UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, November 5, 2021

Albanian Language Media:

• Lajcak from Thessaloniki: Remove visas for Kosovars (Klan)
• Another group of Afghan citizens leave Kosovo for U.S. (media)
• Kurti: We cannot be at peace until justice for Astrit is served (media)
• Kosovo not invited to Biden's democracy summit (Koha)
• Isufi: KSF expected to deploy to a mission in Poland (Klan)
• Open Balkan, still in the wishful phase leaving room for speculation, says expert (euronews.al)
• Rama interferes in Kosovo-Serbia relations without fully grasping them, says analyst (euronews.al)
• COVID-19: 14 new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: I expect Pristina will soon attempt to takeover Valac power station (Radio KIM, BETA, N1, KoSSev)
• Drecun: Possible that Pristina will attempt to take over transmission substations in the north of Kosovo (RTS)
• Petkovic with Schieb on situation in Kosovo, agreements on energy (Radio KIM)
• Djilas to VOA: We only expect support for democracy; reconciliation but not recognition of Kosovo (VoA, N1)
• Petkovic: Djilas bothered by the Serbian List, but not by Albin Kurti (Radio Mitrovica sever)
• US Embassy in Pristina: Kosovo and Serbia to honor their commitments (Radio KIM)
• Open Balkan leaders call EU to speed up integration (N1)
• Stefanovic thanked Spain for principled position on Kosovo (Kosovo-online)
• WHO appoints new head of Serbia office, envoy for the Balkans (N1, RTS)
• Serbian opposition leaders meet Escobar in Washington (N1)
• Pension of Rada Trajkovic blocked (Radio KIM)
• Supreme Court: Serbian List fined 8,100 euros (RTK2)

• Kurti’s advisor says Open Balkan equals Broken Balkan (media)
• Open Balkan: Leaders commit to more effective implementation of freedom of movement measures (EWB)
• Tahiri: Rama contributing to creation of Greater Serbia and instability (media)
• President Osmani meets Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Montgomery (media)
• Haxhiu: Thaci and Veseli refused to meet us in the Hague (media)
• COVID-19: 14 new cases, no deaths (media)
• High infection rates in the region, a threat for Kosovo too (RFE)
• Environmental degradation by hydropower plants (preportr.cohu.org)
• Kosovo street art exhibit calls for action on wartime missing persons (BIRN)
• Western Balkans economies recover faster than expected (ebrd.com)

Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti receives US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Molly Montgomery (Kallxo)
• EU expresses skepticism, while UK Embassy supports vetting process (RTK)
• Minister Mehaj travels again to the US (media)
• EBRD: Kosovo projected to have economic growth of 7.7% in 2021 (Kallxo)
• Rama: Kosovo to become part of the Open Balkan for its own benefit (RTK)
• Kurti and the French ambassador discuss energy projects (media)
• COVID-19: 14 new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Covid-19 in Serbian communities: 75 new cases (Kontakt plus radio)
• Dr Savic: Number of children infected with COVID-19 increasing (Radio Mitrovica sever)
• ‘Open Balkan’ Summit opens in Belgrade (N1)
• Belgrade, Tirana, Skopje: ‘Open Balkan’ to solve problems on the ground (N1)
• Stano on Community of Serbian Municipalities – what has been agreed in Brussels must be implemented (Kosovo-online)
• Transparent Commission for Missing Persons needed (KiM radio)
• The highest percentage of invalid ballots in Ranilug and Gracanica, in Leposavic the least (KoSSev)
• UN Security Council unanimously adopts resolution on EUFOR in BiH (N1)
• Petkovic discussed situation in Kosovo with Turkish ambassador (Danas)
• Albanian PM Rama tours Belgrade Waterfront (N1, media)

Opinion:

• EC Report on Kosovo: When did the time stop? (EWB)

International:

• WHO Europe chief voices 'grave concern' about COVID rebound (abcnews.go.com, AP)

• Kurti has a US visa, will travel soon to the US (media)
• EU welcomes reopening of custom terminal in Trepca (media)
• EU refutes Government and President about the vetting (Koha)
• The vetting will not include judges of Constitutional Court (Kallxo)
• Association of Serb-majority municipalities ruled out after tensions in BiH (Koha)
• Haradinaj doesn’t rule out cooperation with VV in runoff elections (Telegrafi)
• COVID-19: 21 new cases, one death (media)
• Open Balkan meeting in Belgrade today (media)
• Kamberi: No tangible positive effects from Open Balkan (Euronews Albania)
• An EU-US deal for Bosnia and Herzegovina's disintegration (EU Observer)
• US leadership matters to avoid new violence in the Balkans (Just Security)
• Virtual brain drain: Kosovo’s booming ICT sector exports talent abroad (BIRN)

UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, November 3, 2021

Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Vetting, a request of citizens (media)
• Haxhiu: Every citizen has the right to have a justice system (media)
• LDK and PDK with 206 municipal advisers each, LVV with 193, AAK 120 (media)
• Russia with a harsh campaign: Kosovo extremists are problem of Balkans (RTK)
• KP Special Unit Commander explains how he got wounded in the north (RTK)
• COVID-19: 21 new cases, one death (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Rakic with Kajari: KFOR the only guarantor of security in Kosovo (Radio KIM)
• Belgrade & Podgorica on improving bilateral relations, no problems mentioned (N1)
• Agricultural materials removed from House of Culture in Gorazdevac (Radio KIM)
• Petkovic: Albin Kurti's messages are a direct threat to the Serbian people (Danas, RTK2)
• Vulin: “If Serbia wanted to return to Kosovo by force, it would not need Russians or anyone else” (Tanjug, Kosovo Online, KiM radio)
• Office for KiM: Insulting graffiti written in Mogila village, near Vitina (Kosovo-online)
• Trajkovic: Kurti either naive or malicious when comparing Serbs in BiH with Serbs in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)
• The main trial in the case of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic due to continue November 22 (Kosovo Online)

Opinion:

• Bieber: Joint US-EU action needed in the region (RTK2)

• We will not allow Bosnianisation of Kosovo, Kurti tells BBC's HARDtalk (media)
• PM Kurti received new head of UNICEF Office in Kosovo, Zicherman (media)
• The legal saga of the Decan Monastery (RFE)
• Greek FM: Athens supports Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (Tanjug, Klan)
• ‘Trepca’ reclaimed, Kurti: We’re repairing the damages of the past 7 years (euronews.al)
• CEC to announce municipal assemblies' election results (media)
• We need to talk about the Western Balkans (Politico)
• Kosovo paves way for vaccination of adolescents (media)
• COVID-19: 21 new cases, no deaths (media)

Albanian Language Media:

• President’s chief of staff refutes report about Russian spotted in Prishtina (media)
• Police: The two Russian nationals left Kosovo on October 23 (media)
• Foreign Minister Gervalla reports to parliamentary committee (media)
• Defense Minister: Our plan is for a professional army (media)
• Hoxhaj slams government for not taking part in COP26 (media)
• Think tank publishes report tackling spread of fake news during pandemic (media)
• Health Minister and COMKFOR call for vaccination against COVID-19 (media)
• COVID-19: 21 new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Covid-19: 59 new cases registered in Serbian areas (KoSSev)
• Raska-Prizren Diocese expects competent institutions to fully implement Constitutional Court ruling (KoSSev, media)
• PM Brnabic: 114 attacks on Serbs in Kosovo this year, the most since 2008 (Kosovo Online, Tanjug)
• Trajkovic criticise Kurti’s non-execution of the Constitutional Court decision on the Visoki Decani (Kosovo Online)
• Defendants in Oliver Ivanovic’s case ask for trial proceedings to accelerate (Politika)
• Selakovic: Excellent cooperation of Serbia and Greece, grateful for support (Kosovo-online)
• Demetriou: Cyprus will never recognize Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence (NMagazin, Beta)

• Gashi: Grenell told us we had seven days to bring down Kurti-led government (Kanal 10)
• Zaev's resignation, blow for "Open Balkan" (Koha)
• Bugajski warns: Moscow plans the next Balkan war (Telegrafi)
• CDHRF: Decan Monastery expanding through Serbia's discriminatory laws (Klan)
• The Russian diplomat, declared non-grata, spotted in Pristina (media)
• Kosovo War Massacres Trial Stalled in Serbia for Two Years (BIRN)
• Parties trade blame over crisis at Ferronikel (BIRN)
• Bosnia is in danger of breaking up, warns EU’s top official in the state (The Guardian)
• COVID-19: Five new cases, no deaths (media)

UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, November 1,2021

Albanian Language Media:

• “Kosovo and Serbia are not working to resolve disagreements” (RFE)
• Kurti: We will have 9.9% economic growth by year’s end (RTK)
• Government expects positive changes on visa liberalisation (Kosovapress)
• Rohde calls for implementation of court decision on Decani Monastery (media)
• Historians from Decan: Decani Monastery is not under threat (media)
• Shahini: Kosovo is powerless in stopping trend of increased prices (media)
• Tahiri calls on government not to reject gas pipeline project (media)
• PDK’s Hoxhaj reacts to resignation of Zaev as North Macedonia PM (media)
• COVID-19: Five new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Covid-19: 49 new cases registered in Serbian areas on Saturday (Radio KIM)
• Cyprus is Serbia’s best friend in Europe, Dacic says (N1)
• Brnabic: Three million adult Serbian citizens have been vaccinated (N1)
• “Biden’s words lasting testimony of a sincere respect” (Radio KIM)
• Gorazdevac: Turning House of Culture into storage depot, pressure on only Serbian media outlet in Metohija (Radio KIM)
• Edi Rama to visit Serbia on Wednesday, regarding Open Balkans Initiative (Kosovo-online)
• Vucic in Glasgow: Serbia will do a lot about Green Agenda (N1)

International:

• North Macedonia’s PM resigns following local election defeat (BIRN)
• Petrit Halilaj: ‘I started to live with fear on a daily basis’ (The Guardian)

• Osmani: Serbia, backed by Russia, undertakes destabilising initiatives (Klan)
• Government of Kosovo approves 2022 draft budget (media)
• Mehaj: U.S. military base in Kosovo would ward off Russia's access to the region (Koha/RTK)
• COMKFOR: KSF cannot deploy to the north without my consent (media)
• Szunyog: Vetting, the last step in efforts to improve judicial system (Telegrafi)
• PM Kurti meets OSF deputy chair, Soros (media)
• Von Cramon urges Government to implement decision on Decan Monastery (media)
• Human remains unearthed at the KFOR base in Pristina (media)
• Freight Carriers Protest Fees at Kosovo-North Macedonia Border (BIRN)
• North Macedonia PM announces resignation after election loss (AP)
• COVID-19: 13 new cases, one death (media)