🚨ANNOUNCEMENT – WE ARE BUILDING AN INDEPENDENT MEDIA CHANNEL FOR THE SLAVIC WORLD 🇵🇱🇷🇸🇧🇾🇷🇺🇨🇿🇸🇰🇸🇮🇧🇬🇺🇦🇭🇷🇧🇦🇲🇰 We are creating something like Kanał Zero (voice of the people in Poland) or Valuetainment (bold & independent), but for all Slavs — and in English, so the whole world can finally hear our voice. Just like Al Jazeera gave the Arab world its own platform, Slavic Networks TV will be by Slavs, for Slavs, and for everyone who wants the real story. What we are building: - Honest history of the Slavic peoples — not the version others wrote for us - Current events explained from our perspective, not through Western or globalist lenses - Interviews with voices that mainstream media ignores or silences - Documentaries, shorts, podcasts, analysis, language content, and more We are looking for: ✅ Correspondents from all Slavic countries (Poland, Serbia, Czechia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, etc.) ✅ Editors, writers, translators, voice-over artists, graphic designers ✅ Passionate people who love Slavic history, culture, politics, or languages ✅ Those who feel mainstream media only shows one side of the story You don’t need a fancy degree — just real passion, courage, and willingness to build something meaningful. Important: This project is still in the early volunteer phase. We are building everything from scratch — no big sponsors, no grants, no corporate money. The goal is to grow into a professional, independent platform where the best contributors can eventually be paid. How to join: Send us an email to: [email protected] (or DM if you prefer) Tell us a bit about yourself and what you can contribute (writing, video, voice, research, ideas, etc.). Even a short message is enough to start. We are not here to create “better mainstream media”. We are here to create **our own** — Slavic, honest, and unafraid. If you feel called to help shape this, write to us. Slavic Networks TV For Slavs. By Slavs. To the world.

🚨🇷🇴 MIHAI LASCA: “ROMANIA’S JUSTICE SYSTEM IS NOT FREE — AND ELECTIONS ARE NOT DECIDED BY THE PEOPLE!” Romanian politician Mihai Lasca has launched a fierce attack on Romania’s judicial and political establishment over the treatment of nationalist former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu. In a statement published on X, Lasca accused the authorities of pursuing a long-term campaign of political persecution against Georgescu. “Unfortunately, Călin Georgescu was not released, and keeping him in custody, totally unjustified, reveals a plan of long-term persecution.” But Lasca went even further, making an explosive accusation against Romania’s democratic institutions: “Justice is not exactly free in Romania, just as the presidential and parliamentary elections are not decided by the people.” His remarks come amid continuing controversy over Georgescu, who shocked Romania’s political establishment by winning the first round of the November 2024 presidential election. That result was subsequently annulled by Romania’s Constitutional Court, citing concerns over electoral irregularities and alleged foreign interference. Georgescu was later barred from participating in the rescheduled presidential election, a decision that sparked protests and accusations of political interference from his supporters. Now his legal troubles have reignited the debate. On October 26, the Bucharest Tribunal reportedly rejected prosecutors’ request to extend Georgescu’s detention, finding that judicial supervision would be sufficient. However, the decision was not immediately final, and prosecutors challenged it. For Lasca and Georgescu’s supporters, the controversy has become something much bigger than a single criminal investigation. They argue that Romania’s political and judicial institutions are being used to prevent a nationalist political movement from gaining power. Romanian authorities have rejected allegations of political persecution, maintaining that judicial proceedings and electoral decisions are governed by law. Yet the political consequences remain profound. A presidential election annulled. A leading nationalist candidate barred from running again. Criminal proceedings against that same candidate. And now a Romanian politician openly accusing the country’s institutions of denying voters their democratic voice. 🇷🇴 Is Romania defending its democracy — or are its institutions becoming the very threat to democracy that they claim to be fighting? 🌍 SLAVIC NETWORKS

🚨BREAKING: 🇷🇸 VUČIĆ ACCUSES SERBIA’S ELECTION WINNERS OF “MONSTROUS VIOLENCE” AFTER PROTESTERS STORM TV STATION — AND ASKS WHY THE EU IS SILENT Just 24 hours after conceding electoral defeat, Aleksandar Vučić has accused his victorious opponents of unleashing unprecedented violence in Serbia. On October 26, protesters entered the Belgrade headquarters of Informer, a television station known for its strong support of Vučić, interrupting its broadcast and confronting editor-in-chief Dragan J. Vučićević. The incident came one day after Serbia’s Student List defeated Vučić’s coalition in a historic parliamentary election. In a nighttime video address, Vučić condemned the incident as an attack on freedom of expression, free speech and journalism. He accused the European Union, journalists and media associations of remaining silent while a television station was targeted. His accusation raises an uncomfortable question for Brussels: Would the reaction have been different if supporters of Vučić had stormed a television station associated with the opposition? During the confrontation, Informer’s editor-in-chief telephoned Ilija Srdanović, the leading candidate of the victorious Student List, asking him to intervene. Srdanović questioned the information he was receiving, citing Informer’s previous reporting about him. He subsequently publicly appealed for calm and urged citizens to reject violence. The student movement also distanced itself from the incident, declaring that it did not support entering media buildings or institutions. But Vučić was unconvinced. He accused his opponents of irresponsibility and warned that his supporters faced a long and difficult political struggle. The political irony is striking. For years, Informer has faced fierce criticism over its treatment of Vučić’s political opponents and student protesters. Now, after the defeat of the political establishment it defended, its own newsroom has become the target of protesters. Serbia’s incoming political majority has promised change. Yet the events in Belgrade have already opened a fierce debate about political revenge, press freedom and the limits of protest. Can a movement promising democracy tolerate media outlets it despises? And can Brussels credibly defend press freedom if it condemns attacks only when politically convenient? 🇷🇸 Serbia has voted for change. The battle over what that change means has already begun. 🌍 SLAVIC NETWORKS

🚨🇸🇮🇷🇸 SLOVENIAN PM JANEZ JANŠA TO SERBIA: NO EU PROGRESS UNTIL YUGOSLAV SECRET POLICE ARCHIVES ARE HANDED OVER Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša has issued a stark warning to Serbia’s incoming leadership following the Student List’s election victory. While EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos welcomed the result and declared that the EU’s doors were open to Serbia, Janša made clear that Slovenia has conditions of its own. In a statement on X, the Slovenian prime minister said his government would welcome efforts by Serbia’s new authorities to accelerate EU accession negotiations. But Slovenia will not consent to further progress until Belgrade hands over all archives relating to Slovenia from the former Yugoslav security apparatus. The demand covers records from the communist-era UDBA secret police, the State Security Service, the Yugoslav People’s Army and other institutions of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The issue reaches back decades, to the intelligence operations and political surveillance carried out under communist Yugoslavia. Janša’s intervention comes as Serbia prepares for a political transition following the defeat of Aleksandar Vučić’s electoral coalition. The message from Ljubljana is clear: a change of government in Belgrade will not automatically erase unresolved historical disputes between the two former Yugoslav republics. For Serbia, the road to Brussels may now run through the secret archives of its Yugoslav past. Should Serbia be required to release the communist-era intelligence archives before advancing toward EU membership? 🌍 SLAVIC NETWORKS

🚨🇷🇸 AfD MEP TOMASZ FROELICH: “BRUSSELS MAY HAVE CELEBRATED TOO EARLY” OVER SERBIA’S STUDENT LIST German AfD MEP Tomasz Froelich has questioned whether Brussels was too quick to celebrate the reported electoral victory of Serbia’s Student List. In a post on X, Froelich highlighted five positions he attributed to the movement: 🇷🇺 Preserve Serbia’s traditional partnership with Russia. 🇷🇺 Reject sanctions against Moscow. 🇨🇳 Expand strategic cooperation with China. 🇷🇸 Reject Kosovo’s independence and maintain that Kosovo is Serbian territory. 🛡️ Preserve Serbia’s military neutrality. “It may be that people in Brussels celebrated too early,” Froelich concluded. Professor Jovo Bakić has also reportedly defended Serbia’s refusal to impose sanctions on Russia, citing the countries’ historical relationship and Serbia’s own experience with international sanctions during the 1990s. The bigger question: Does political change in Belgrade necessarily mean geopolitical change? Could a new Serbian leadership challenge Vučić domestically while maintaining Serbia’s traditional positions on Russia, China, Kosovo and military neutrality? 🌍 Slavic Networks

🚨EU CARBON RULES AND A POST-1989 SELL-OFF KILL CZECH MINING IN KARVINÁ — OKD BANKRUPT AFTER BAKALA TAKES BILLIONS, 44,000 APARTMENTS SOLD OFF, TOWN FALLS FROM 79,000 TO UNDER 48,000 🇨🇿🔥🇪🇺 Czechia is a Slavic country in the European Union. Karviná sits on its border with Poland in the Ostrava-Karviná coal basin. For more than 150 years the hard coal mined here fed the steelworks of Ostrava and employed tens of thousands of Czech and Polish workers. On 21 October a tall concrete mining tower was brought down while a crowd filmed. The video shows the crossed-hammers symbol of the town above the falling structure. Under the clip Czechs and Poles write the same things: “Sad… God bless,” “What our ancestors built is being destroyed,” “We are becoming visitors in our own country.” A Polish miner says watching it feels like a massacre and notes that Poland already closed its own pits and sent people abroad for work. The seams left were deeper than 1,000 metres. EU carbon prices under the Emissions Trading System deliberately priced domestic coal out of the market long before the seams were gone — while Brussels still lets steelworks import the same coal by ship from Australia, the United States and Mozambique. OKD went bankrupt after the post-1989 sell-off; Zdeněk Bakala’s NWR took out billions in dividends and the 44,000 miners’ apartments were sold off instead of being offered to the workers. The state took over the shutdown. Karviná’s unemployment sits at 8–10 percent — double or triple the national rate of around 3–4 percent — while the town’s population has fallen from nearly 79,000 to under 48,000. The tower is gone. The comments are still there.

🚨BREAKING: POLAND’S FOREIGN MINISTER SIKORSKI: “VENEZUELA, BRAZIL, SERBIA. PROBABLY A BIT OF SADNESS ON THE PATO-RIGHT TODAY.”

🚨JUST IN: UK MP ALICIA KEARNS SAYS SCENES FROM SERBIA ARE “DEEPLY CONCERNING” AS POLLS CLOSE — MEN IN BLACK HOODIES GATHER IN BELGRADE AFTER RIOT POLICE DEPLOYED As polls closed, journalist Aleksandar Brezar posted video of dozens of men in black hoodies, said to be SNS supporters, gathering in downtown Belgrade. Riot police had been deployed in the same area earlier. The Student List asked its supporters to avoid confrontation and stay safe. Kearns, a former Foreign Affairs Committee chair, pointed to reports of voter intimidation, road blockades and plainclothes security, and said European democracies must judge the results by how the count is handled tonight. Both sides say they will not accept a disputed result without checks. Counting is underway

🚨HUGE: SERBIAN LONG-TIME LEADER ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ CONCEDES DEFEAT — STUDENT LIST PROJECTED TO WIN OUTRIGHT MAJORITY 🇷🇸 From SNS headquarters in Belgrade, Vučić said: “It is clear that we have lost. The Student List has won between 135 and 140 seats. We expect around 105 or 106.” Serbia’s parliament has 250 seats; 126 are needed for a majority. The Student List is therefore projected to form a government on its own. Turnout was high, above 67 percent. Official counts continue overnight. This ends 14 years of SNS rule. Counting continues.

🚨BREAKING: USAID SENT $21 MILLION TO SERBIA IN FY2025 AND $50 MILLION IN FY2022 — WITH ~$14 MILLION A YEAR FOR DEMOCRACY GROUPS AND NED ADDING $1.5–2.5 MILLION WHILE THE STUDENT LIST CLAIMS IT RAISED ITS OWN MONEY US records show the USAID totals above. Roughly $14 million a year is marked for democracy, rule of law and civil society. The National Endowment for Democracy adds $1.5–2.5 million yearly. That money goes to CRTA (election observers), KRIK and BIRN (investigative reporting) and YUCOM (legal aid). NDI and IRI run polling and training. The Student List says it raised over €1.9 million from more than 26,000 individual Serbian citizens plus standard public funds. Serbian law bans foreign money for party campaigns. Washington says the grants support democracy and media freedom. Vučić’s side says the money is meant to weaken his control and treats the Student List as a Western project. Russia has shared the same assessment with Serbian services. Western governments also keep direct deals with Vučić on lithium and Kosovo. Early turnout is high. Both sides say they will not accept a disputed result without checks. The vote is still open. Is the US funding independent monitors and media — or is it building the infrastructure that lets a student list challenge a machine that has held power since 2012?

🚨BREAKING: US CONGRESSMAN JOE WILSON SAYS HE IS “DEEPLY CONCERNED” ABOUT REPORTS THE SERBIAN GOVERNMENT MAY USE VIOLENCE TO BLOCK VOTERS — ON ELECTION DAY WITH HIGH TURNOUT

🚨JUST IN: SERBS IN STOCKHOLM CHANT “WHO DOESN’T JUMP IS A ĆACI” WHILE LINING UP TO VOTE — TODAY IS ELECTION DAY IN SERBIA AND A STUDENT PROTEST MOVEMENT IS THE STRONGEST CHALLENGE TO THE RULING PARTY IN OVER A DECADE 🇷🇸 Serbia is a Slavic country in the Balkans. Its capital is Belgrade. Aleksandar Vučić has dominated politics there for more than a decade. He resigned as president in late September and is now the top candidate on the “United Serbia” list. The main challenger is the Student List, number 3 on the ballot. It grew out of protests that began after the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station collapsed in November 2024 and killed 16 people. Students blocked universities for months, then formed a list of doctors, academics, and other professionals chosen through open assemblies. No students are running themselves. In a video posted today from Stockholm, Sweden, people waiting in a long line are chanting “Ko ne skače taj je ćaci” — a protest slogan where “ćaci” is slang for ruling-party supporters. The poster wrote that people keep arriving and the line keeps growing. Similar lines have been reported in other European cities. Polling stations inside Serbia also reported high early turnout, roughly double the level from the last election. For years, many who opposed the government stayed home. The protests after Novi Sad brought them out. The ruling party’s base has turned out reliably since 2012. A very high turnout favors the challenger list. A lower one favors the machine that has held power for more than a decade. Both sides say they will not accept a close result without checks. The vote is still open. Who turns out in higher numbers — the voters who stayed home before, or the base that has kept the same party in power since 2012?

🚨NEWS: CZECH PRIME MINISTER ANDREJ BABIŠ SAYS ENDING THE HOUSEHOLD FEE FOR PUBLIC TV AND RADIO IS TAX RELIEF — THE OPPOSITION THAT ONCE APPOINTED BOARD MEMBERS AND FAST-TRACKED LAWS NOW CALLS THE SAME TOOLS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY 🇨🇿 Czechia is a Slavic country in the EU and NATO. Its capital is Prague. Andrej Babiš is prime minister. His coalition includes his ANO party, the SPD led by Tomio Okamura (Speaker of the lower house of parliament), and the Motorists. Right now Czech households pay a monthly fee of about 6 dollars for television and 2 dollars for radio that goes straight to the public stations. The new bill ends that fee. The stations would get the money from the national budget instead. Babiš says the change saves every household more than 100 dollars a year and locks the money in by law as mandatory spending so no future government can cut it for disliking the news. He says this matches Finland, Sweden, Denmark and France. He says the stations spend nearly 400 million dollars a year and that an audit office should check the books. He says no one wants to touch the news. The opposition says the first budget already cuts the stations by about 60 million dollars, or 15 percent, and that the bill passed at first reading at 4:36 a.m. after Okamura limited speaking time. They point to Hungary and Slovakia, where ending the household fee was later followed by changes to the boards. Hundreds of people protested outside. Workers plan a strike on 3 November. President Petr Pavel said the overnight vote was the wrong way to do it and called for calm. The coalition says it won the election and has the right to change a domestic fee. The opposition says EU rules on stable funding still apply. The same parties that now call overnight votes and board appointments undemocratic used procedural tools and filled council seats when they held the majority. The bill has not yet become law. Who should decide how much the public stations get — every household that pays the fee, or the parties that hold the votes in parliament?

🚨NOW: CZECH GOVERNMENT PASSES PUBLIC MEDIA FUNDING BILL AT 4:36 A.M. — PRESIDENT PAVEL CALLS FOR CALM, NEXTA SAYS PROTESTERS TRIED TO ENTER PARLIAMENT, PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE SAY IT STAYED PEACEFUL Czechia is a Slavic country in the EU and NATO. Its capital is Prague. Andrej Babiš is prime minister. His coalition is ANO, the SPD led by Tomio Okamura (Speaker of the Chamber), and the Motorists. Households currently pay a monthly fee — 150 crowns for television and 55 crowns for radio — that goes straight to the public stations. The bill ends that fee. The stations would get money from the state budget, voted each year by parliament. Critics say the first allocation cuts about 60 million dollars, roughly 15 percent. Parliament passed the bill at first reading after an all-night session. Okamura limited speaking time. More than 60 opposition members were not allowed to speak. Hundreds protested outside the building in Malá Strana. Police put up barriers. NEXTA posted that dozens tried to force their way into the Chamber of Deputies, with clashes and no arrests according to a police spokesperson. Replies from people who said they were there called that false, said the protest stayed peaceful, and said it was a civic gathering, not organised by the opposition. On 19 October President Petr Pavel posted that death threats against journalists have reappeared and that it is unacceptable for anyone to fear for their life because of their work or opinions, especially when public officials encourage or downplay such threats. On 24 October he criticised the unexpected night vote, saying it undermines faith in the good intentions of those who proposed the change, and called on both sides to return to normal rules and respect. Babiš says the change saves households money, will be locked in by law as mandatory spending linked to inflation, and does not threaten independence. Okamura has accused the stations of bias and of spreading “Brussels propaganda.” The opposition and press-freedom groups say the overnight vote and the funding switch together create a yearly lever. Workers plan a strike on 3 November. The European Media Freedom Act requires stable funding shielded from political interference. The fee amounts and the cut figure are as published by critics. The vote time is as reported. NEXTA’s claim and the replies are as posted. Pavel’s statements are as written. The bill has not yet become law. Who decides the size of the newsroom when the money no longer comes from every household but from the parties that hold the votes?

🇷🇸 SERBIA VOTES SUNDAY — STUDENTS WHO PROTESTED TWO YEARS AFTER A STATION ROOF KILLED 16 ARE NOW CHALLENGING VUČIĆ, AND THE POLLS SPLIT Serbia is a Slavic Balkan country, not in the EU or NATO. Aleksandar Vučić has dominated it for more than a decade. He resigned the presidency so he could lead the ruling list and try to become prime minister. In November 2024 the renovated railway station canopy in Novi Sad collapsed and killed 16 people. It was part of a Chinese railway project. Students blocked universities and filled the streets for two years. They did not smash windows or burn cars. They formed the Student List – Students Win and are on the ballot against Vučić’s United Serbia list on Sunday. Belgrade footage shows night crowds holding phone lights under Serbian flags. The last polls do not agree. One survey paid for by Vučić’s side put his list at 47.4 % and the Student List at 40 %. Another put the Student List at 44.5 % and Vučić’s list at 42.7 %. Averages are close. Betting markets still favour Vučić’s list. Voting is open 07:00–20:00 local time. The lights are visible. The polls are as published. The 16 deaths are as reported. No result is known. Who is the audience for students who spent two years on the street after a roof fell and reached the ballot without burning their own city?

🇵🇱 POLISH PRIME MINISTER DONALD TUSK POSTS THAT THE PRIME MINISTER OF KARNATAKA CALLED HIM “OUR MAHARAJA” — HE SAYS HE IS READY FOR ANY SACRIFICE FOR POLISH FIRMS ON THE INDIAN MARKET

🚨 BULGARIAN STATE PROTECTION OFFICER SHOVES JOURNALIST SONYA KOLTUKLIEVA TO THE GROUND IN SOFIA AS SHE TRIES TO QUESTION PARLIAMENT SPEAKER MIHAELA DOTSOVA — SHE IS HOSPITALIZED WITH A FRACTURED SHOULDER Bulgaria is a Slavic EU and NATO state. Sofia is its capital. The video shows the officer shoving the journalist. Clash Report posted that a state protection officer was detained after the shove as she tried to question Parliament Speaker Mihaela Dotsova. She was hospitalized with a fractured shoulder, with some reports also citing a concussion. The frames show the shove. The detention and injury details are as stated in the post. No full police statement is quoted. No government reply is quoted. Who is the audience for a state protection officer who puts a journalist on the ground outside the Bulgarian parliament?

🚨SCHOCKING: POLAND ISSUED 967,000 FIRST-TIME RESIDENCE PERMITS TO NON-EU CITIZENS IN ONE YEAR — THEN A VIDEO SHOWS AN INDIAN MAN ATTACKING ANOTHER INDIAN WITH A CLEAVER IN WARSAW WHILE POLITICIANS STILL SELL “BE LIKE POLAND” Poland is a Slavic EU and NATO state. Warsaw is its capital. The video shows one man approaching another from behind and striking with a large blade. The post states it was a cleaver, not a knife. The frames show the street attack. No police statement is quoted. No victim name is given. No motive is stated. Poland topped the EU for first-time residence permits for several years. The 2021 figure was 967,000. Registered foreign workers now stand at roughly 1.14–1.29 million, about 7–8% of the workforce. Ukrainians are the largest group. Indians, Georgians and Colombians have grown. Birth rates are at post-war lows. The state projects more than 2 million native workers gone by 2035. After the cash-for-visas scandal, work visas in the first quarter fell from about 123,000 to 16,000. Deportations rose. The “be like Poland” line stayed. The clip is in Warsaw. Who is the audience for the slogan when the cleaver is already in the capital?

🚨HUGE: SERBIAN PRESIDENT ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ SAYS HIS OPEN BALKAN PARTNER EDI RAMA SHOULD HAVE CRUSHED THE ALBANIAN PROTESTS EARLIER — HE LOST TIME BY TRYING TO APPEASE THEM

🚨BREAKING: HUNDREDS RALLY IN BELGRADE FOR THE STUDENT LIST AHEAD OF SERBIA’S PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ON OCTOBER 25 — VUČIĆ STEPPED DOWN AS PRESIDENT TO RUN FOR PRIME MINISTER Serbia is a Slavic Balkan state outside the EU and NATO. Belgrade is its capital. The video shows a street rally in the capital. Hundreds of people took to the streets for the final rally of the Student List movement ahead of the parliamentary elections. The election is set for October 25. The ruling coalition led by the Serbian Progressive Party will be represented by Aleksandar Vučić, who stepped down as president to run for prime minister. The main challenger is the Student List, led by Ilija Srdanović, a cardiologist from Novi Sad. The frames show the rally. The numbers and names are as stated. No official turnout figure is quoted. No government reply is quoted. Who is the audience for a cardiologist-led list that faces the man who left the presidency to run for the prime minister’s chair?