Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 113 new cases, four deaths (media)
• Over 38,000 doses of COVID vaccine arrive in Kosovo (media)
• NIPK encourages citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19 (media)
• Distance learning fails to reach disadvantaged pupils (Prishtina Insight)
• Pahor: Final time for Western Balkans to integrate into EU (Telegrafi)
• LDK slams government programme as ‘hollow’ (media)
• Police recover casings from shooting incident in Zubin Potok mountains (Kallxo)

Serbian Language Media:

• Israeli Ambassador: The decision to recognize Kosovo was made under the coercion of the US (TV Prva, KoSSev)
• Palestinian Ambassador: Against the relocation of embassies to Jerusalem (Danas, TV Prva)
• PM Ana Brnabic to attend dinner hosted by Borrell on May 18 (Tanjug, RTV Puls)
• EU: New enlargement methodology for Montenegro and Serbia (N1)
• Kosovo Albanians vaccinate in Serbia, Pristina media report (N1
• Dodik: No processes being implemented towards secession of Bosnia’s RS entity (N1)
• Selakovic: Constant support of Indonesia (RTS)
• Rakic demands urgent protection of returnees in Kosovo (Radio Mitrovica sever) 

Opinion:

• Without the EU, third actors will fill the void in the Western Balkans (politikon.me, EWB)

International:

• EU’s Balkan strategy losing local support, internal paper warns (Reuters)
• Democracy is in distress, finds the Council of Europe Secretary General’s annual report for 2021 (coe.int)
• Serbia, Kosovo, Greece Express Hope for Sustained Interest, Investment Through US Agency (VOA)
• In North Kosovo, Mining for Bitcoin on ‘Free’ Electricity (Balkan Insight)
• “Investment in the Western Balkans is an investment in the shared, value-oriented future of Europe” (EWB)

Humanitarian/Development:

• ‘Women’s Work’: COVID-19 Deals Blow to Gender Equality in Kosovo (Balkan Insight)
• International Nurses Day: nurses in northern Kosovo receive awards (KoSSev)
• Three Serbian hospitals to step out of COVID system (N1) 

Albanian Language Media  

COVID-19: 113 new cases, four deaths (media)

113 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths have been recorded in Kosovo during the last 24 hours. 316 recoveries have meanwhile been confirmed over the same time timeframe.

Online media report that the number of people hospitalised for COVID-19 has significantly dropped in the recent period and that at present 361 patients are being treated for coronavirus in hospitals across Kosovo. 

Over 38,000 doses of COVID vaccine arrive in Kosovo (media)

UNICEF has announced the arrival of 38,400 doses of the COVID vaccine through the WHO-led COVAX initiative.

“The distribution will be in line with National Deployment & Vaccination Plan of the Ministry of Health and National Institute for Public Health,” UNICEF said, noting that since the arrival of the first vaccines in March, the Ministry of Health implemented the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan, where health care workers and elderly people were prioritized as the first groups to be vaccinated. 

“38, 400 doses of AstraZeneca – Oxford COVID-19 vaccines that arrived today, are part of February to May 2021 allocation of total 100,800 AZ doses. In addition, 100,620 doses of Pfizer vaccine will arrive in Kosovo, by the end of this month,” it added.

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti thanked the Quint countries and international organisations for the continuous support. “With the contingent received today the total number of vaccines secured through the COVAX Alliance reaches 62,400. At the same time, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo remains committed in securing as many vaccines as possible through many channels until it achieves the objective of vaccinating 60 percent of the population within the year,” the Government said in a statement.

Media have meanwhile reported that the vaccination will expand as of today to include people above 65 years of age.

NIPK encourages citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19 (media)

Kosovo’s National Institute for Public Health has encouraged the citizens to get the vaccinated against COVID-19 saying that they are the best way to fight the pandemic and enable return to normality.

NIPK said that so far 29,704 citizens have received the first dose of the vaccine and that no cases of serious side effects have been reported. 

“We encourage citizens to follow official notifications concerning future stages of vaccination and the categories to receive the vaccine as per the [Vaccination] Plan,” the Institute said in a statement. 

Distance learning fails to reach disadvantaged pupils (Prishtina Insight)

In a BIRN-hosted debate, officials from the Ministry of Education and members of civil society discussed attempts to implement online learning in Kosovo during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the socially underprivileged.

Nearly 30,000 students in primary and secondary education did not manage to participate in the distance learning programme launched by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, MEST in April 2020. 

The programme was launched to compensate for classes missed during school closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, according to education expert Dukagjin Pupovci, who was recently appointed as a deputy minister at MEST, a lack of access to technology led to many pupils missing out.

“Only 54 percent of families in Kosovo have a PC in their house,” Pupovci said during a BIRN-hosted debate broadcast on Tuesday, adding that the absence of an internet connection was also an issue for many families.

Bardha Qirezi, the Executive Director of EDU TASK, an education technology solutions company that monitored more than 400 schools between October and December 2020, agreed that the distance learning process was accompanied by a number of technical issues. 

“When online learning started, we had problems with the use of technology by both parents and students,” Qirezi said. “There were cases when parents who had more than three children had to manage more than 20 Viber groups.”

Currently, students at all levels of education are attending school as normal, and Pupovci revealed that MEST is planning to hold additional hours for students nationwide in the coming weeks, in order to compensate for the lessons missed during the pandemic.

The deputy minister added that online learning was no substitute for education within schools. “A child needs support when learning and not only to see the lessons displayed on a tablet,” he said.

While the transition to online learning affected children across Kosovo, the situation particularly had an impact on certain communities. A report published in July 2020 by Admovere, an education and transitional justice NGO, identified that children from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities were particularly affected by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Muhamet Arifi, the executive director at Balkan Sunflowers, an NGO specialising Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian education issues, echoed the report’s findings, stating that the pandemic has led to serious setbacks to education prospects in these communities.

“More than 50 percent of students [from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities] did not participate in lessons and they are behind with the whole process,” he said.

Sabri Xhigoli is the principal at the Daut Bogujevci primary school in Fushe Kosove, where 90 of the 810 pupils are from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. He revealed that the majority of children at his school from these communities did not participate in distance learning. 

“I can say that 80 percent of these children did not participate in online lessons due to a lack of technology,” he said. “As principal of the school, I managed to secure seven tablets and five were distributed among the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, while two were given to Albanian students who needed them.”

The principal added that another 35 new tablets had been secured for students from an external donor, all of which would be distributed to children from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.

At risk of dropping out

Ongoing issues caused by the COVID-19 crisis risk leading to more children from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities abandoning education altogether. 

As Arifi pointed out, this is not solely down to school closures and issues with online learning. “The difficult economic situation is making students leave school because they need to go and work for their survival,” he said, adding that in the last eight months alone his organisation had persuaded 50 children to return to education.

Abetare Gojani, a representative of the IPKO Foundation, stressed that girls from these communities were particularly at risk of abandoning their education.

“In the Municipalities of Fushe Kosove, Peja, Gjakova and Mitrovica we identified 190 girls that were at risk of dropping out of school,” she said, adding that the foundation equipped the girls with computers and provided training to ensure their education.

However, Pupovci played down the issue of school dropouts, stating that there were bigger issues with the country’s education system. 

“Dropping out is not the biggest problem in Kosovo,” the deputy minister said. “In 2019-2020 we had 50 children from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities that abandoned schooling, but we do not have the numbers for this year.”

Meanwhile, Radica Berishaj, an official at the Lifelong Learning Department at MEST, stated that dropping out was not only a symptom of the pandemic but a result of systemic problems in education that have been present for the last two decades.

“All of the problems that our education system has faced has an impact on [children] dropping out from schools,” Berishaj said. “The value of education has declined and children see education as an obligation rather than a necessity.”

This series of BIRN debates is supported by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

Pahor: Final time for Western Balkans to integrate into EU (Telegrafi)

President of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, spoke to Telegrafi ahead of his visit to Kosovo that delays in integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union empower nationalism. 

Pahor said his visit to Kosovo will be to meet President Vjosa Osmani prior to the Brdo-Brijuni Process taking place on 17 May. “I am happy with the fact that President Osmani has confirmed her participation. This will be an important meeting, one of the most important ones in the 11-year history of the Brdo-Brijuni initiative,” he said. 

Slovenia, Pahor underlined, will continue support for Kosovo: “We encourage Kosovo to accelerate internal reforms and we support the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue facilitated by the European Union.”

“European Union is a project of peace and reconciliation and it is final time to expand in the entire Western Balkans area which currently presents a grey stain surrounded by EU member states,” he said. “I expect an open and constructive discussion on what everyone can do on their own and in mutual cooperation to step up the enlargement process which the European Union must do.”

LDK slams government programme as ‘hollow’ (media)

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has criticised the Government of Kosovo programme covering a four-year period saying it was ‘hollow’ and lacks a concrete plan.

“We think it is absurd that the Government’s programme promises economic development without a word on how high the economic growth will be. How high will the budget be in four years time? How many Kosovars will be jobless? What will the trade deficit be? How much foreign investment will there be? What will be the increase of the domestic product?” asked Besian Mustafa in a press conference today.

Mustafa said the government plan also lacks no plan for economic recovery following the pandemic. “There are a lot of words, but no measures set, no budget. No new capital project planned for the next four years.” 

Police recover casings from shooting incident in Zubin Potok mountains (Kallxo)

Police have recovered six casings believed to be from a Kalashnikov rifle  in Zubin Potok, a day after a mountain climbing expedition reported that unidentified persons opened fire in the direction of a group.

The discovery was mentioned in a police report which Kallxo has had access to and which also notes that the police have interviewed ten persons in connection to the incident. 

The incident was condemned by Kosovo authorities with President Vjosa Osmani saying that every citizen of Kosovo should feel free and safe in moving across the whole territory of Kosovo while Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla urged the police to swiftly launch an investigation into the case.

Serbian Language Media

Israeli Ambassador: The decision to recognize Kosovo was made under the coercion of the US (TV Prva, KoSSev)

Israel’s decision to recognize Kosovo was made, I believe, under American pressure. At this moment, I do not see the possibility that Israel will withdraw that recognition, Israeli Ambassador to Belgrade Jahel Vilan said this morning in the TV Prva morning show, reported portal KoSSev. 

He said that Israel made that decision after many years in which it did not recognize Kosovo, and that it was “definitely against Israeli interests in Serbia”, as well as against the interests of the ambassador himself.

However, Ambassador Vilan answered that he “would not like to leave any room for optimism for the public in Serbia without any good reason”, when asked whether it was possible for Israel to revise this decision.

“I do not see that at the moment. An agreement has been reached, Israel has recognized Kosovo and Kosovo will move the embassy to Jerusalem. That has been fulfilled and I see no reason for Israel to withdraw the recognition of Kosovo at this moment, as long as both sides have fulfilled their obligations under the agreement,” he said.

“Let’s not forget that this was done within the framework of the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo with America, and not with us,” the ambassador emphasized at the same time.

When asked by TV Prva journalist whether he was “really sure that it was signed”, and that Serbian state officials allegedly said, “it was not signed”, Vilan answered as follows:

“Why would I see that agreement?! That’s not my agreement. I have not seen any denials from either America or Serbia. Serbia has never denied it. I did not see that anyone in Serbia denied that he did not sign. The document exists as far as I know.”

KoSSev reported that, with the accompanying text, along with the video on the B92 portal,  Vilan’s guest appearance in the TV Prva morning show, in which he primarily spoke about the current conflicts between Jews and Hamas, was entitled “Ambassador of Israel accused Serbia”, without any other explanations.

Serbian Minister Selakovic reacted immediately, claiming that Vucic signed “a completely different paper from the one given to the Pristina side”.

“The ambassador’s statement is a kind of rudeness and it is absolutely not true,” the same media reported.

Later during the day, Israeli Ambassador to Serbia said he never said Serbia had anything to do with recognition of Kosovo by Israel.

“I fully agree with FM Selaković and that’s why I never said Serbia had anything to do with Israel’s recognition of Kosovo. I only mentioned it was done under the Washington agreement, which Serbia and Kosovo signed separately with the USA, not with us. @MFASerbia https://t.co/4wKtCiO3uX — amb Yahel Vilan (@AmbassadorVilan) May 12, 2021”, Ambassador Vilan wrote on Twitter. 

What is written in the agreements and what Serbian officials said

The day after the signing of the Washington agreement, the Serbian president said that it was an “excellent agreement” and that “we will not get such an agreement for a long time, with anyone, about anything”, while the then Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic stated on the same day that “it is important for Israel and the United States that Kosovo, as the first Muslim country, opens an embassy in Jerusalem”.

Both stated last year that one should wait and see if Israel would recognize Kosovo, which Israel has done a little more than six months after the agreement was signed, recalled KoSSev. 

The portal recalled that the point that regulated the relations between Israel and Serbia, i.e. Israel and Kosovo, was the only one that differed in the documents that were individually signed by Aleksandar Vucic and Avdullah Hoti with the USA on September 4 last year, and these texts were available to the public, the same day when they were signed. 

“Serbia [Belgrade] has agreed to open a trade and state office in Jerusalem on September 20, 2020, and to move its embassy to Jerusalem by July 1, 2021,” reads a paper signed by Vucic.

On the other hand, Hoti committed to the following:

“Kosovo (Pristina) and Israel have agreed on mutual recognition”.

Although the Kosovo version of the signed document did not state that Kosovo would open an embassy in Jerusalem, and that this was the next step, in establishing relations with this country that recognized Kosovo yesterday, confirmed the head of Kosovo’s diplomacy.

Palestinian Ambassador: We are against the relocation of embassies to Jerusalem (Danas, TV Prva)

Palestinian Ambassador to Serbia Mohammed Nabhan said today that Palestine expects all friendly countries not to relocate embassies and not to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reported daily Danas. 

“We are against the relocation of embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem because Jerusalem is an occupied city… We do not recognize Kosovo because of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and Serbia’s position and we ask all our friends to respect UN Resolution 478 regarding Jerusalem, which requires all countries not to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” Nabhan said in the TV Prva morning show.

He added that the relocation of the embassy to Jerusalem would affect Palestine’s relations with countries that decide to take such a step, reported the daily.

With the agreement on the normalization of economic relations between Belgrade and Pristina, signed in September 2020 in the White House with the United States, Serbia agreed to transfer the embassy to Jerusalem by July 1, 2021, recalled Danas.

PM Ana Brnabic to attend dinner hosted by Borrell on May 18 (Tanjug, RTV Puls)

Serbian PM Ana Brnabic will be representing Serbia at a dinner EU foreign policy and security chief Josep Borrell will host for Western Balkan leaders in Brussels on May 18, Tanjug learns, RTV Puls quoted.

”The invitations have been sent and we will publish the guest list next week,” a source in Borrell’s office in Brussels said.

On the same day, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will be on a two-day working visit to Prague, Tanjug also learns.

The traditional dinner of the six leaders of the Western Balkans with the head of EU diplomacy aims to review the entire political situation in the Western Balkans.

This time, a geopolitical debate was announced for the highest officials from the region. But also, Brussels’ initiative for greater EU engagement in the region.

“The region is part of the problem, but also part of the solution. We have to look at it from a geopolitical point of view, and we will do that next week with, I hope, all the leaders from the Western Balkans,” Borell said.

The EU foreign minister announced another discussion in the EU Council on the Western Balkans in June, considering the proposal for greater EU engagement in the region.

“Now is the time to use the momentum to engage more with the region,” Borell said.

He concludes that during yesterday’s strategic debate on the Western Balkans, the EU foreign ministers agreed that “the region has a special role in Europe and for Europe”.

EU: New enlargement methodology for Montenegro and Serbia (N1)

The European Union Council agreed on Monday to apply the revised enlargement methodology to the accession negotiations with Montenegro and Serbia after both candidate countries expressed their acceptance.

The Council said the changes would be accommodated within the existing negotiating frameworks with Montenegro and Serbia during the next Intergovernmental Conferences.

„The European Union and its Member States have consistently expressed their unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans. This firm, merit-based prospect of full EU membership for the Western Balkans is in the Union’s own political, security and economic interests,“ the Council’s press release said.

It added that „a credible accession perspective is the key driver of transformation in the region and enhancing the opportunities for our collective security and prosperity. It is a key tool to promote democracy, the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights, which are also the main engines of economic development, social integration and the essential anchor for fostering regional reconciliation and stability. Maintaining and enhancing this policy is indispensable for the EU’s credibility, for the EU’s success and the EU’s influence in the region and beyond.“

The statement adds the enhancement of the accession process of Montenegro and Serbia focuses on stronger fundamental reforms, stronger political steer, an increased dynamism, and the improvement of the process’ predictability.

See at: https://bit.ly/3oddEAK

Kosovo Albanians vaccinate in Serbia, Pristina media report (N1)

The Pristina-based newspaper Gazeta Express reported on Tuesday that thousands of Kosovo Albanians were using old Yugoslav documents to get vaccinated against coronavirus in Serbia, N1 reports.

As Kossev reported, the paper asked Kosovo institutions, including Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s cabinet, the Ministry of Health and the Interior Ministry, to comment on the news, but none responded before the article was published.

The most significant interest in getting the vaccine is among the elderly, the newspaper said.

The parliamentary Health Committee was also informed about Kosovo Albanians’ vaccination in Serbia and a member of that committee Bekim Haxhiu from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), told Gazeta Express that Kosovo’s Government rejected the shots offered by Albania and that people from the southeastern town of Gnjilane, Pristina and the northern part of Kosovo were going to Serbia to be immunized.

Dodik: No processes being implemented towards secession of Bosnia’s RS entity (N1)

No processes are being carried out towards the secession of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity from the country, but if the talks between BiH’s three constituent peoples and two entities continue failing repeatedly, talking about a “peaceful break-up” is the next logical step, Bosnian  Presidency Chairman, Milorad Dodik said Tuesday, N1 reports.

Dodik, who is also the leader of the ruling party in the RS entity, spoke at a session of the RS National Assembly where the ‘Initiative for talks and dialogue between Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH, as well as the three constituent peoples, Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks, on possible solutions for BiH’ was discussed.

“No operative process of secession is being carried out in the RS as many want to portray it. We are not taking any steps regarding secession, we are not taking any steps that would endanger the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, he said at the session, adding “we want to talk.”

“We believe that if all talks are failing, as they have so far, then it is quite logical to talk about what should happen next. It is more honorable, more moral, more humane, patriotic to call for a peaceful break-up if we cannot live together so closely”, Dodik said, adding that this is a better option than “any conflict or war”.

He noted that the RS National Assembly is the highest political body in the entity and that it is important that it has a united stance on important issues.

Dodik argued that there has been a lot of “trickery” in the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement and that the “international legal order has been further overthrown and collapsed”.

“Sometimes it is very depressing to refer to international norms and agreements such as the Dayton Agreement”, he said.

See at: https://bit.ly/3odfyBo

Selakovic: Constant support of Indonesia (RTS)

Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Selakovic spoke with Ambassador of Indonesia to Serbia Mochammad Chandra Widya and thanks him for the principled position of Indonesia not to recognize Kosovo and for its constant support to Serbia in international organizations, RTS reports.

Selakovic also assessed bilateral relations between the two countries and good and traditionally friendly, recalling they date back from the period of establishing Non-Alignment Movement and close cooperation of presidents Tito and Sukarno.

He also called upon Indonesian investors to boost their presence on Serbian market and the possibility of organizing a business forum Serbia-Indonesia during this year.  

Rakic demands urgent protection of returnees in Kosovo (Radio Mitrovica sever)  

“The attack on the family houses of Radoje and Milan Pumpalovic from Dubrava village near Istok is the most direct threat to the safety of returnees and a clear intention of those who did it to send the message Pumpalovic family members are not safe on their properties and in their houses”, Minister for Communities and Returns Goran Rakic said, Radio Mitrovica sever reports.  

“We also must be aware of the fact that if this type of pressure continues on the most vulnerable group of people in Kosovo, we can expect even greater stagnation of the process of return”, Rakic added.

He also said that the urgent response of the institutions in charge of security as well as arrests and identification of those who committed such incidents will be the clearest indicator to the returnees they are being protected.

Opinion

Without the EU, third actors will fill the void in the Western Balkans (politikon.me, EWB)

The impact of the third actors allowed the Western Balkans countries to pay less attention to the rule of law and future of the European integration

The unclear path to EU membership and the evident stand-by in the negotiating process has opened a doorway for the influence of the third actors in the Western Balkans. Tangled in internal regional and national challenges and a proclaimed but uncommitted approach to the accession process, Western Balkans countries have faced a decline in respect for democratic values, media freedom, and have become more vulnerable to potentially harmful external impact.

The traditional view of the process of European integrations is that country will align its policies and practices with the normative and standards of the European Union. Harmonization would help countries to implement democratic and economic reforms, and to improve the rule of law in their societies.

There are undisputed immediate benefits of the EU accession, but the main goal of the European integration is the long-term stability, progress, and the assurance of the well-being of the citizens.

More often than not, the accession process encounters obstacles and requires root changes. For the Western Balkans countries, the process is additionally burdened with the uncertainties within the EU, global crisis, and questionable dedication of some of the political elites within the region.

Also, while preserving the image of a dedicated cooperation with the EU, countries have embraced the outreach of the third actors, and have used that cooperation with those actors for short-term gains and fulfillment of infrastructural projects with questionable sustainability and justification.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3uGgBfj

International

EU’s Balkan strategy losing local support, internal paper warns (Reuters)

The European Union must recognise that Balkan countries seeking membership are losing faith in Brussels’ long accession strategy, worsened by its initial failure to provide COVID-19 vaccines, according to an internal EU document seen by Reuters.

Europe and the United States say that Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia will one day become members of the club of 27 states, following the ethnic wars of the 1990s that led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia.

But China and Russia, whose trade and investment levels in the Balkans are far less than the EU’s, are gaining influence, outsmarting the bloc by offering COVID-19 vaccines quickly during the pandemic.

See more at: https://reut.rs/3uFW76s

Democracy is in distress, finds the Council of Europe Secretary General’s annual report for 2021 (coe.int)

The Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, has highlighted a “clear and worrying degree of democratic backsliding” in her latest annual report on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law across the continent.

“In many cases, the problems we are seeing predate the coronavirus pandemic but there is no doubt that legitimate actions taken by national authorities in response to Covid-19 have compounded the situation. The danger is that our democratic culture will not fully recover,” said the Secretary General.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3y48v2m

Serbia, Kosovo, Greece Express Hope for Sustained Interest, Investment Through US Agency (VOA)

The U.S. federal agency dubbed America’s development bank says it is working with the State Department and Congress on the overall strategy of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) under the Biden administration. Diplomats from Serbia, Kosovo and Greece tell VOA that their countries hope for sustained American interest and investment in the Balkans and the Aegean.

“DFC is strongly focused on our engagement. Our expert finance officers in Washington will continue to deepen cooperation with embassy officers and our partners in the region to identify promising new investment opportunities in the Balkans and the Aegean,” David Marchick, DFC Chief Operating Officer, told VOA in a written statement.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3tGroov

In North Kosovo, Mining for Bitcoin on ‘Free’ Electricity (Balkan Insight)

Attics, basements, garages and even whole houses in northern Kosovo are being rented out for cryptomining, a lucrative business when electricity is ‘free’.

Selim [not his real name] admits to being a little surprised when he was approached last year by a man asking to rent the attic of his house in Suhodoll/Suvi Do, one of a few small ethnic Albanian pockets of mainly Serb northern Kosovo.

He said ‘No’, only to be approached again earlier this year, this time for the annex of his house.

“They asked if they could put in 15 machines,” said Selim, who asked that his real name not be used. “First they offered me 15 euros per unit [per month], then they increased it to 20 euros.”

See more at: https://bit.ly/3oarFiu

“Investment in the Western Balkans is an investment in the shared, value-oriented future of Europe” (EWB)

SKOPJE – “By moving production to the Western Balkan countries, the EU can hit two birds with one stone: first, less dependency on the critical rivals on the world political and economic stage; and second, increasing incentives to democratize and strengthen the Western Balkans, thus enabling regional integrity in Europe”, it is the conclusion drawn by the authors Zoran Nechev and Marie Jelenka Kirchner in the publication „Time to move to the Western Balkans: How diversification of global supply chains can benefit EU resilience”.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3tFDJtd

Humanitarian/Development

‘Women’s Work’: COVID-19 Deals Blow to Gender Equality in Kosovo (Balkan Insight)

In largely patriarchal Kosovo, the coronavirus pandemic has placed a disproportionate burden on women, threatening to undermine limited progress made on gender equality.

Balancing university classes and being a mother of two small children was never going to be easy, but Besa [not her real name] says it became that much tougher with the arrival of COVID-19 and the closure of kindergartens.

While her husband, a car mechanic, chipped in with the housework during lockdown in Kosovo, he soon returned to work, leaving 25 year-old Besa to juggle childcare and her own online education. On more than one occasion, she had to forfeit classes.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3tGoRef

International Nurses Day: nurses in northern Kosovo receive awards (KoSSev)

On the occasion of International Day of Nurses, May 12, the Association of Health Workers of Serbia awarded silver medals (of appreciation) to 28 nurses from northern Kosovo, KoSSev portal reports.

The medals awarded for cooperation, sacrifice and humane treatment in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, on behalf of all colleagues, were received by the head nurses of the Clinical Hospital Centre (CHC) of Mitrovica North, a key institution in this area for the fight against COVID, along with three nurses from the health houses.

The initiative for awarding was initiated by Gordana Savic, the head nurse of CHC Mitrovica, and the President of the Association of Health Workers from Kosovo and Metohija.

“During the pandemic, our nurses made a really great contribution and selfless support in their work – treating of COVID patients. That was our initiative and here, we found understanding and got those 28 silver awards”, Savic told KoSSev.

At the ceremony held yesterday, the awards were given to all head nurses of all departments of the Health Centre and the three head nurses of the Health Houses in North Mitrovica, Leposavic and Zubin Potok.

“All of them, in a direct or indirect way, were one big team for the work in the COVID hospital”, Gordana Savic told KoSSev. 

Three Serbian hospitals to step out of COVID system (N1)

The head of the Belgrade Infectious Diseases Clinic said on Wednesday that three hospitals would step out of the Serbian COVID system, N1 reports.

Dr Goran Stevanovic specified that the Zvezdara and Dragisa Misovic Clinical Hospital Centers in Belgrade and the General Hospital in the town of Mladenovac would step out of the COVID system and return to normal operation.

Speaking after a meeting with Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar, he said that the Zvezdara hospital would return to normal operations over the weekend, the Dragisa Misovic hospital early next week and the hospital in Mladenovac later in the week.

He said that is an indication that the pandemic situation is easing but warned that it is far from over.