Serbia

In one of the biggest demonstrations ever seen in Belgrade, student-led protesters inundated the capital’s streets and squares, accusing President Aleksandar Vucic’s government of fostering corruption and authoritarianism.

Serbian MPs from the ruling majority and opposition brawled on Tuesday inside the National Assembly chamber, where smoke bombs were also set off on the first of this year’s parliament sessions, which was held amid heightened tensions as mass protests continue to shake the country. 

Tens of thousands converged on the city of Kragujevac for the latest in a series of student-led anti-corruption protests, while the Serbian president held a pro-government counter-rally in Sremska Mitrovica.

Around 300 students started a two-day march from Belgrade to Novi Sad where they will join a blockade of three bridges, amid continuing nationwide protests that have already caused the resignation of the prime minister.

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic has resigned, following nationwide protests over the deadly collapse of a railway station canopy. … Vucevic - a trusted ally of the president - said he hoped that his decision to quit as prime minister would encourage protesters to "calm down the passions and return to dialogue". But it may also pave the way for parliamentary elections, if a new prime minister is not appointed within 30 days of the National Assembly confirming the resignation.

Belgrade students blocked a major traffic interchange in the Serbian capital – the latest protest for official accountability over the November railway station disaster in Novi Sad that left 15 people dead. 

Instead of the traditional boisterous street partying on New Year's Eve, tens of thousands of protesters led by university students gathered overnight in Belgrade and other Serbian cities to demand political reforms and justice in the Balkan country.

Serbian lawmakers have begun deliberating a bill submitted to parliament that would establish a "foreign agents" registry, a move that may alienate Serbia from its EU ambitions. … "This draft law poses a serious and direct threat to civil society organizations, jeopardizing their role in safeguarding democratic values, human rights, and European integration," the EU's Economic and Social Committee said in a statement.

[…] The [Balkan Free Media Initiative] BFMI report, ‘The Invisible Hand of Media Censorship in the Balkans’, says that across southeast Europe, the news media is in a state of transition and turmoil. … In Serbia, the report says, the media situation is particularly concerning, due to its influence on other Serbian-speaking communities in the Balkans, including Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Belarus and Serbia have signed a cooperation agreement on fighting organized and hi-tech crime as well as on the joint training of police, special forces, and counterterrorism units, Serbia's government said on October 30.