- Brazil's top court takes on regulation of social media
- Thousands still queuing to vote after Namibia polls close
- Trump taps retired general for key Ukraine conflict role
- Canadian fund drops bid for Spanish pharma firm Grifols
- Argentine ex-president Fernandez gives statement in corruption case
- Mexico says Trump tariffs would cost 400,000 US jobs
- Car-centric Saudi to open first part of Riyadh Metro
- Brussels, not Paris, will decide EU-Mercosur trade deal: Lula
- Faeces, vomit offer clues to how dinosaurs rose to rule Earth
- Ruby slippers from 'The Wizard of Oz' up for auction
- Spain factory explosion kills three, injures seven
- US Fed's favored inflation gauge ticks up in October
- Defence lawyers plead to judges in French mass rape trial
- US says China releases three 'wrongfully detained' Americans
- New clashes in Mozambique as two reported killed
- Romania officials to meet over 'cyber risks' to elections
- Chelsea visit next stop in Heidenheim's 'unthinkable' rise
- Former England prop Marler announces retirement from rugby
- Kumara gives Sri Lanka edge on rain-hit day against South Africa
- Namibia votes with ruling party facing toughest race yet
- Spurs goalkeeper Vicario out for 'months' with broken ankle
- Moscow expels German journalists, Berlin denies closing Russia TV bureau
- Spain govt defends flood response and offers new aid
- France says Netanyahu has 'immunity' from ICC warrants
- Nigerian state visit signals shift in France's Africa strategy
- Stock markets waver as traders weigh Trump tariffs, inflation
- Tens of thousands in Lebanon head home as Israel-Hezbollah truce takes hold
- Opposition candidates killed in Tanzania local election
- Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era
- Fresh fury as Mozambique police mow down protester
- Defeat at Liverpool could end Man City title hopes, says Gundogan
- Indonesians vote in regional election seen as test for Prabowo
- Guardiola says no intent to 'make light' of self harm in post-match comments
- New EU commission gets green light to launch defence, economy push
- Opposition figures killed as Tanzania holds local election
- Taiwan Olympic boxing champion quits event after gender questions
- European stocks drop on Trump trade war worries
- Volkswagen to sell operations in China's Xinjiang
- FA probes referee David Coote over betting claim
- Serbia gripped by TV series about murder of prime minister
- Putin seeks to shore up ties on visit to 'friendly' Kazakhstan
- New EU commission pushes for defence and economy spending
- Plastic pollution talks must speed up, chair warns
- Pakistan web controls quash dissent and potential
- 1,000 Pakistan protesters arrested in pro-Khan capital march
- ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar junta chief
- Philippine VP's bodyguards swapped out amid investigation
- EasyJet annual profit rises 40% on package holidays
- Ukraine sees influx of Western war tourists
- Greeks finally get Thessaloniki metro after two-decade wait
Thousands protest in Serbian city over fatal roof collapse
Thousands of protesters, red paint and smashed windows at the city hall: The Serbian city where a train station roof collapsed last week killing 14 people was at boiling point Tuesday evening.
The deadly accident in Novi Sad struck just months after the station completed a years-long renovation.
It sparked outrage in Serbia where people have taken to the streets and social media users are demanding the resignation of government officials for what they allege is weak oversight on construction and development projects.
"I'm here because one six-year-old girl will never blow out seven candles on her birthday cake," protester Maja Gledic told AFP.
"This little girl had a nine-year-old sister who won't be blowing (her) ten (birthday) candles either," the 50-year-old saleswoman said, referring to two little sisters who were among the victims.
"How many (dead) children we still have to count for this to be over?", Gledic said barely holding back tears.
Three people, aged between 18 and 24, were seriously injured in the accident, and they were still in critical condition on Tuesday.
So far 48 people have been questioned in an investigation into the accident, according to the authorities.
Construction Minister Goran Vesic resigned earlier Tuesday, saying he made the move "as a responsible man who wants to show by personal example that in today's Serbia there is moral responsibility due to the terrible tragedy".
The minister said on X he was quitting with a "clear conscience".
But, for the protesters in Novi Sad, who first gathered in font of the train station and observed a minute of silence for the victims, it was not enough.
"You are guilty!" one of the organisers told the authorities, speaking from an improvised stage.
Many held banners that read: "Crime", with their hands painted red.
The protesters chanted: "Prison, prison!" and "Arrest the criminals".
- 'Victims of regime' -
"These fourteen dead and three wounded are, above all, victims of this regime and of everything that is happening in Serbia over the last twelve years", protester Vladimir Gvozdenovic, a 60-year-old economist, told AFP.
"This accident did not come by itself. It is the product of arrogance, impudence and thievery of this country and these authorities. Eventually, their criminal manner of running the country results in the death of people."
For Gvozdenovic and fellow protesters, the ruling nationalist SNS party is guilty of negligence in overseeing public infrastructure construction projects that are proliferating across the country.
From the train station the protesters marched to the city hall where dozens of them threw red paint, stones, bottles and flares at the building, smashing its windows.
Police inside the building responded with pepper spray, while other protesters tried to intervene, shouting "don't destroy our city," in a very tense atmosphere, according to an AFP reporter.
Meanwhile, President Aleksandar Vucic pledged to punish those responsible for the violence.
"My message to them (protesters) is that the police are very restrained tonight, not only because of them, but also because of the reverence we show for the victims of the terrible tragedy," he said in a video posted on Instagram.
Vucic pledged that "everyone who participated in this will be punished".
The central railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia's second-largest city, underwent three years of renovation that was completed in July, though Serbia Railways said the collapsed outdoor roof had not been part of the renovations.
K.Thomson--BTB