- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- After long fight for glory, Nadal leaves with a legacy of memories
- Home hopes Zheng and Wang through to last-eight in Wuhan Open
- UN peacekeepers say Israel fired on Lebanon HQ, injuring 2
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Alcaraz out as top players pay tribute to Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Racing's Farrell 'not thinking' about British and Irish Lions
- Alcaraz, Sinner pay tribute to 'unbelievable' Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- After K-pop, K-novels? South Korean Nobel win sparks joy, hope at home
- After Nadal exit, Djokovic left to rage against dying of the light
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Triple centurion Brook happy to break Dad's club record
- Zelensky touts 'victory plan' against Russia in Macron talks
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- UN peacekeepers accuses Israel of firing on Lebanon HQ
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- Southgate taking year out from coaching
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- Zelensky meets Macron in Paris as part of European tour
- Hurricane Milton shreds Florida stadium roof
- UN probe accuses Israel of seeking to 'destroy' Gaza healthcare
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- England in sight of victory after Brook's triple hundred
- Juventus readmitted to ECA after failed Super League revolt
- World number 2 Alcaraz knocked out of Shanghai Masters by Machac
- Leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia meet amid regional tensions
- Klopp's Red Bull decision 'ruined life's work' say Dortmund fans
- Han Kang wins South Korea's first literature Nobel
- S. Korea's Nobel winner Han Kang a modest, thought-provoking writer
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- The almost impossible job: Beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open
- New French government faces key test with budget plan
- Rescuers say Israeli strike on Gaza school kills 28
- Italy's ex-world champion gymnast Ferrari announces retirement
- Zelensky talks 'victory plan' in meeting with Starmer, Rutte
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Federer lauds retiring Nadal's 'incredible achievements'
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Australia beat China 3-1 to resurrect World Cup campaign
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- Nadal defied injury woes in record-breaking career
- Nadal v Djokovic, French Open, 2006: Chapter One in epic rivalry
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- Pakistan at 23-1 after Brook triple hundred takes England to 823-7
- Zelensky meets Starmer, Rutte on whirlwind tour of Europe
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Rafael Nadal calls time on epic tennis career
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines confronts China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
RBGPF | 4.03% | 63.35 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0% | 6.9 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.16% | 24.56 | $ | |
RELX | -0.59% | 46.435 | $ | |
GSK | -1.91% | 39.485 | $ | |
BP | 0.91% | 32.275 | $ | |
AZN | -0.77% | 76.915 | $ | |
NGG | 0.47% | 65.94 | $ | |
BTI | -0.5% | 35.305 | $ | |
RIO | 0.35% | 66.58 | $ | |
SCS | -3.04% | 12.645 | $ | |
BCC | -1.32% | 140.54 | $ | |
JRI | -0.07% | 13.211 | $ | |
VOD | -0.31% | 9.7 | $ | |
BCE | -1.15% | 32.93 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.26% | 24.745 | $ |
Parents of alleged Serbia school shooter go on trial
The parents of a 13-year-old accused of killing 10 people in a school shooting in Serbia last year went on trial in the capital Belgrade on Monday.
The massacre last May -- and a second mass shooting a day later -- rocked the Balkan nation, setting off major anti-government demonstrations that coalesced into an opposition coalition that stood in recent elections.
The teenager, now in a mental hospital, shot nine of his classmates and a security guard at his Belgrade school with his father's weapons.
Prosecutors say the father had trained the boy to shoot, did not properly secure his weapons and ammunition, and allowed his son to hide a handgun and 92 bullets in his backpack that he later used in the shooting.
He is also charged with a "serious act against general safety", while the mother is accused of illegal possession of ammunition.
"I expect a legal and fair trial, at the end of which the court will convict the defendants of the criminal offences against them," chief prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic told Serbian broadcaster RTS on Monday.
Both parents pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to the broadcaster.
Prosecutors have also charged the head of a Serbian shooting club and an instructor for providing false testimony.
The boy was 13 at the time of the attack, making him not criminally liable under Serbian law.
The trial will be held behind closed doors, the court announced on Monday, preventing the press and members of the public from attending the proceedings.
The decision was denounced by Irina Borovic, the lawyer representing the parents.
"We hope that the court will reconsider this decision during the trial and that the public will be informed," Borovic told local media.
- 'Disarm' pledge -
As the trial, began the 21-year-old suspect in the second killing spree was formally charged with murdering nine people and wounding 14 others on a rampage across three villages.
The 23 victims were mown down with an automatic weapon in a series of drive-by shootings around the village of Mladenovac, around 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of the capital.
RTS reported that the suspected gunman also faced charges of kidnapping and illegal possession of weapons.
Serbia has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world, with 39 firearms for every 100 civilians, according to the Small Arms Survey project.
After the shootings, President Aleksandar Vucic vowed to "disarm" the nation with an ambitious plan that would crack down on both legal and illicit firearms.
Despite the pledge, the shootings sparked huge anti-government protests as tens of thousands called for the resignation of top officials and an end to the glorification of violence and gangster culture in the media.
Vucic largely dismissed the protests as a "political" stunt, and peddled conspiracy theories about foreign powers allegedly orchestrating the rallies.
J.Williams--AMWN