- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
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- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
Aleksandar Vucic: Serbia's populist leader seeks to extend reign
With another election victory in his sights, Serbia's populist President Aleksandar Vucic looks set to extend his rule over the Balkan nation after a decade of tightening his grip over the levers of power.
To his supporters, Vucic's stint in office has brought order and billions in investments to the once chaotic country thanks to his success at deftly balancing ties between the East and West.
But for his opponents, Vucic has increasingly relied on autocratic measures to keep the opposition in disarray and media outlets under his thumb.
A former ultra-nationalist ally of strongman Slobodan Milosevic, the towering politician has held power in some form or another since 2012.
In the run-up to the polls on Sunday, Vucic has been ever present -- plastered on billboards and skyscrapers, featured in videos posted on social media and broadcast in round the clock coverage on television channels largely reliant on his government.
In all these places, the 52-year-old president has carefully cultivated an image of himself as a tireless leader, dedicated to investment and job creation.
"Vucic is everywhere, on all the TVs, in all the newspapers, he has usurped all the public space. It's unbearable," Nebojsa Pantelic, a 42-year-old computer specialist, told AFP.
"Even Milosevic did not have this hold on the country."
On television, Vucic has been seen rescuing a child trapped in a snowstorm, chiding aides for poor performance, and learning German by watching speeches by former chancellor Angela Merkel.
"He wants to portray himself as a common man but also as a superman," said Boban Stojanovic, a Belgrade-based political analyst.
- 'Defender of Kosovo' -
Ahead of this year's polls, he has offered his leadership as the only antidote to the fresh uncertainty ushered in by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with his latest campaign slogan promising: "Peace. Stability. Vucic."
The president also prides himself on overseeing the construction of extensive infrastructure programmes, including a network of highways and a revamped rail line.
"It is our job to build, the citizens of Serbia always vote for those who would like to build the future," Vucic told a rally earlier this month.
And while he has sought investment from abroad, Vucic has remained a dedicated defender of issues important to voters -- namely by refusing to recognise the independence of the breakaway province of Kosovo.
"Vucic has given ordinary people a chance to live better. He has kept his promises. He is a staunch defender of our Kosovo. He is simply the right man for the job," Branislav Ristic, a 47-year-old bank employee, told AFP.
During the pandemic, he is credited with securing millions of vaccine doses from China, Russia, and Western nations as Serbia's European neighbours struggled with their own inoculation campaigns.
But since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Vucic has walked an increasingly fine line.
Serbia has condemned the Russian aggression at the United Nations, but refused to sanction Moscow at home, where Serbians rely on natural gas sold at bargain prices and generally hold a favourable view of the Kremlin.
"He has been accommodating to everyone, China to export its dirty industries to Serbia and Russia to extend its political influence there," said Stojanovic.
"Cooperating with the West provides him with support for his domestic policy."
- Eroding rights -
The transformation marks an impressive turnaround for the man who broke onto the national political scene as Milosevic's hardline information minister during the war in Kosovo.
The change was sudden.
In 2008, he left the ultra-nationalist Radical Party and founded the conservative, pro-European Serbian Progressive Party, which won the 2012 legislative elections and paved his way to the country's top office.
Since then, he has rotated through a range of positions including prime minister, president, and deputy premier along with a stint as the defence chief.
But even as he polished his image, Vucic has been reluctant to abandon some of his ultra-nationalist leanings.
He has repeatedly stopped short of denouncing the Bosnian Serb leaders accused of atrocities during the conflict in the 1990s, while several war criminals have been rehabilitated in state-backed media outlets under his watch.
His critics also accuse him of adopting increasingly authoritarian tactics, including cracking down on dissenting voices.
"Serbian Progressive Party has steadily eroded political rights and civil liberties, putting pressure on independent media, the political opposition, and civil society organisations," wrote the US non-profit Freedom House in a 2021 report.
S.F.Warren--AMWN