NOVI SAD, Serbia (AP) Thousands of people rallied on Saturday in Serbia as university students announced a new stage in their struggle against President Aleksandar Vucic's tenure after leading more than a year of mass demonstrations that shook his autocratic government in the Balkan country. Protesters in Novi Sad, chanting thieves, accused the government of rampant corruption that they believe also led to a November 2024 train station disaster in the northern city that killed 16 people and triggered the nationwide movement for change.
As of Wednesday, automated speed cameras in Oakland had been installed at 18 locations across some of the city's most dangerous road sections. That's according to city officials, who held a press conference this morning at the corner of Broadway and 27th Street to celebrate the start of the cameras' 60-day warning period, after which ticketing is set to begin.
One of the things that Tiyo Shibabaw is looking forward to the most about moving her Oakland-based Burmese restaurant, Teni East Kitchen, to a new location in March is space for a steamer. "It's a bigger kitchen," she says. "The kitchen we currently have is very small, I would love to offer steamed vegetables and seafood." In fact, whole steamed fish is likely to be one of the new additions to the menu at Teni East Kitchen once it moves from its current location
Enrollment in Oakland Unified School District is on the rebound, but continued gains are uncertain as the district faces large unresolved deficits. During the first regular school board meeting of the year on Wednesday, OUSD's executive director of enrollment Kilian Betlach reported increases in transitional kindergarten enrollment, enrollment gains from charter school closures, and a collapse in enrollment by newcomer students. This year, OUSD's enrollment exceeded projections by more than 500 students, which means roughly $7 million more in state funding for the district.
After years of playing home matches at the Coliseum, the Oakland Roots may soon have a new location where they could build a temporary and then permanent soccer stadium. The Port of Oakland has reportedly selected the Oakland Roots Sports Club as one of two competing finalists to redevelop Howard Terminal, a 55-acre waterfront property near Jack London Square. The other finalist is the Industrial Realty Group, a Los Angeles-based real estate development and investment firm that has proposed using Howard Terminal for maritime trade.
Debbie lived fully, authentically, and with purpose. When she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she adopted the motto "no day but today," inspired by one of her favorite musicals, "Rent." While going through treatment, she wrote, read, traveled, danced, exercised, baked, ate what she wanted, and cherished her time with family and her large circle of friends, all of whom loved her distinctive laugh.
Spanish singer-songwriter Julio Iglesias has been accused of sexual and physical assault by two women who previously worked for him. The results of a joint investigation by elDiario.es and Univision Noticias were published on Tuesday, detailing the allegations from both anonymous women. After three years of reporting, the outlets gathered that the women experienced sexual assault, workplace harassment and verbal and physical abuse while working for Iglesias at his homes in 2021.
As a "Big Picture School, MetWest follows a nontraditional model, where students spend three days a week doing core learning and instruction, and spend Tuesdays and Thursdays participating in internships and career learning with a mentor. Their internships are in fields ranging from automotive to education, healthcare, and videography. "At Big Picture Schools, we believe not all the learning happens inside the schools but outside as well,"
Belinda Ricklefs, a ballroom dance and Lindy hop instructor in the Bay Area since 1975, and the founder of Sunday Swing at the Lake Merritt Dance Center and Live Oak Park, passed away on Nov. 7, 2025, at her care home in Pinole. She was 89. Born in Los Angeles in 1936, Belinda lived a long and varied life. She started dancing at age 5, and did her first jitterbugging as a teenager at Friday night socials in a church basement. She graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Asian History (and was a Phi Beta Kappa member) in 1957.
Nomadic Bookshop hasn't had its grand opening yet. Still, the shop is already creating buzz. The name is likely familiar to many bibliophiles, who may remember the independent publisher of the same name that specialized in queer and BIPOC titles. And neighbors are thrilled to have a new small business along the 23rd Street stretch. The Oaklandside visited the bookshop on a recent Wednesday morning, about a month into the store's soft opening, joining around a dozen others who'd stopped in, curious about the storefront.
Editor's note: Nosh covers food and restaurant news across the East Bay, and each week we publish one article covering all the restaurant openings and one article covering closings. Have a tip for Nosh? Submit it here. Subscribing to the Nosh newsletter is the best way to stay up to date on all of the openings and closings, breaking news, deeper developments, and events in the East Bay food scene.
A Berkeley man has died more than a month after he suffered a head injury when he crashed his scooter on the Cal campus, authorities said. UC Berkeley Police said the man was found unconscious on Dec. 1 near Moffitt Library in the center of campus, after witnesses said he fell off his scooter at high speed and hit his head. The man was unconscious but breathing at the time, Sgt. Jacob Westlie wrote in an email, and was taken to a hospital.
Mamacita, a fast-casual Mexican spot, has opened in Emeryville's Public Market following C Casa's departure in February, the E'ville Eye reports. Mamacita serves staples like tacos, burritos and quesadillas, but reviewers on Yelp are most thrilled about the pozole. (Both red and green are on offer). Mamacita, 5959 Shellmound St., Emeryville
City law requires the council to approve all contracts above $250,000. But Oakland's city administrator, Jestin Johnson, has the power to issue contracts up to that amount without informing the council and the public. The mandatory annual report is meant to provide transparency into these purchases. The report also requires Johnson and his team to explain if any contracts were issued without a competitive bidding process, and how many awards went to local businesses.
We are kicking off 2026 with two events to keep you on the dance floor. If you like to move to the sounds of cumbia and salsa, Eli's and Mad Oak are where you need to be. The Eli's event is a one-off, but you can become a regular at the salsa night at Mad Oak, which takes place three times a month.
Speaking to Paris Match, d'Ormale explained Bardot was also suffering from severe back pain and underwent two operations before she died at her home in Saint-Tropez on December 28. She was 91 years old. She was conscious and concerned about the fate of animals until the very end, he said. It was cancer that took her away, d'Ormale continued, adding that Bardot had resisted very well until recently.
Protecting students from immigration raids was a priority for state legislators this year, resulting in several new laws, including one prohibiting school staff from allowing immigration officers to enter campuses or providing student or family information. The most controversial of the new laws is one meant to target antisemitism, although amendments made during the legislative session resulted in a bill that defines discrimination more broadly.
More than a dozen NSAs from European countries, Canada and offices of the European Council, European Commission and NATO held talks focused on three tracks on Saturday. One track will go over the documents, in the second track we will work on a prosperity package, and the third is more military and political issues, Rustem Umerov, a top Ukrainian envoy, said as he opened the gathering in Ukraine's capital.
Standing on the street and looking at the turquoise house tucked into Oakland's Laurel District, you wouldn't suspect there's an overflowing urban farm around back. It far surpasses any average homeowner's idea of a "garden" - 1,400 square feet of fruit trees from persimmons to papayas to bananas, a large variety of vegetables including four types of peppers, many native seeds from California poppy to scarlet flax and hummingbird sage. There are seven chickens, two beehives, an outdoor shower, a pond, and a hot tub.
A blown transformer appears to be to blame for the partial closure of the Caldecott Tunnel, which could extend into the weekend, Caltrans officials said Friday. The mechanical issue which was caused by a string of powerful storms that slammed into the Bay Area this week shut down bores 1 and 3 of the Caldecott Tunnel on Wednesday evening, causing delays on Highway 24, a key connector between Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
The cause of death has been revealed for a 26-year-old English free climber and content creator who died last year while scaling Spain's tallest bridge, Castilla La Mancha. Photographer Lewis Stevenson's death in the early morning hours of Oct. 13, 2024 occurred due to blunt force head injuries and uncontrolled descent from height, according to coroner documents from Monday's written inquest, as obtained by BBC News and People.
While no one seems to know for sure how it came to be called Boxing Day, it definitely has nothing to do with the sport of boxing. Perhaps the most widely held understanding of its origins comes from the tradition of wealthier members of society giving servants and tradesmen a so-called Christmas Box containing money and gifts on the day after Christmas. It was seen as a reward for a year's worth of service.
In a joint statement released by BFN and the pantry's oversight committee, officials stated that the two organizations mutually agreed to end merger negotiations and close the pantry. In the statement they say it became evident that the "structural requirements for a successful transition and continued operation of the pantry exceeded the current capacity of both parties." The statement cited the recent government shutdown, surging need for food assistance, and lack of bandwidth among the church's aging congregation as key factors for the decision.
Editor's note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll. No voting by email: Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted. Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) boys Athlete of the Week poll.
A Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa in southern Ukraine killed eight people and wounded 27, Ukraine's emergency service said Saturday, as a Kremlin envoy was set to travel to Florida for talks on a U.S.-proposed plan to end the nearly four-year war, The discussions are part of the Trump administration's monthslong push for peace that also included meetings with Ukrainian and European officials in Berlin earlier this week.
"We will surely miss our little community that we are madly in love with. We are so grateful for everyone who supported us through the years and made this place what it became. Some of the best moments of our lives happened right here. This is so hard, the end of an era,"
It's outfitted with pickleball courts, a fitness center, a sauna, a kitchen and wine bar - and despite its designation of "social club," it's open to the public. Early morning pickleballers can enjoy daily rotating pastries, breakfast sandwiches, egg bites and chia seed puddings; lunch offerings include cold sesame noodles, an umami kale chop salad, tuna and caper on focaccia and Bad Walter's ice cream for dessert.
School leaders announced last week that Aurora School, a private north Oakland school serving 76 students in kindergarten to eighth grade, would be welcoming students and educators from the Children's School beginning next year. "The more and more that we were in discussions, the more we found in common and more potential we saw in taking the best of each of our communities," said Lynsey Kamine, the head of school at Aurora School. "We also want to offer a route for the legacy of Mills' early childhood program and lab program to carry on." Aurora is expecting around 20 students to enroll from the Children's School, Kamine said.
The Martinez man was gifted a "Godzilla rage room" for his birthday. It was complete with a mini cardboard replica of Tokyo. He dressed as the iconic giant lizard to destroy the city. His wife posted about the experience on social media, saying it was a "stress outlet" for him after a tough year.
ASHLAND The natural gas pipeline that exploded Thursday morning near Hayward was installed in the 1940s and was damaged during recent road construction work, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary investigation. The findings come just days after a line carrying natural gas line that was inadvertently cut and in the process of repairs exploded, a blast that sparked a three-alarm fire in a neighborhood in Ashland and injured six people.
Lincoln-San Jose had just gone up by six points with 1:47 to play and needed one stop to win its first state football championship in school history. Valley Center would have none of it. The San Diego-area school got the ball back at the 22-yard line with 1:42 left and drove 78 yards in five plays and 70 seconds. The all-important extra point, which Lincoln had missed moments earlier, gave Valley Center the 36-35 win.
The Nosh food awards are in! Hear about Oakland's Best New Restaurant (Lucuma), Best Bar Overall (Tallboy), Best Coffee Shop (Mother Tongue Cafe & Bar), and much more. See all the Nosh winners in 2025. Also in this episode: Oakland finally sells $285 million in Measure U bonds for roads and housing after years of delays, OUSD's school board faces tough decisions on $100 million in cuts, the city attempts to reform its notoriously difficult permitting system.
Coach John Beam changed my life when I was a 14-year-old kid on the Skyline High football field. I still remember getting flattened in a varsity drill and looking up to see Beam standing over me, demanding more because he saw more. That was his gift. He coached football, but he taught manhood: accountability, discipline, belief in yourself long before you earned it. Beam fought for me in the classroom, pushed me on the field and helped me get to college when the odds weren't in my favor.
