demanding

After 10 months of dissent, protests show no signs of dying down as fury at alleged government corruption grows.

Serbia’s police have fired tear gas and stun grenades at antigovernment protesters in the city of Novi Sad who are demanding snap elections and an end to President Aleksandar Vucic’s 12-year government.

Thousands gathered on Friday at the city’s state university campus for yet another demonstration after 10 months of persistent dissent prompted by the fatal collapse of the Novi Sad train station roof last November, which killed 16 people.

The tragedy became a flashpoint for frustrations with the government, with many Serbians saying it had been caused by alleged corruption and negligence in state infrastructure projects and calling for Vucic’s departure.

“Vucic leave,” the crowds chanted, repeating their calls for early elections as they marched towards the campus, where police attempted to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades.

The Beta news agency reported that protesters had earlier thrown flares and bottles at the police.

In an address late on Friday evening, President Vucic said that 11 policemen were injured. There was no information on how many protesters have been injured.

“We are not going to allow destruction of the state institutions,” Vucic told reporters. “Serbia is a strong and responsible state.”

He accused foreign security services of being behind antigovernment protesters and said his supporters would hold rallies in cities across Serbia on Sunday.

The months of nationwide protests have largely passed off peacefully, but took a more violent turn on August 13, when dozens of civilians and police officers were injured in clashes in a number of locations.

The violence, which protesters blamed on heavy-handed tactics by government loyalists and police, was repeated on Monday at a march in Novi Sad to mark the 10-month anniversary of the tragedy.

Authorities have rejected allegations of brutality, despite videos showing officers beating unarmed protesters, and accusations that activists were assaulted while in custody.

Students, opposition groups and anticorruption watchdogs accuse Vucic and his allies of ties to organised crime, using violence against political rivals and suppressing media freedoms.

Vucic denies the allegations and has remained defiantly in office at the helm of a reshuffled administration. His nationalist Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has responded to protests by staging its own rallies around the country.

LERONE MURPHY demanded a title shot from Dana White following his sensational first-round spinning elbow KO of Aaron Pico.

The Manchester ‘Miracle’ locked horns with the former Bellator standout early this morning in the co-main event of UFC 319 in Chicago.

5

5

5

5

Murphy put his eight-fight win streak on the line in his clash with the former uber-prospect, which he had just THREE WEEKS to prepare for.

The Manchester Top Team standout was hoping a dominant victory over the American would earn him the next crack at featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski.

And he staked his claim to be champion Alexander Volkanovski’s next outing with viral KO of Californian clubber Pico, which saw him move to 9-0 in MMA‘s top promotion.

“I’m next in line,” he roared in his post-fight interview wth Joe Rogan. “Let’s go, Volkanovski!”

Pico immediately took the centre of the octagon and put Murphy on the back foot before going to work with vicious body shots against the cage.

Murphy remained composed and landed a nasty short elbow in tight before briefly being taken down.

He looked to establish distance with a long teep and strikes from distance but was taken down again just before the two-minute mark.

SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN

5

But he managed to return to his feet again and landed a beautiful knee to the body, which echoed throughout the arena just before the midway point of the round.

Pico continued to pressure and look for clinches across the fence.

And Murphy beautifully timed his entry with a sensational spinning elbow KO to punch his ticket to a title shot.

Pico was out cold before he even hit the canvas and Muprhy landed an academic hammerfist, which he pulled back on.

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..

The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSunFootball and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.

European leaders are scrambling to convince United States President Donald Trump to use his upcoming summit with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to amplify pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine on terms acceptable to Kyiv.

Trump, who has promised to end the three-year war, plans to meet Putin in Alaska on Friday, saying the parties are close to a deal that could resolve the conflict.

Trump recently told reporters that, “I’m going in to speak to Vladimir Putin, and I’m going to be telling him, ‘You’ve got to end this war. You’ve got to end it.’”

The US president said Kyiv and Moscow would both have to cede land in a compromise. “There’ll be some land swapping going on,” he said. Trump has, in the past, discussed the possibility of land swaps. However, neither Russia nor Ukraine have been interested in ceding land to each other as part of a peace agreement.

European leaders worry that major concessions to Russia could create security problems for the region in the future. On Wednesday, August 13, major European leaders are first convening among themselves and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and are then scheduled to speak to Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.

Here’s what Europe and Ukraine request of Trump, as he prepares for the meeting with Putin;

Keep Ukraine in the room

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said he would not be at the summit in Alaska, the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin with both in office since 2018.

But he said he hoped it would be followed by “a trilateral meeting” with Trump and Putin, though the Russian leader has so far said he is not willing to meet Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian president added that, “I believe that Trump represents the United States of America. He is acting as a mediator – he is in the middle, not on Russia’s side. Let him not be on our side but in the middle.”

On August 9, heads of state from France, Italy, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and the European Commission issued a statement in support of Ukraine. “We underline our unwavering commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” they said, adding: “We continue to stand firmly alongside Ukraine.”

The statement also insisted that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine”.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is convening a video call on Wednesday involving Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Zelenskyy and several European leaders to discuss Ukraine, has since doubled down on that message.

“We cannot accept that territorial issues between Russia and America are discussed or even decided over the heads of Europeans, over the heads of Ukrainians,” Merz said in a television interview on Sunday.

“I assume that the American government sees it the same way. That is why there is this close coordination,” he added.

The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on August 10 that “the US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously”, but “any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security.”

Ceasefire first

Last week, Putin presented the Trump administration with a ceasefire proposal, demanding major territorial concessions from Kyiv in eastern Ukraine in exchange for an end to the fighting, according to European officials.

The offer, which Putin shared with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on August 6, set off a scramble to obtain further information. According to Zelenskyy, Putin has asked that Russia be handed over all of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, a third of which Kyiv still holds.

But European leaders and Ukraine have responded with a counterproposal of their own, forwarded in a meeting with top US officials in Britain on Saturday. The European plan rejected Russia’s proposal to trade Donetsk for a ceasefire.

It also included demands that a ceasefire take place before any other steps are taken and insisted that territory can only be exchanged in a reciprocal manner.

Finally, the proposal stipulates that any territorial concessions made by Kyiv must be safeguarded by security guarantees, including potential NATO membership for Ukraine.

Ukraine, too, has long argued that a halt in fighting must precede any longer-term peace agreement. Russia on the other hand, has insisted on a larger peace settlement as a condition for a ceasefire.

What else has Zelenskyy said?

Last weekend, Zelenskyy said that Kyiv “will not give Russia any awards for what it has done,” and that “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier”.

Zelenskyy also pointed out that he doesn’t have the authority to sign off on land swaps. He said that changing Ukraine’s 1991 borders runs counter to the country’s constitution.

Elsewhere, Zelenskyy said in a video message posted to his social media account on Monday night that “he [Putin] is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war”.

“There is no indication whatsoever that the Russians have received signals to prepare for a post-war situation,” he said.

“On the contrary, they are redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations. If someone is preparing for peace, this is not what he does,” he added.

What else has Trump said?

On Monday, Trump criticised Zelenskyy over the Ukrainian leader’s resistance to ceding territory to Russia, saying he disagrees “very, very severely” with Zelenskyy.

“I get along with Zelenskyy, but, you know, I disagree with what he’s done. Very, very severely disagree. This is a war that should have never happened,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Trump went on to say that “I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelenskyy was saying, ‘Well, I have to get constitutional approval.’ I mean, he’s got approval to go into war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap – because there’ll be some land swapping going on,” Trump said.

He added that the land swap will be “for the good of Ukraine,” before adding that a possible deal will also involve “some bad stuff for both” Kyiv and Moscow.

“So, it’s good and there’s bad, but it’s very complex, because you have lines that are very uneven, and there’ll be some swapping. There’ll be some changes in land,” Trump said.

“We’re going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin, and at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” he said.

“Ultimately, I’m going to put the two of them in a room. I’ll be there, or I won’t be there, and I think it’ll get solved,” Trump added.

Bake Off: The Professionals continues on Channel 4 tonight with chefs putting their careers on the line, while Helen, Jules and JB head to Pembrokeshire in their new Channel 5 show

Bake Off: The Professionals continues on our screens tonight – and the chefs are set to take on the most demanding challenge yet. In tonight’s (Tuesday 22 July) episode of the Channel 4 show, the semi-final gets under way as they compete in the Bake Off spin-off.

Not only is the nation watching as their souffles sink, but if Cherish and Benoit belittle their Bakewell tarts they know their bosses will be taking notes at home too…

With their reputations on the line, four teams of pastry pros nervously approach the semi-final. Tonight’s challenges are chocolate-themed, and there will be extra scrutiny from guest judge Gabriella Cugno, who worked as the official chocolatier on the blockbuster film Wonka. Gabriella knows exactly how to make delicious choccies look magical, and that’s what will be required from the teams tonight.

First up, they must craft two different types of chocolate bar from scratch, and with no recipe to follow they are free to unleash their imaginations. Fun as it sounds, it’s quite the test for these bakers, who usually deal in cake rather than confectionery. Then it’s onto one of the most demanding showpiece challenges in the show’s history – ‘Floating Cities’.

The judges require the teams to create an edible, ornate, sturdy vessel, that will float on water carrying 24 immaculate petit fours. Of course, the wondrous treats will need to taste spectacular too, and each dessert must be identical to its neighbour. It’s a tantalising prospect, and the results are sure to be stunning – but not everyone will make it through to next week’s final. Imagine spending hours labouring on a sugary boat of dreams, only to be sent home…

Bake Off: The Professionals airs tonight at 8pm on Channel 4.

Coastal Adventures with Helen, Jules and JB

We’ve heard of whale watching, but tonight Jules Hudson is on the Pembrokeshire coast, trying to photograph porpoises. He’s taking part in a major conservation project run by Sea Trust Wales to protect the creatures, who prove quite difficult to spot.

Jules has definitely got the plum job this week, while poor Helen is thrown into cold waters, going surfing in Tynemouth. It turns out the North East is becoming quite the hotspot for the sport, and the quay is also home to wonderful fishing traditions, which she enjoys before tucking into a stunning seafood lunch – not such a short straw after all.

Later, JB reveals that Norfolk’s finest export, Colman’s mustard, owes its flavour to the sea air (who knew?), before setting sail from Burnham Overy Staithe. He hopes to emulate Nelson, but even with local skipper Ash giving him the best tuition, JB isn’t exactly a natural on the water…

Coastal Adventures with Helen, Jules & JB airs tonight at 8pm on Channel 5.

Mix Tape

It’s finally time for Alison and Daniel to meet up in Sydney, as they bite the bullet and meet for dinner. The electricity is still there between them, but when he broaches the subject of why she did a runner all those years ago, Alison clams up and asks for the bill.

Daniel is left confused and frustrated. At the same time his marriage is dealt another blow as Kat reacts badly to his revelation that he’s in Australia for work. Who does Dan really want to be with – and do either of the loves of his life want to be with him anymore?

As Alison deals with seeing Dan again – and her manager begs her to travel to England for publicity – she considers whether it’s time to tell him what really happened in Sheffield. Meanwhile, flashbacks give us a glimpse of the turmoil Alison was facing at home in 1989.

Mix Tape airs tonight at 9pm on BBC Two.

Emmerdale

Robert and Kim are all set for a secret meeting to hand over Annie’s Field, but Robert senses something isn’t quite right. He backs out of the deal, leaving Kim exasperated. Robert does some digging.

John is frustrated that Cain is still miserable, despite the news about Owen. Struggling with his emotions, Cain grills Liam. Liam insists he can’t break patient confidentiality and the pair come to blows.

Later, John feels guilty after a conversation with Liam, and messages the helpline again.

EastEnders

Julie and Phil can’t seem to agree on what’s best for Nigel. Billy convinces Phil he needs to try harder with her, despite their differences.

Linda talks to Oscar and reveals the truth about Annie’s paternity. She panics when he wants to tell Max. Linda finds Lauren, and insists she needs to change Oscar’s mind.

Avani tries to tell Priya she’s pregnant, but holds back. Later, Suki spots Avani looking at a family planning website.

Ravi is questioned by the police.

Join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News, TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads – or visit The Mirror homepage.