#Israel starts calling up reservists as it pushes into initial stages of Gaza City offensive

#Serbian students march in latest anti-graft protest. Thousands of high-school students marched through Serbia’s capital on Monday, the latest in months of demonstrations denouncing graft that have piled pressure on President Aleksandar Vucic.

The rally -- conducted in silence -- passed off peacefully, unlike ones in mid-August that degenerated into violence from what protesters said was heavy-handed tactics by government loyalists and police.

The regular demonstrations started over a fatal train-station roof collapse 10 months ago.

The November 2024 tragedy, which killed 16 people in the northern city of Novi Sad, quickly became a symbol of entrenched corruption in the Balkan nation.

While they have led to the resignation of the prime minister and the collapse of his government, Vucic has remained defiantly in office, at the helm of a reshuffled administration.

He has so far brushed off demands for early elections, and alleges the demonstrations are part of a foreign plot.

“Ten months is an enormous period of time, and nothing has changed. Not a single thing. Not one person has been held accountable” for the rail-station collapse, 18-year-old Lazar, a final-year high school student from Belgrade, told AFP.

The protest he marched in featured no slogans but was marked by the symbolic silence in memory of the victims.

“We remember the tragedy, we demand accountability, we fight for a better country. We do not look away. Together until the end,” students wrote on Instagram.

Protesters also held commemorative marches in the cities of Kragujevac and Novi Sad.

Earlier, dozens of students had assembled outside Novi Sad train station, the site of the tragedy.

Police estimate that there have been approximately 23,000 gatherings of varying sizes nationwide since the protest movement began.

The largest of the demonstrations have drawn hundreds of thousands of people.

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

Since then, the gatherings in recent weeks weeks have been largely calm.

Vucic’s ruling party, in power since 2012, has responded by starting to stage its own rallies around the country.

Police said more than 100,000 people attended one such event on Sunday. AFP could not verify the figure.

North Korea releases propaganda video praising its soldiers who fought for #Russia.

Just days before Kim Jong Un is due to stand with Russia’s Vladimir Putin to witness a display of China’s military might, North Korea has released a propaganda film praising its troops’ efforts fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine.

The 20-minute video, released by North Korean state media KCTV, showed heavily dramatized shots of soldiers on the snow-covered battlefield – handling weapons, holding meetings with Russian soldiers, and installing bombs on trees.

It also showed aerial footage purporting to show damage inflicted by North Korean soldiers, with clips of explosions and targeted strikes.

Other parts of the video emphasized the soldiers’ patriotism – with one shot appearing to show soldiers gazing at a framed portrait of Kim, and another showing a soldier pressing his cheek to the North Korean flag.

It’s unclear how much of the footage is authentic, or whether it has been staged or manipulated, as is common in North Korean propaganda. CNN cannot independently verify when and where the videos were filmed.

“They’re presenting their participation in the Ukrainian war as a major exploit, as another confirmation of (North Korea’s) military might and their loyalty to the party, state and the leader himself,” said Andrei Lankov, a professor of Korean Studies at Kookmin University in Seoul.

The video offers a rosy view of the situation on the ground in a theatre that has become notorious for human wave attacks and horrific attrition rates on the Russian side. Western officials estimated that a third of the 12,000 North Korea troops believed to be part of the initial deployment were either killed or wounded.

The program, initially shrouded in secrecy, was later confirmed by both Pyongyang and Moscow. In recent weeks, Kim finally acknowledged the loss of troops, holding two events in August to meet bereaved families.

Last Friday, he promised “a beautiful life” for the families of “martyrs” who perished fighting for Russia, state media reported. Earlier in August, he said his “heart aches,” with state media photos showing the leader embracing sobbing families and kneeling before the portraits of deceased soldiers.

The propaganda video on Sunday paid tribute to these soldiers too, beginning with a statement that troops had participated in operations to “liberate” the Russian region of Kursk in October 2024 after Ukraine’s surprise offensive. It also named some fallen soldiers and described how they had died.

For decades, North Korean propaganda has emphasized the significance of its military but “had very little real actual stuff to talk about,” said Lankov, pointing to its previous lack of real battlefield experience.

“Now, they’ve had a real war where, generally speaking, North Korean soldiers were fighting quite well,” he added. “It’s understandable that it’s likely to become a major topic of their domestic propaganda, domestic ideological education and indoctrination.”

North Korea has drawn closer to Russia since the war began, with experts warning that Moscow may be offering military and technological assistance to Pyongyang in exchange for its troops.
Visit to Beijing

Both Kim and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will be in Beijing on Wednesday for a massive military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II – setting the stage for a striking show of unity between the two autocrat leaders and China’s Xi Jinping.

The trip will be Kim’s first trip to China since 2019. Kim, who has only embarked on 10 foreign trips since assuming power in 2011, last left his isolated country in 2023 to meet Putin at a remote spaceport in Russia’s far east.

Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said North Korea could have released the video ahead of the Beijing visit to portray Kim as “an important leader with a strategic position in Northeast Asia that is on par with Putin and Xi Jinping at the Victory Day (parade).”

It would further the narrative that North Korea is “forming a solidarity front with powerful countries on the diplomatic stage,” Hong added.

On Sunday, Kim also examined missiles on a “newly inaugurated” production line and learned about the “overall condition of the state missile production capacity,” state media KCNA reported on Monday.

Images published by KCNA appeared to show Kim at an undisclosed location inspecting several dozen weapons in various stages of production and talking with uniformed officers.

According to the KCNA report, North Korea had “successfully fulfilled” its five-year plan to expand its missile production capacity.

“Various kinds of missiles were put into serial production,” the agency reported, adding that Kim had ratified three new long-term plans “related to missile production capacity.”

North Korea has ramped up its weapons program in the last few years, rapidly modernizing its armed forces, developing new weapons and testing intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach almost anywhere in the United States.

Kim has also ramped up his rhetoric, vowing recently to build up the country’s nuclear program and threatening to use it to destroy South Korea if attacked.

Jessie Yeung, Billy Stockwell and Gawon Bae, #CNN

Armoured vehicle accident in #Haiti kills 2 and injures 8 #Kenyan police officers.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — An accident involving two armoured vehicles in Haiti’s capital left at least two people dead and eight police officers from Kenya injured, according to officials.

One dead and all those injured were part of a UN-backed mission fighting gangs in the troubled Caribbean country. The other fatality was a civilian, according to a statement from the mission’s spokesman, Jack Ombaka.

Three of those injured were in serious condition and airlifted to the neighboring Dominican Republic for treatment, authorities said.

The accident occurred Sunday evening along the Kenscoff-Pétion-Ville route in the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Ombaka said it happened when one of the armored vehicles that was towing a disabled one broke down.

It brought to three the number of Kenyan police officers killed in Haiti since the mission began more than a year ago. One was killed in a gang attack, and another remains missing and is presumed dead.

The Associated Press

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday that the war in Ukraine could still last for a long time and ending it quickly at the country’s expense was not an option.

In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF, Merz, when asked whether a ceasefire might be possible this year, said he hasn’t lost hope but “harbors no illusions,” and emphasized that supporting the country to defend itself against Russia was an “absolute priority.”

“We are trying to end it as quickly as possible. But certainly not at the price of Ukraine’s capitulation. You could end the war tomorrow if Ukraine surrendered and lost its independence,” Merz said.

“Then the next country would be at risk the day after tomorrow. And the day after that, it would be us. That is not an option,” the chancellor said.

Germany is a key backer of Ukraine and has delivered or pledged military support worth around 40 billion euros ($47 billion) since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The Associated Press

#Putin attends formal reception in honor of heads of SCO delegations
The Russian president was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff Maxim Oreshkin, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and other heads of delegations from SCO member countries, as well as guests invited by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, took part in a formal reception organized by the host country, a TASS correspondent reported.

Putin was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchxiuk, Deputy Chief of Staff Maxim Oreshkin, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov, Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to China Igor Morgulov, and Presidential Special Representative for SCO Affairs Bakhtiyor Khakimov.

The ceremony took place at the Tianjin Meijiang International Convention and Exhibition Center. Xi Jinping delivered a speech. Afterwards, the guests enjoyed a concert.

#Canada has an honest-to-goodness treasure hunt on its hands.

Organized by the #newspaper The Northern Miner, the Great Canadian Treasure Hunt is a cross-country contest pitting #Canadians’ deductive skills against the holy grail of geographical guessing games: A weatherproof case with a code redeemable for $1 million in gold.

Here’s what to know about the treasure, and where it might be found:
The gold

The contest’s terms and conditions describe the grand prize as 217 one-ounce gold coins, which The Northern Miner says are “vault certified, physically held, and ready to claim.”

According to the organizers, additional bonus prizes of six coins each, or $25,000, will be awarded to contestants who find one of 12 codes hidden elsewhere in Canada, each with its own clues released monthly.

The number of coins per prize is set, meaning that should the price of gold go up or down in the meantime, so will the value of the treasures.
The rules

Before anyone gets carried away, there are a few ground rules to keep in mind.

First, in the interest of fair play, the locations of the treasures are tightly held -- so much so that only one of the organizers knows exactly where the grand prize is hidden. Also, none of those locations are within five kilometres of any home, workplace or property belonging to the organizers or their families.

Other important no-go zones include private property, underwater or underground in mines, caves or tunnels; in, under or on top of man-made structures; anywhere near gravesites, cemeteries or memorials; construction sites, hazardous waste dumps or in locations that require climbing gear or “risky stunts.”

No special equipment, vehicles or athletic ability will be required to find the treasure.

Even so, the contest’s safety page reminds treasure hunters to take precautions for the cold, heat and inclement weather, to bring a buddy and a fully charged phone, to beware of wildlife and to respect the environment, artifacts of Canadian heritage and their own wellbeing.

“Remember: the real treasure isn’t just the gold—it’s the adventure, the stories, and coming home safe to tell them,” it reads.
The clues

At the heart of the hunt is a 52-line poem, and its cryptic clues that hint at the prize’s location.

The contest’s website warns would-be seekers to “take nothing at face value,” to “think laterally,” and even suggests that mistakes in the text could be intentional.

“Typos aren’t clues…” the FAQ reads. “Or are they?”

Here are some potential hints hiding in the poem, and what they might mean:

#Landforms

It’s a good idea to narrow down from Canada’s 10 million square kilometres by searching for signs of major landforms.

The most readily apparent is the Canadian Shield; a massive sheet of bedrock under parts of the territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Labrador, which earns a specific mention:

“The Shield bends low through sleeping trees … Where sunken whispers told of ease,” it reads.

Careful, though: Sometimes, the poem is describing where the treasure isn’t.

The second stanza mentions that “Gold sighs beneath the mountain’s strain,” and describes a place “beyond the clouds, where glaciers reign.”

Both details might bring to mind the Rocky Mountains, or perhaps the glacial coastlines from northern Labrador to Nunavut’s Ellesmere Island.

But in the very next line, that idea is thrown out the window, as “Yet peaks mislead with gilded hue … The path lies where the birch trees grew.”

Plant life

On a more organic note, the poem is littered with references to trees; ones that may hint at general areas of interest.

The white birch tree, like those mentioned above, are common in Canada, but don’t typically grow in the central Arctic. If you were planning an excursion to Baffin Island, you may want to save yourself the trouble.

Tantalizingly, a marker implied to be relevant to the treasure can be found near “pine,” though with 10 different species of pine trees scattered across Canada, that barely excludes any region.

Also mentioned are cedar trees, of which Canada has two major species. The western redcedar can be found along the west coast, as well as in the eastern B.C interior. Meanwhile, the eastern white-cedar covers a wide swath of Canada from the Manitoba-Ontario boundary to southwest Nova Scotia, and north to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.

Trees are also described as “sleeping,” with “brittle roots” and having grown in the past tense, which may match something like a petrified fossil forest. Alternatively, maybe “sleeping” just refers to how deciduous trees become dormant in the winter, which would favour Canada’s southern forests.

Water

The poem also makes frequent reference to bodies of water, like potentially oceanside “brine” and “salt air.” Rivers may also feature, as hinted by a “current,” and possibly even a waterfall.

At the same time, mention of a “mirror” and “silence” among water that “hums” suggests perhaps what you’re looking for is more like a calm lake, or pond.

Hunters are encouraged to look out for a marker of the treasure “by shore,” so keep an eye out for where the water meets the land, but bear in mind that anywhere underwater is off-limits, which could disqualify any place that would be submerged at high tide.

Metal and minerals

Gold isn’t the only mineral that makes an appearance.

Copper is evoked by the obscure Greek-derived name “chalco,” or with references to “red seams” and “verdigris” -- another name for copper oxide.

One line refers to “zinc-toned waters,” a location of note is described as “where iron sings,” and copper is said to have a “song” of its own.

In fact, gold mostly appears when the poem is talking about where the treasure isn’t hidden, such as in “gilded desks” and how what could be the hiding place is “not marked by gold but core alone.”

If you’re interested in digging deeper on metals, Natural Resources Canada maintains a map of regions notable for mining here.

Manmade landmarks

There’s no shortage of artificial markers mentioned, either.

“Flinty’s claim” makes an appearance, which all signs point to being a reference to Josiah Flintabattey Flonatin, the fictional prospector and namesake of Flin Flon, Man., where he is commemorated with a cartoonish statue.

Another proper noun is Bathurst, said to have a “deepest bell” ringing. That could refer to the major street in Toronto, but also the coastal zinc-mining community of the same name in northern New Brunswick, both of which home to at least one bell tower.

Midway through, the poem describes a “giant coin” that “reflects the sun.” Taken literally, that could mean Ontario landmarks like the Big Nickel in Sudbury, giant loonie in Echo Bay or the oversized toonie in Campbellford, though this may be another misdirection, as the coin’s “gleam” is ultimately described as a “siren’s light” warning that “No miner’s truth is held in sight.”

Another red herring to look out for: the poem name-drops a very specific location, Toronto’s Bay Street financial district, but treasure hunters shouldn’t be fooled, for “No gilded desk nor numbered share … Will point to where the birches stare.”
So, where’s the treasure?

It’s anyone’s guess, but the final two stanzas seem to offer a window into the hiding place itself.

“Step not in haste where paths align … But where the trail forgets design … Beyond the mark the tall grass grows … And buried speaks what no one knows,” reads the penultimate set of rhymes.

If you think you might be steps away from a million-dollar payday, search for a “sliver” resting in the overgrowth, hidden behind the brush.

All throughout the poem, words like “silence” and “whispers” bring to mind a quiet, secluded spot, just waiting to be found. Perhaps most mysterious of all, the very final line seems to suggest that the case containing the winning code could be magnetized; a sort of invisible X that marks the spot:

“The compass turns,” it reads. “And all is hush.”

Happy hunting, Canada.

Indonesian leader pledges to revoke lawmakers’ perks after protests leave 6 dead

#Israeli airstrike kills Houthi rebel prime minister in Sanaa. Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in Thursday’s strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement. Other ministers and officials were wounded, the statement added without providing details.

The premier was targeted along with other members of his Houthi-controlled government during a “routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year,” the Houthi statement said.

Thursday’s strike took place as the rebel-owned television station was broadcasting a speech by Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the secretive leader of the rebel group, in which he was sharing updates on the latest Gaza developments and vowing retaliation against Israel. Senior Houthi officials used to gather to watch al-Houthi’s prerecorded speeches.

Al-Rahawi wasn’t part of the inner circle around al-Houthi that runs the military and strategic affairs of the group. His government, like the previous ones, was tasked with running the day-to-day civilian affairs in Sanaa and other Houthi-held areas.

The strike that killed the prime minister targeted a meeting for Houthi leaders in a villa in Beit Baws, an ancient village in southern Sanaa, three tribal leaders told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared repercussions.

On Thursday, the Israeli military said it “precisely struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen.” Late on Saturday, the military in a statement confirmed killing al-Rahawi “along with additional senior officials.” It said senior officials among the dozens at the facility struck were responsible for “terror actions” against Israel.

“Yemen endures a lot for the victory of the Palestinian people,” al-Rahawi had said following an Israeli strike last week that struck an facility owned by the country’s main oil company, which is controlled by the rebels in Sanaa, as well as a power plant.

The Aug. 24 strike came three days after the Houthis launched a ballistic missile toward Israel that its military described as the first cluster bomb the rebels had launched at it since 2023.

The prime minister hailed from the southern province of Abyan, and was an ally to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He allied himself with the Houthis when the rebels overran Sanaa, and much of the north and center of the country in 2014, initiating the country’s long-running civil war. He was appointed as prime minister in August 2024.

The United States and Israel began their air and naval campaign against the Houthis in response to the rebels’ missile and drone attacks on Israel and on ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis targeted ships in response to the war in Gaza, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians. Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods pass each year.

The U.S. and Israeli strikes killed dozens of people in Yemen. One U.S. strike in April hit a prison holding African migrants in northern Sadaa province, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others.

Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst with the Crisis Group International, a Brussels-based think tank, called the killing of the Houthi prime minister a “serious setback” for the rebels.

He said it marks an Israeli shift from striking the rebels’ infrastructure to targeting their leaders, including senior military figures, which “poses a greater threat to their command structure.”

In May, the Trump administration announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to attacks on shipping. The rebels, however, said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.

Samy Magdy, The Associated Press

Chicago mayor defies Trump’s immigration crackdown plan for the city.

The mayor of Chicago pushed back Saturday against what he called the “out-of-control” Trump administration’s plan to surge federal officers into the nation’s third-largest city, which could take place within days.

The Chicago Police Department will be barred from helping federal authorities with civil immigration enforcement or any related patrols, traffic stops and checkpoints during the surge, according to an executive order signed by Mayor Brandon Johnson.

The mayor directed all city departments to guard the constitutional rights of Chicago residents “amidst the possibility of imminent militarized immigration or National Guard deployment by the federal government.”

When asked during a news conference about federal agents who are presumably “taking orders,” Johnson replied: “Yeah, and I don’t take orders from the federal government.”

Johnson also blocked Chicago police from wearing face coverings to hide their identities, as most federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have adopted since the Trump administration took charge this year.

The federal surge into Chicago could start as early as Sept. 5 and last about 30 days, according to two U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not been made public.

The officials described the immigration crackdown as part of a larger effort to expand the federal law enforcement presence in major Democratic-run cities, as it did this summer in Los Angeles.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump commented about Chicago crime and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on his Truth Social site: “Six people were killed, and 24 people were shot, in Chicago last weekend, and JB Pritzker, the weak and pathetic Governor of Illinois, just said that he doesn’t need help in preventing CRIME. He is CRAZY!!! He better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming! MAGA. President DJT”

Unlike the recent federal takeover of policing in Washington, D.C., the Chicago operation is not expected to rely on the National Guard or military and is focused exclusively on immigration instead of being cast as part of a broad campaign against crime, the officials said.

Chicago is home to a large immigrant population, and both the city and the state of Illinois have some of the country’s strongest rules against cooperating with federal immigration enforcement efforts. That has often put the city and state at odds with President Donald Trump ‘s mass deportation agenda.

Johnson’s order builds on the city’s longtime stance, saying neither Chicago nor Illinois officials have sought or been consulted on the federal presence and demanding Trump stand down on those plans.

Johnson had harsh words for Trump during his news conference, accusing the president of “behaving outside the bounds of the Constitution” and seeking a federal presence in blue cities as retribution against his political rivals.

“He is reckless and out of control,” Johnson said. “He’s the biggest threat to our democracy that we’ve experienced in the history of our country.”

In response, the White House insisted the potential flood of federal agents was about “cracking down on crime.”

“If these Democrats focused on fixing crime in their own cities instead of doing publicity stunts to criticize the President, their communities would be much safer,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in an email Saturday.

Margery A. Beck, The Associated Press