When the Girders Weaken
NEED TO KNOW
When the Girders Weaken
SERBIA
When a concrete canopy at the main rail station of Novi Sad city collapsed last November, crews jumped into action to clear away the rubble, politicians vowed investigations, and the loved ones of the 15 people killed were left shocked and grieving.
No one predicted then that this tragic accident would set off the most serious threat to the decade-long rule of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. And yet it did.
First came the thousands of students with their signs announcing that “corruption kills,” referring to the questionable contracts given by allegedly corrupt and nepotistic ministers to Chinese companies, which had already refurbished the structure twice in the four years since reconstruction began.
Then came the thousands of parents, teachers, actors, farmers, and lawyers, upset at the heavy-handed crackdown by the government that included beating, arresting, and kidnapping protesters, publishing their private details in state-run media outlets, installing spyware on activists’ and journalists’ phones, and making menacing visits to their parents’ homes in a pressure campaign to get the demonstrators to go home.
As a result, now many who haven’t actively joined the protesters are helping them: Taxi drivers are donating free rides, stores, and restaurants are providing food and supplies, and farmers are bringing tractors to the demonstrations to protect protesters. The country is now experiencing major disruptions of workplaces, schools, universities, and roads as the work stoppages and protests have become a part of daily life across the country.
On Friday, a nationwide strike closed down hundreds of businesses including restaurants, bars, theatres, bakeries, and stores, and drew tens of thousands into the streets throughout Serbia, RFL/RE reported. The president held a counter rally on Friday in the central town of Jagodina with thousands of his supporters. Meanwhile, a car rammed into the anti-government protesters in the capital, injuring one, the Associated Press reported.
Initially, the protests called for a transparent accounting of the accident and justice for the victims. Now, the tens of thousands of demonstrators on the streets daily are calling for a general strike, the state-controlled public broadcaster to report fairly and stop their smear campaigns, and for the government to step down.
“It is time for a new era,” Professor Ljubica Oparnica of the University of Novi Sad told Serbian independent broadcaster, N1. “Change is coming.”
The government is defiant, calling the demonstrators “foreign agents,” and accusing them of threatening the “constitutional order,” a charge usually reserved for those involved in armed insurrections. “Foreign actors are behind all this, coming from several Western countries,” said Vučić. “We know this for sure.”
At his rally on Sunday, Vučić announced the upcoming formation of a nationwide political movement in the style of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia movement to help ensure the dominance of his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party.
Meanwhile, violence against the protesters is escalating even as the student protesters say they are equally determined and won’t back down. “I can’t imagine us leaving the blockades without seeing our demands met,” protester Ana Đurić told Deutsche Welle. “This is undoubtedly a turning point. It’s the beginning of the end.”
Some say Serbia is at a crossroads and has been moving toward this point for some time – it has been seeing regular mass protests break out over elections, mines, and other issues since 2016. This camp believes the government is weakening and may collapse.
“The government tried to react to the protest in the usual way through a mixture of intimidation and diverting attention … (and promising) financial support for students who want to buy flats,” Marta Szpala of the Center for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, wrote in New Eastern Europe magazine. “Usually this has worked but not this time,”
“It is hard to predict how the situation will evolve but the protests revealed the huge scale of social discontent,” she added. “They have also created new networks of cooperation … (and) united the people demanding change. The regime will never again be as strong as it once was before.”
Others believe the protesters will tire and eventually go home – until the next trigger.
Now, Vučić and his ruling SNS have been trying to make concessions, say observers. The government has arrested 13 people in connection with the accident, including the former minister in charge of construction at the time, reported Balkan Insight.
Also, the president recently proposed an “advisory referendum” on his presidency, which was rejected by the opposition as non-binding. Instead, it wants a transitional government that will usher in free and fair elections. The SNS has dismissed the idea.
It’s a growing standoff. Now many wonder who’ll blink first.
“For Serbia, the current protests represent a critical juncture in the country’s future,” Balkan analyst Zoran Ivanov wrote in Daily Sabah. “The government’s ability to address protesters’ demands – or its failure to do so – will profoundly affect its legitimacy and the country’s trajectory toward democracy and prosperity.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Deadly Loop
ISRAEL/ LEBANON
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend the ceasefire agreement between the two countries until Feb. 18, the Times of Israel reported, after 22 people were killed when trying to return home in southern Lebanon while Israel troops remained in the area in violation of Sunday’s deadline to withdraw.
At least 80 others were wounded, Sky News reported, amid widespread protests against the presence of IDF troops and concerns over the ceasefire, the Washington Post reported.
The casualties came on Sunday after Israeli forces allegedly fired on civilians attempting to return to border villages still under occupation. Israel said that its forces responded to threats, apprehending several individuals deemed dangerous.
The US-brokered ceasefire agreement, intended to end 14 months of war, stipulated a 60-day timeline for the withdrawal of both Israeli forces and Hezbollah from the south but has faced delays. Israel claimed that the deal had not been fully implemented, saying Lebanon had not yet fully enforced terms requiring south Lebanon to be free of Hezbollah with the Lebanese army being deployed in its place, according to Reuters.
Lebanese officials, including new President Joseph Aoun, condemned the violence and Israel’s extension of its presence, the BBC added.
The violence is part of the Hezbollah-Israel conflict that was fought in parallel with Israel’s against Hamas – both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran. The fighting peaked last year in a major Israeli offensive that uprooted more than a million people in Lebanon and left Hezbollah severely weakened, including the death of its senior leadership.
Meanwhile, over the weekend, Hamas released four Israeli hostages, including female soldiers, in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners, CBS News wrote.
The hostages were taken on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas and its allies launched an attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw around 250 others kidnapped – an assault that sparked the ongoing conflict in the region.
The exchange is part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, which began last weekend. The Gaza ceasefire – brokered by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt – is set to last six weeks, during which 33 Israeli hostages will be released in staggered phases alongside more Palestinian prisoners.
However, uncertainties persist as Israeli officials have accused Hamas of failing to meet its obligations, including the promised release of specific hostages. The agreement has also sparked domestic dissent, with far-right Israeli politicians, such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, resigning from Netanyahu’s coalition in protest.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza face immense challenges after months-long fighting killed more than 47,000 people, according to health officials in the enclave. The war has left entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble. Aid has surged into the enclave but there have been issues with security against looters and criminal gangs.
Over the weekend, US-based private security contractors began deploying in Gaza to oversee checkpoints during the ceasefire’s first phase, the Middle East Eye noted. Tasked with screening displaced Palestinians returning north, contractors will monitor the Netzarim corridor following Israel’s planned troop withdrawal from the area. Critics warned that the use of foreign contractors in such a volatile region could complicate efforts to stabilize Gaza.
‘The Ringleader’
SOUTH KOREA
South Korean prosecutors on Sunday formally indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of insurrection in connection with his unsuccessful attempt to implement martial law last month, marking the latest chapter in a political crisis that has shaken the country, Agence France-Presse reported.
Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3 – the first use of that power in more than four decades – and sent troops and police to parliament to keep lawmakers from convening. They ultimately bypassed security and voted unanimously to nullify the order a few hours later.
Prosecutors alleged that Yoon’s actions constituted rebellion aimed at undermining the constitution. If convicted, the president could face a life sentence or potentially the death penalty.
Sunday’s indictment follows his arrest earlier this month, marking the first time a South Korean president has been jailed. He is currently in custody at the Seoul Detention Center pending trial, which must begin within six months.
After declaring martial law, Yoon cited alleged election fraud and legislative obstruction as justification, with the president calling the legislature a “den of criminals” and labeling opponents as “anti-state forces.”
Yoon, however, has maintained that his actions were lawful and meant to preserve order. His lawyers vowed to fight the charges, accusing authorities of political bias.
Opposition leaders welcomed the indictment, with lawmaker Han Min-soo calling for accountability not only for those who implemented the plan but also for those who “instigated it by spreading misinformation.”
Analysts, meanwhile, warned of further political polarization, with rival protests intensifying in recent weeks, the Associated Press added.
Mercenaries of Hate
AUSTRALIA
Overseas actors may be funding antisemitic crimes in Australia, which has seen a surge in such incidents since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, according to Australian police, with a majority of incidents occurring in recent months, the BBC reported.
The attacks mainly target synagogues and Jewish-majority neighborhoods in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne, where 85 percent of the country’s Jewish population resides.
The latest target, last week, was a childcare center in Sydney, located near a Jewish school and a synagogue. It was set on fire while vandals sprayed antisemitic graffiti on the walls. Despite extensive damage, there were no injuries.
It was the second antisemitic attack in the city in four days, Reuters reported.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said some of these crimes have been perpetrated by individuals who are not motivated by racism or ideology, but by money.
But it is still not known who is hiring the attackers or the source of their funding.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the funding may come using cryptocurrencies, which are difficult to track.
The police are also investigating if the attacks were perpetrated by young people who might have been recruited and radicalized online.
As public frustration over the attacks and lack of arrests grows, New South Wales authorities have doubled the number of officers on a special unit investigating antisemitic crimes formed in December, according to Al Jazeera.
New South Wales has charged more than 35 people with antisemitic offenses while 70 were arrested for similar crimes in the state of Victoria.
DISCOVERIES
The Deep Strikes Back
Scientists recently discovered a new species of deep-sea crustacean with a striking resemblance to Darth Vader’s iconic helmet, one that discerning diners in Vietnam had already prized for being tastier than lobster.
Named Bathynomus vaderi, the newly discovered creature looks like a gigantic woodlouse that can grow more than 11 inches long and weigh more than two pounds.
Researcher Peter Ng and his colleagues came across the peculiar creature after shopping at a fish market in the city of Quy Nhơn in Vietnam.
“I am the biggest Star Wars fan in the team,” Ng told New Scientist, explaining why he named the animal after the Star Wars character. “But we all agree that the face of Bathynomus looks so much like Darth Vader that it just had to be named after the Sith Lord.”
In their study, the research team wrote that the discovery marks only the second “supergiant” isopod species found in the South China Sea.
Isopods are an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and are known for their hard exoskeletons and seven pairs of legs, CBS News reported. Although they are usually very small, B. vaderi evolved and other members of its “supergiant” group evolved to grow in larger proportions.
And just like its movie counterpart, the crustacean likes to linger on the “dark side” – it has only been found near the Spratly Islands at depths of around 3,900 feet, where light never penetrates. This new species is distinguished by unique segments on its legs and its massive size.
Meanwhile, B. vaderi is a sought-after delicacy in Vietnam, according to Pensoft Publishers.
Even so, there is so much scientists don’t know about the isopod’s ecology, raising concerns about overfishing.
“The scale of harvesting is a matter for concern,” co-author Conni Sidabalok told New Scientist. “It’s a challenge for all deep-sea species we fish.”
The recent findings highlight the importance of conservation, with the authors saying there is still a lot to learn about the creature.
“We know so little about their biology, so we need more studies to evaluate how best to conserve and manage this resource,” added Sidabalok.