A bill which has caused uproar becomes law as protesters face water cannon outside parliament.

Fernando Almeyda Rodriguez and Remy Hernandez are two friends from Cuba, bound by a joint struggle for democracy in their country. But that comes at a price. The two men — Rodriguez is 31 and Hernandez 27 — were forced to flee Cuba in the aftermath of mass protests in 2021 to avoid persecution for their activism. An unlikely migration route brought them to Serbia — on the Balkan peninsula, at Europe's southeastern edge — where they sought political asylum. Rodriguez and Hernandez chose Serbia because it was among the few countries in the world that did not require entry visas for Cubans. But Belgrade has since revoked the open travel regime, closing down a passage into Europe used by fleeing Cubans for decades. Serbia made the decision under pressure from the European Union, which it wants to join. Belgrade was also forced to impose visas for the citizens of countries such as Burundi, India or Tunisia which have become a source of migration into the 27-nation bloc. For Rodriguez, however, the decision only meant that Cubans like him will now have fewer options if they wish to flee to avoid pressure from the Communist regime or escape crippling poverty. “Cuba resembles more or less some kind of a concentration camp in which your only option is to die in silence and not complain,” he said. “A lot of these (people) are humanitarian cases or refugee cases and you close the door to them. What about these people?” Friendly relations between Cuba and Serbia date back to the era when Serbia was part of the former Communist-run Yugoslavia, resulting in a small Cuban community here. Last month, Belgrade hosted Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, at a time when Serbia's populist President Aleksandar Vucic has been facing weeks of street protests against his increasingly autocratic rule. Rodriguez said he had been forced to hide for months in Cuba to avoid arrest before he finally flew to Belgrade via Frankfurt, Germany, in Feb. 2022. It was "jail or leaving,” he told the Associated Press in an interview. “I spent more than six months playing hide and seek with the security ... the police,” said Rodriguez. “I would not stop struggling for human rights in my country.” Rodriguez has since been granted asylum in Serbia while the procedure for Hernandez’s application is still underway. Serbian lawyer Nikola Kovacevic, who represented Rodriguez in the asylum procedure, also said the changes in Serbia’s visa policies would expose many refugees from Cuba, Africa and Asia to much longer, dangerous and more complicated ways to reach Europe. “It was the safest route to protection” said Kovacevic. “And now it does not exist any more, it was cancelled. The options for these people have narrowed down.” Migration activists have repeatedly criticized EU countries over the reported illegal pushbacks of migrants and efforts to keep the borders closed even as hundreds die while traversing dangerous routes over the seas or in the hands of people smugglers. Last month, EU countries agreed on a reform of asylum laws and a shared responsibility for migrants entering Europe without authorization. Hungary and Poland opposed the deal, reflecting disunity in the bloc over migration. Both Rodriguez, who is a well-known human rights lawyer and activist in Cuba, and Hernandez, an artist and art teacher, say they had no other option but to flee the government crackdown. The protests in July 2021 were the biggest in Cuba in decades. Scores of people were jailed after the mass rallies that first erupted because of blackouts and shortages that soared during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rodriguez was a prominent member of the Archipelago group that was active on social networks. Hernandez says he lost his job as an art teacher in a Havana high school because he published cartoons in a satirical magazine critical of the Communist authorities. “They expelled me from the school where I worked, from the profession that I studied all my life,” he said. Hernandez said most his friends and family members had also fled as part of a major exodus in recent years. In Cuba, he said, “there is no food, there is no electricity, there is no medicine.” The majority of fleeing Cubans still head for the United States while Europe, primarily Spain, had been an option via Moscow or Serbia. So far, 56 Cubans expressed their intention to seek asylum in Serbia in the first half of 2023, a number that is expected to fall because of the change in the visa regime. Lawyer Kovacevic says that the numbers of Cubans who have used Serbia as a gateway to Europe represent merely a trickle compared to other nationalities migrating along the so-called Western Balkan land route. Serbia’s relaxed visa policies in the past had saved lives, he said. “Any refugee escape is not dignified,” added Kovacevic. “But at least you come directly to safety and then apply for asylum, (which) is way better than to jump over 15 borders where you are going to be beaten up 20 times, pushed back, extorted, humiliated. “This is the way people should be provided with safe routes,” he said. ”And this is not the case now.” —- Follow AP's coverage of migration at: Migration ' AP News Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Kosovo to partially withdraw special police officers from northern Serb-majority municipalities Presidents of Serbia, Montenegro agree to patch up strained relations between historic allies Jews and Muslims come together at Srebrenica anniversary of Europe's only post-World War II genocide

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on four ranking Bosnian Serb officials for undermining a 1995 peace agreement that ended a war that left more than 100,000 dead and millions homeless

Governor Ron DeSantis was in Iowa on Tuesday for his first rally of the 2024 Republican primary cycle — but his remarks were clearly aimed at a general election audience. The conservative governor punched at a whole host of familiar GOP foes during the evening event in west Des Moines, where voters will have the first crack at the Republican field of 2024 candidates. But Mr DeSantis himself did not swipe at any of those rivals. Instead, he focused his fire on the news media, the federal government and its related bureaucracy, and even the Disney corporation which has become embroiled in a feud with him in his home state. His list of targets was a choice selection of Republican red meat. Dr Anthony Fauci, Hunter Biden, critical race theory, “gender ideology” and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives were all up for skewering. So to was George Soros, the Jewish billionaire whose involvement in Democratic-leaning politics has spawned a host of antisemitic conspiracy theories on the right; Mr DeSantis attacked “Soros-backed prosecutors” who he blamed for supposedly refusing to enforce laws of which they disapprove. It was a campaign speech that had all the signs of both the strengths that propelled Mr DeSantis to victory twice in Florida as well as the weaknesses which may very well doom his 2024 bid for the presidency unless a major change in the status quo takes place. The main weakness it highlighted: Mr DeSantis’s unwillingness to engage in a direct fight with Donald Trump, his presumed rival for the GOP nomination. Mr Trump remains the steady favourite in all available polling of the upcoming contest, and it is difficult to see how the Florida governor reverses his recent polling slide without confronting the former president by name. That was one thing Mr DeSantis avoided completely on Tuesday, a fact that drew into question his claim to be willing to stand up to any rival or political foe who came forth. Worse, the governor took a few veiled shots at the leading candidate — references to a single term in the White House being insufficient to clear out the “swamp” in Washington, blame for “empower[ing]” Republican foes like Dr Fauci — but those attacks failed to draw serious blood and left watchers of the address wondering why Mr DeSantis is so hesitant to call out the man who has been personally and politcally degrading him in statements for weeks. “If you are faced with a destructive bureaucrat in your myths like a Fauci, you do not empower somebody like Fauci, you bring him into the office and you tell him to pack his bags, you are fired,” said the governor in one half-hearted attempt at landing a blow on his rival. In another: “At the end of the day leadership is not about entertainment. It's not about building a brand. It's not about virtue signaling. It is about results. And in Florida, we didn't lead with merely words. We followed up our words with deeds, and we have produced a record of accomplishment that we would put up against anybody in this country.“ More follows... Read More Fair-weather DeSantis’ climate change rejection is ‘politicization’ at its finest LGBTQ people are fleeing Florida in ‘mass migration’ with some fundraising via GoFundMe Ron DeSantis called out for ‘ignoring’ Hollywood beach shooting: ‘He doesn’t care’

Rishi Sunak’s government said UK banks could face fines if they don’t preserve easy and free access to

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s interview with Donald Trump will air at 8:55 p.m. Eastern time, just minutes before the first Republican presidential debate begins

'The Idol' was heavily criticized after its premiere in Cannes, with some calling the show 'regressive'

Advocates say schools across the U.S. are removing students with disabilities from the classroom, often in response to challenging behavior, by sending them home or cutting back on the days they’re allowed to attend

Jurgen Klopp has promised Liverpool will be challenging for the Premier League title next season after a disappointing campaign ended with a 4-4 draw away...

American Sean Strickland stunned Nigerian-born New Zealander Israel Adesanya to take the middleweight title by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 293 in Sydney, the first UFC event in Australia’s largest city in six years

New Zealand's Scott Dixon won a wild IndyCar season finale at Laguna Seca Raceway on Sunday as newly crowned series champion...

Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek scored on consecutive shots in the third period Tuesday night, lifting the Minnesota Wild to a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders