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Putin's Russia
Russia blacklists Stanford University

Russia has added the prestigious American university Stanford to its list of "undesirable organizations," the Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing Reuters.

More than 200 other organizations are also on the list. Stanford is not the first American university to be added. In July, Yale University was added, citing the school's activities as attempting to "violate Russia's territorial integrity." Berkeley, the University of California, and Tufts are also on the list.

Russia claims that the organizations on the list undermine the country's constitutional order or national security. Under the law, those who finance such activities face up to five years in prison, and those who organize them face up to six years.

Political situation in Serbia
EU may freeze funds for Serbia: "Increasingly concerned"

Serbia could lose up to 1.5 billion euros in EU aid, writes Politico. This is because the democratic decline in the country and its close ties to Russia are worrying the European Commission.

Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos highlights, among other things, laws that undermine the independence of courts and crackdowns on demonstrations and the media as problematic.

– We are becoming increasingly concerned about what is happening in Serbia, she says.

Serbia is a candidate country for the EU and has been receiving financial support since 2014 to push through various reforms. However, according to Politico, more and more demands for the money to be frozen have been raised in recent weeks.

Serbia's EU ambassador Danijel Apostolović says that he is convinced that "we will not end up there" and that the country's goal remains to become a full EU member.

Belgium's potatoes worthless - farmers stuck with big mountains

Potatoes are practically worthless in Belgium right now, the country's media reports.

It is the value of the so-called industrial potatoes, which are used to make frozen French fries, among other things, that has fallen to historically low levels. Farmers have had big harvests in recent years, but the previously high demand from companies has basically stopped this year.

“I am stuck with 2,500 tons of potatoes. It is a potato mountain that is 50 by 25 meters and 4 meters high. It is enormous. I have never had such a large surplus before, and I hear the same thing from many colleagues,” Marlutje Jackers, who is both a potato farmer and mayor of Herstappe, tells VRT.