Embattled Serbian president resigns, paving way for early elections

Serbia's president has resigned after more than a year of student-led protests and growing public discontent over allegations of government corruption.Aleksandar Vučić said his administration had preserved peace and stability during his nine-year tenure as he addressed supporters outside the presidential building in the capital, Belgrade.He had already announced his intention to resign in June and is currently standing to be his party's candidate for prime minister in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Vučić cannot run for a third presidential term under Serbia's constitution.The pro-Russian populist's administration has been dogged by anger over alleged corner-cutting.It was the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station's roof, killing 16 people, that first galvanised anger towards the government in 2024.Protests involving a wide range of citizens - from students and teachers to workers and farmers - followed.Demonstrators believed that the disaster reflected more than a decade of governing by the Progressive Party of Vucic, who closely associated himself with the station's renovation, which was supposed to be a symbol of Serbia's progress.A series of resignations of those under...