#globaltrumpeffect

[updatezone24]

Netanyahu hopes for boost from Iran conflict - but do Israelis still trust him?

Back in March, as he turned his back on a ceasefire process that was delivering results, the Israeli prime minister took a decision described by some commentators as akin to "political suicide".The Gaza ceasefire deal, brokered by Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff even before the US president was inaugurated to his second term, had led to the release of dozens of hostages from Hamas captivity, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.The next stage was due to see more hostages return home and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, before a negotiated end to the war.Tired of conflict, Israelis and Palestinians contemplated the end of the most destructive war in a common history too frequently punctuated by fighting.But Benjamin Netanyahu didn't want the war to end.As he ordered the resumption of attacks across Gaza, the prime minister declared that fighting would continue until Hamas had been "completely destroyed".

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[avainbloom]

Serbia's largest-ever rally sees 325,000 protest against government

Hundreds of thousands of people descended on Serbia's capital on Saturday to protest over the deaths of 15 people in a railway station collapse.While the government put attendance at 107,000 across Belgrade, an independent monitor said 325,000 - if not more - had gathered, making it Serbia's largest protest ever.The Novi Sad collapse last November has galvanised anger towards the government and President Aleksandar Vucic. Demonstrators blame corruption and corner-cutting for the loss of life.They believe the disaster reflects more than a decade of governing by the Progressive Party of Vucic - who closely associated himself with the station's recent renovation.Despite multiple resignations - and Vucic's insistence that he is going nowhere - the protests have only continued to grow."We just want a country that works," law student Jana Vasic told the BBC in the growing crowd in Belgrade."We want institutions that do their jobs properly. We don't care what party is in power. But we need a country that works, not one where you don't get justice for more than four months."

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[velvetlina]

Serbia police clash with anti-government protesters in Belgrade

1 hours ago

Sladjana Lojanovic, 37, a farmer from the town of Sid in the north, said on Saturday she came to support students."The institutions have been usurped and... there is a lot of corruption. Elections are the solution, but I don't think he (Vucic) will want to go peacefully," she told Reuters.The president has previously refused snap elections. His Progressive Party-led coalition holds 156 of 250 parliamentary seats.Mr Vucic's opponents accuse him and his allies of ties to organised crime, corruption, violence against rivals and curbing media freedoms, which they deny.He has maintained close ties to Russia, and Serbia - a candidate for EU membership - has not joined the Western sanctions regime imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

after 16 people died on 1 November in the collapse of Novi Sad railway station's roof. Protesters blame corruption for the disaster.The accident has already forced the former prime minister to resign.As Saturday's protest ended, organisers played a statement to the crowd, calling for Serbians to "take freedom into your own hands" and giving them the "green light"."The authorities had all the mechanisms and all the time to meet the demands and prevent an escalation," the organisers said in a statement on Instagram after the rally."Instead, they opted for violence and repression against the people. Any radicalisation of the situation is their responsibility."

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[updatezone24]

Trump on a high after 'tremendous' wins at home and abroad

Donald Trump's week began with an on-air expletive as he lost his cool over his mounting frustrations with Iran and Israel's shaky ceasefire.It ended with a beaming US president holding court at the White House - not once, but twice - as he celebrated a series of significant political victories at home and abroad.Trump was in a triumphant mood, answering questions for more than an hour at a news conference that turned into a checklist of his accomplishments.Here's a look at four big wins from this week, as well as a reminder of some things that didn't go entirely the president's way.

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