Student protests continue to challenge Serbia’s populist government after a deadly canopy collapse

Associated Press

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Hundreds of Serbian students and others again blocked traffic for 15 minutes throughout the country as political tensions continue to simmer following last month’s collapse of a concrete canopy that killed 15 people. Friday’s traffic blockades have been held every week at exactly 11:52 a.m., the exact time on Nov. 1 when tons of concrete came crashing down on people standing underneath outside a railway station building in the northern city of Novi Sad. Separately, Serbia’s government pushed school winter holidays forward as its continues to grapple with widening student protests challenging the rule of populist President Aleksandar Vucic.