wrote. The government, he added, had designated Saturday as a day of national mourning.
The protest movement, led by students, academics and opposition leaders, accuse Vucic and his populist nationalist party of presiding over corruption, shoddy public services, nepotism and curbs on media freedoms. They deny the accusations.

INDEPENDENT REPORT TO EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
An independent commission of professors, judges, and technical experts that investigated the disaster reported to the European Parliament last week that it had found high-level state graft that led to poor construction standards and the hiring of unqualified subcontractors.
Government officials have denied such accusations. Recently, Vučić and Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said the roof collapse could have been an act of terrorism.
Prosecutors have indicted several senior state officials on charges of endangering public safety, but a court has yet to confirm the indictment, preventing a trial from going ahead.


9 dead, dozens injured in crowd surge at Hindu temple in southern India

9 dead, dozens injured in crowd surge at Hindu temple in southern India
Updated 01 November 2025

9 dead, dozens injured in crowd surge at Hindu temple in southern India

9 dead, dozens injured in crowd surge at Hindu temple in southern India
  • The incident occurred at the Swamy Venkateswara Temple in the Srikakulam district
  • An initial investigation suggests that an iron grille meant to maintain the queue of worshippers at the temple broke, leading to the uncontrolled crowd surge

NEW DELHI: A crowd surge at a popular Hindu temple in southern India left at least nine people dead and dozens injured, local authorities said Saturday.
The incident occurred at the Swamy Venkateswara Temple in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh state where hundreds of devotees had gathered to mark one of Hinduism’s sacred days, “Ekadashi,” senior police officer K. V. Maheswra Reddy told the Associated Press.
On this day, the devotees fast and offer prayers to Lord Vishnu, a key Hindu deity.
An initial investigation suggests that an iron grille meant to maintain the queue of worshippers at the temple broke, leading to the uncontrolled crowd surge, Reddy said.


Senior local government official Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar said more casualties were feared. “Initially, we had reports of seven deaths, but two more people have succumbed to their injuries while the condition of two others is critical,” he said.
Of the deceased, eight are women and one is a child, Pundkar said, adding that at least 16 devotees injured in the crowd surge are being treated at a local hospital while 20 others are in a state of shock and put under observation at a different hospital.
Video footage on local media showed people rushing to help those who fainted in the crowd surge and were gasping for breath. Some were seen rubbing the hands of those who fell on the ground.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Andhra Pradesh’s highest-elected official N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief and offered their condolences to the families of the bereaved.
State authorities in Andhra Pradesh said the location was a private temple on 12 acres (4.8 hectares) of land and wasn’t under the control of the government administration. Despite its maximum capacity of 3,000, the crowd swelled to around 25,000 on Saturday.
“Arrangements were not made accordingly, nor was information provided to the government by the concerned individual. This is the reason for the accident,” the state’s fact check unit said in a statement on social media.
Naidu vowed strict action against those responsible for the deadly stampede and ordered an inquiry into the incident, according to local media.
Crowd surges at religious gatherings are not uncommon in India, where massive groups often congregate at temples or pilgrimage sites, sometimes overwhelming local infrastructure and security measures.
In July, a crowd surge at a popular Hindu temple in northern India left at least six people dead and dozens injured.