UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, February 3, 2025
Albanian Language Media:
- Three children die after uninhabited building collapses near Gjakova (media)
- DiA notes “intensification of campaign, expenditures and hate speech” (RFE)
- New incident in Skenderaj, Albin Kurti’s poster set on fire (media)
- Olenik: It is time for Kosovo Serbs to separate politically from Belgrade (media)
- Orav meets Sorensen, “excellent first meeting” (media)
- Facebook page calls for boycott of supermarkets in Kosovo on Feb 10 (media)
- Selimi: Maybe boycotts are warranted in Kosovo too just like Croatia (media)
- Osmani sends condolences on passing of former German President (media)
- Lirim Mehmetaj opens a new media outlet, VOX Kosova (media)
Serbian Language Media:
- Petkovic: CSM awaits both Kurti and his successor, it is Pristina's obligation (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)
- Kurti: We will not share Gazivode with anyone, with this government there will be no Community (Kosovo Online, Koha, Radio Mitrovica sever, KoSSev)
- Serbian Democracy reported vote buying to the police (KiM radio, radio Mitrovica sever)
- Rasic signed an agreement with the German GIZ worth more than 7 million euros to improve the position of non-majority communities (KoSSev)
- Serbian List: A flat tire on the President of the PA Vucitrn vehicle (KiM radio)
- Students in North Mitrovica today in an action of silence for the victims in Novi Sad (KoSSev)
- Madonna voices support for Serbian students (media)
- Kovacevic: Serbian students officially nominated for Nobel Peace Prize (N1, media)
Opinion:
- A brief analysis of election slogans (Kosovo 2.0)
International Media:
- Kosovo allocates €500,000 in humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza (PI)
- Western Balkan consumers join boycott of retailers in protest over prices (BIRN)
- One pleads guilty of securing weapon in Prishtina femicide case (PI)
- Serbia’s students fight for rule of law (Kosovo 2.0)
- How a train station tragedy is threatening to bring down a hardline European president (CNN)
- EU silent as protests in Serbia gain momentum (Euractive)
- Serbian State media shift tune in coverage of huge protests, testing leader (The New York Times)
- USAID security leaders on leave after trying to keep Musk’s DOGE from classified info, officials say (AP)
Albanian Language Media
Three children die after uninhabited building collapses near Gjakova (media)
The leading news in all Kosovo Albanian media on Sunday was the tragic death of three children as a result of the collapse of an uninhabited building in the village of Jabllanica in the municipality of Gjakova. Kosovo’s leaders and heads of political leaders expressed their condolences to the families of the victims, with Assembly Speaker Glauk Konjufca calling for a full and detailed investigation of the tragic incident.
DiA notes “intensification of campaign, expenditures and hate speech” (RFE)
Democracy in Action, a network of non-governmental organizations in Kosovo for monitoring elections in Kosovo, said on Saturday that in the third week of the election campaign for February 9 parliamentary elections it has noted “an intensification of party activities, expenditure and hate speech”. The coalition said the third week of the campaign was quiet except for a case in Skenderaj where there were attempts to block a rally by the ruling Vetevendosje Movement. Viole Haxholli, a representative of the coalition, said such situations risk being repeated in the last days of the campaign, when the political parties will hold their closing rallies.
Haxholli told a press conference that the amount of fines issued by the Elections Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) for political parties has gone over €400,000 throughout the election campaign. The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has been fined the most with over €113,00, followed by the Vetevendosje Movement with €101,000, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) with €87,000, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo with €69,000 and some other smaller political parties.
Dusan Radakovic, a representative of the coalition, said unlike previous election processes in Kosovo, this time a pluralism of Serb political parties is evident, with six parties in the race. The news website notes that since its formation in 2014, the Serbian List – the biggest party of Serbs in Kosovo which is supported by Belgrade – has won over 90 percent of votes of the Serb community in all election processes. However, the EU monitoring mission in Kosovo in its report in 2021 concluded that the Serbian List “monopolized the political life among the Kosovo Serbs” and that there were cases of intimidation and pressure against the voters by Serbian List candidates and activists.
New incident in Skenderaj, Albin Kurti’s poster set on fire (media)
Most news websites reported on Sunday that another incident has been registered in Skenderaj where a poster of Vetevendosje leader and Prime Minister Albin Kurti has been set on fire. Vetevendosje officials published a video where a person is seen getting out of a vehicle and setting the poster on fire. A spokesperson for the party even blamed the Democratic Party of Kosovo for the act.
Olenik: It is time for Kosovo Serbs to separate politically from Belgrade (media)
Several news websites cover an interview that Aleksandar Olenik, lawyer and member of the presidency of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, gave to the Geopost, highlighting his remarks that it is time for the Kosovo Serbs to separate politically from Belgrade.
According to Olenik, “the Serbian List is politically useless after the events in Banjska”. “But Vucic has no other operator in Kosovo besides the Serbian Orthodox Church, and they are trying to revive the Serbian List for the elections in Kosovo because they are forced to do so,” he said.
Olenik said now is the time for the Serbs of Kosovo to “separate politically from Belgrade, to form one or more parties that will represent the interests of the Serbs of Kosovo and not the interests of the corrupt regime of Aleksandar Vucic”. With regard to the current mass protests in Serbia, our interlocutor points out that the process of disempowering Vucic is under way, namely the taking away of the power he has been given in contravention of the Constitution and the law. “With each passing day, the pressure on Vucic and his regime is increasing, and with each passing day, his ability to defend himself against this pressure is diminishing,” he said.
Read more at: https://shorturl.at/zaN7D
Orav meets Sorensen, “excellent first meeting” (media)
Aivo Orav, head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, said in a post on X on Saturday that he had “an excellent first meeting with Peter Sørensen, the newly-appointed EUSR for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue. I am confident that his extensive diplomatic experience will help advance the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo. My team and I will fully support him!”
Facebook page calls for boycott of supermarkets in Kosovo on Feb 10 (media)
Some media outlets reported on Sunday that a Facebook group page is calling for the boycott of all supermarkets in Kosovo on February 10 citing unreasonably high prices. “The group aims to mobilize customers to boycott markets in Kosovo as a response to unreasonable prices. We will not agree to pay more than we must. We don’t have to protest on the streets, but we will boycott the markets all the way to the minimal products like water and detergent … The boycott will start in early February and will last until the prices are lowered. If we don’t see any movement in lowering the prices, the boycott will continue, and we will publish the next dates. Join us in the initiative and let the voice of the customer be heard for the first time,” the group said in a Facebook post.
Selimi: Maybe boycotts are warranted in Kosovo too just like Croatia (media)
Former Foreign Minister of Kosovo, Petrit Selimi, wrote in a post on X on Sunday that he has been “posting regularly about the price of groceries in Kosovo. We know for a fact the biggest supermarket chains have indicated record profits in 2024, which indicates not only inflation but some price gouging. So maybe some boycotts are warranted in Kosovo too, just like Croatia”.
Osmani sends condolences on passing of former German President (media)
Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a post on X that Kosovo sends “deepest condolences to the people of Germany on the passing of former President Horst Kohler”. “During his tenure, Germany recognized and supported Kosovo’s independence—a historic milestone for our nation. We remain eternally grateful for his unwavering support. Our thoughts are with his family and the people of Germany during this difficult time,” Osmani said.
Lirim Mehmetaj opens a new media outlet, VOX Kosova (media)
Several news websites reported over the weekend that Lirim Mehmetaj, former editor in chief of the Albanian Post, announced on Facebook that he has opened a new media outlet called VOX Kosova.
Serbian Language Media
Petkovic: CSM awaits both Kurti and his successor, it is Pristina's obligation (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)
The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, stated yesterday that the Association/Community of Serb Municipalities awaits both Albin Kurti and his successor, as it was an obligation of Pristina guaranteed by the European Union.
Regarding Kurti's message at an electoral rally in South Mitrovica that the situation in the north has improved during his tenure, and that there would be A/CSM with him as Prime Minister, Petkovic observed that Kurti was seriously nervous ahead of the elections, thus intensifying his rhetoric and attacks on the Serbian people.
"It's in vain that he denies and attacks, because on February 9th he will have to acknowledge the victory of the Serbian List and the Serbian people! CSM awaits both Kurti and his successor, as this is an obligation that Pristina has undertaken, and the EU has guaranteed!", Petkovic wrote on the social network "X".
He added that Kurti should not claim the north too soon.
"As the electoral circumstances are not in Kurti's favor, global conditions are increasingly tripping him up, so he shouldn't claim the north and Gazivode Lake too soon!", Petkovic concluded.
Kurti: We will not share Gazivode with anyone, with this government there will be no Community (Kosovo Online, Koha, Radio Mitrovica sever, KoSSev)
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti stated on Saturday at a rally in South Mitrovica that the situation in the north has changed for the better during his term and promised that, with him as prime minister, there will be no Community of Serb Municipalities, Kosovo Online reported, citing Koha.
Kurti called on citizens to vote to "ensure that things remain in their place".
He promised that there will be no "community", the Serbian term for the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, which Kosovo and Serbia agreed to in 2013 and in two subsequent agreements, including one during his current term.
Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/3z32w8kt
Serbian Democracy reported vote buying to the police (KiM radio, radio Mitrovica sever)
"We inform the public that we have just reported to the police the purchase of votes by Nenad Rasic's party in Leposavic, which is in violation of Articles 213 and 215 of the Criminal Code," Serbian Democracy stated for the media.
In the video published on the Facebook page of Serbian Democracy, as announced by this party, it can be seen that "the party for the so-called "Freedom, justice and survival" makes lists in the party premises, invites citizens, takes their identity cards and distributes furniture, appliances, food and hygiene packages, and other things."
Serbian Democracy said that "it is not about the fact that the Ministry of Communities and Return has published an invitation, that officials are receiving some application forms, and that they can justify that it is not related to the elections".
"Here we have the party directly, through party employees, in the party premises, how they carry out these activities," they stated.
Serbian democracy added that "about this" it will officially inform the European Union Monitoring Mission. They added that "there are reasonable suspicions" that the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ) is "interfering in the election process".
"With financial support to the Ministry for Communities and Return, led by Nenad Rasic — and by awarding a project worth 7.5 million euros less than 10 days before the elections, in the middle of the election campaign, which is a larger amount even than the total budget of the given ministry for the year 2025 (i.e. 6.7 million euros),'' it was announced.
"Everyone's mouth is full of the fact that the state of Serbia influences the election results through its financial presence. It is true that the Serbian List, usurping Serbian institutions, uses financial resources to pressure voters. Therefore, there should be the same standard for this German institution that directly financially and politically supports Nenad Rasic," concluded the announcement of Serbian Democracy.
Rasic signed an agreement with the German GIZ worth more than 7 million euros to improve the position of non-majority communities (KoSSev)
Kosovo's Minister for Communities and Return, Nenad Rasic, together with the director of the German Organization for International Cooperation (GIZ) for Kosovo, David Oberhuber, signed a contract worth 7.5 million euros on Friday, the Ministry for Communities and Return announced, KoSSev reported last night, adding that the agreement will have a "deep and long-term impact on improving the position of non-majority communities in Kosovo."
This project, as stated among other things by the Ministry, ''represents a key step towards creating equal opportunities on the labor market and enabling the full integration of non-majority communities - which is of essential importance for the stability and economic progress of the region".
The pre-election campaign for the general elections in Kosovo, scheduled for Sunday, February 9, is underway, recalled KoSSev.
Serbian List: A flat tire on the President of the PA Vucitrn vehicle: KP Vucitrn: No such case reported (KiM radio, KoSSev)
The president of the recently closed Provisional Authority (PA) of the municipality of Vucitrn and the candidate for deputies in front of the Serbian List, Milan Kostic, had punctured tires on his private car last night, this political party announced on Saturday.
This party announced that "at the very end of the pre-election campaign", they have no dilemma that this "clearly indicated the political background of this criminal act".
"We are talking about attempts to intimidate candidates and representatives of the Serbian List by those who do not wish the Serbs anything good. This attack only shows that there is growing nervousness in the ranks of Kurti and his satellites like Nenad Rasic, who are losing all hope in the upcoming elections," concluded the SL.
"As long as we are the target of such attacks, it is a confirmation of the correctness of the Serbian List's policy." It is as clear as day, and that is why we are telling those who are behind this act - you have not and will not scare us, but you are obviously afraid of Serbian harmony and unity, Serbian strength, and the victory of the Serbian List," they said.
The text, however, does not state how many tires on the vehicle were punctured, where it happened, or whether this case was reported to the police.
In a brief reply to the KoSSev's question related to the alleged Kostic's flat tire, the Kosovo Police stated:
"Dear Sir, in connection with your question and the topic you mentioned, we inform you that in the area of responsibility of the Police Station in Vučitrn, not a single case of this nature has been reported to this moment".
Students in North Mitrovica today in an action of silence for the victims in Novi Sad (KoSSev)
On Monday, February 3, for the third time in North Mitrovica, and for the second time in the organization of students, a meeting called "15 minutes of silence for 15 victims" will be held. The rally will be held in front of the Faculty of Philosophy, starting at 11:52, and will last exactly 15 minutes, as a sign of memory for the victims of the accident that occurred when the canopy of the renovated railway station in Novi Sad fell.
The event is organized by the students of the University of Pristina with the Temporary Headquarters in north Mitrovica, who have launched this initiative for the second time.
The organizers clearly distanced themselves from political parties, stressing that the gathering "does not have a political background, nor the goal of causing any disturbances."
Madonna voices support for Serbian students (media)
American singer and actress Madonna shared an Instagram story about student protests in Serbia.
“What the media isn’t telling you is that one of the largest student protests since 1968 is happening right now – in Serbia,” read the post that Madonna shared on her story. Alongside aerial images, the post described how students have shut down nearly every university and launched 24-hour blockades.
It states that people across Serbia are demanding systemic changes and “less” corruption in the government.
“Professors and teachers have joined students in their protests, and the government is threatening them with job losses,” the post claimed, adding, “this is a serious issue”.
“We must make this situation go viral and support the students and people of Serbia. We stand with Serbia,” Madonna concluded.
The footage from Serbia was accompanied by Madonna’s iconic hit Like a Prayer.
Kovacevic: Serbian students officially nominated for Nobel Peace Prize (N1, media)
Serbian students have been officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, writer, and playwright Sinisa Kovacevic wrote in a post on X.
“We just received confirmation from the Nobel Committee that the nomination of Serbian students for the Nobel Peace Prize, submitted by Mrs. Dijana Stojkovic, a lawyer, and myself, has been accepted. They deserve it,” he wrote.
For the past two months, students across Serbia have been protesting, with people from nearly all parts of the country joining their actions. They began by blockading their university faculties and then took to the streets, insisting that their demands be addressed by the country’s institutions.
The government has repeatedly attempted to suppress their rebellion, offering various incentives, but the students have remained steadfast in their struggle and demands.
The university blockades began at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, where students and professors were attacked on November 22 while peacefully blocking traffic for a 15-minute demonstration of silence to honor the victims of the November 1 collapse of a concrete canopy at the recently renovated Novi Sad main train station. The protests quickly spread to more than 60 public university faculties across Serbia.
EU silent as protests in Serbia gain momentum (Euractive)
While von Ursula von der Leyen has not hesitated to express support for “the Georgian people fighting for democracy”, she has remained remarkably quiet about the uprising in Serbia.
Student protests against corruption are growing in Serbia, but EU institutions, for which Vučić’s regime is considered a key partner in the Balkans, have so far refrained from expressing support for the demonstrators.
On Thursday morning, 500 Serbian students set off on foot from Belgrade under the slogan “One step for justice.” After an 80-kilometre march, they reached Novi Sad to join Saturday's blockade of three bridges over the Danube.
This comes amid an unprecedented wave of protests, with growing calls for strikes and farmers joining the movement, after the roof of the railway station in the major northern Serbian city of Novi Sad - a key stop on the future Belgrade-Budapest high-speed line, central to China's Belt and Road infrastructure project - collapsed three months ago.
Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/mr3uncez
USAID security leaders on leave after trying to keep Musk’s DOGE from classified info, officials say (AP)
The Trump administration has placed two top security chiefs at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Elon Musk’s government-inspection teams, a current and a former U.S. official told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Members of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, eventually did gain access Saturday to the aid agency’s classified information, which includes intelligence reports, the former official said.
Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/3cuzyp8f
Opinion
A brief analysis of election slogans (Kosovo 2.0)
Opinion piece by Vlora Konushevci.
“Words cut deeper than a knife” — this popular proverb highlights language’s transformative power. Language is a powerful tool for shaping the way we think and experience the world. It can create realities, and also limit them. Every word and grammatical structure allows us to clarify or ignore. In politics, language is the first weapon in every battle for power.
Slogans are powerful tools in political communication, crafted to evoke emotion and be memorable. Analyzing political party slogans through linguistic, literary and semantic lenses reveals how political realities are created and manipulated.
In an ideal world, political slogans would be poetic lines that inspire and guide people toward a better future. However, political reality does not afford the luxury of poetry — it demands short phrases, emotional appeals and messages designed to fill the empty spaces of billboards.
As a poet, translator and curious citizen, I have tried to dissect, illuminate and even translate political slogans. Perhaps, my experience in translation has taught me to find meaning even where it appears absent. I hope the following glossary will help you see beyond the well-crafted words — or at least entertain you over your afternoon coffee.
Read more at: https://shorturl.at/fwbTO
International Media
Kosovo allocates €500,000 in humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza (PI)
The Kosovo government decided on Friday to donate 500,000 euros in humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza, following a ceasefire that paused 15 months of active fighting.
Kosovo’s government decided on Friday to allocate funds for Palestinians in Gaza, in what could be the last government meeting before the end of its four-year term, and just nine days before Kosovo voters head to polls to elect a new parliament.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti told his cabinet during the government meeting that there is an urgent need for humanitarian aid because of the consequences of the war. He called for the ceasefire to be a “foundation for achieving lasting peace.”
“As a government, we welcome the ceasefire agreement reached in Gaza, which, in its first phase, allows for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. For this purpose, the government of the Republic of Kosovo will allocate 500,000 euros to support the Palestinian population in Gaza,” Kurti said.
Kosovo and Palestine do not have diplomatic relations as they do not recognise each other as independent states.
Read more at: https://shorturl.at/arkxB
Western Balkan consumers join boycott of retailers in protest over prices (BIRN)
A boycott of retail chains over rising prices that began last Friday in Croatia spread across the region this Friday, with shoppers spurning stores in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia.
In Croatia, a day-long boycott of all stores was held on Friday, called by the Facebook group Halo Inspector, which is backed by an NGO called the European Center for Consumer Excellence.
Data from Croatia’s Tax Administration showed that the total number of invoices issued on Friday by 3 p.m. was 31 per cent lower than Friday, January 17, when there was no boycott.
Halo Inspector’s adviser, Josip Kelemen, had called on Croatian consumers to “refrain from any purchases” on Friday, including all stores, transactions with banks, telecoms, and orders via delivery platforms.
“We need to send a message to those who are causing this price gouging. We also want to send messages to banks. Don’t go to banks, they are also part of the price increases,” Kelemen said.
In Serbia, Efektiva, a consumer rights association, urged consumers to specifically boycott five big supermarkets. “Don’t buy from these five tomorrow. Buy anywhere else, just don’t go to them! A small shop, a market. One day you’ll manage,” the association wrote in their call on social media.
When BIRN visited a few supermarkets in Serbia on Friday there were fewer consumers than usual, but some people were still buying in them.
In Serbia, the retail business is highly concentrated. Research conducted by the Republic Institute of Statistics showed that the top three supermarket chains had a 48.9 per cent market share.
Read more at: https://shorturl.at/d1hKD
One pleads guilty of securing weapon in Prishtina femicide case (PI)
Tomë Dodaj was sentenced to five years in prison after admitting to selling the firearm used in the murder of a 30-year-old mother of two in Prishtina in 2023. The victim’s husband, who is among the four accused, pleaded not guilty.
Naim Murseli, pleaded “completely not guilty” to the charge of aggravated murder of his wife Liridona Ademaj, at the initial hearing at the Prishtina Basic Court on Friday.
Ademaj’s murder was initially reported as a “robbery with fatal consequences.”
One of the accused, Tomë Dodaj, pleaded guilty to selling the firearm that was used in Ademaj’s murder.
“I voluntarily plead guilty,” Dodaj stated in court.
The judge announced that the case against Dodaj would be separated from the trial of the three other accused individuals. Dodaj was sentenced to five years imprisonment.
After the hearing, Dodaj’s lawyer, Agron Kuçi, stated that his client did not personally know the other accused individuals and only realized the weapon he sold had been used in a murder after the case was reported in the media. Kuçi argued that the five-year prison sentence was excessive and confirmed plans to appeal.
Read more at: https://shorturl.at/WXQGN
Serbia’s students fight for rule of law (Kosovo 2.0)
An infrastructure tragedy has opened the door to mass protests.
After nearly three months of anti-corruption protests in Serbia, Prime Minister Miloš Vučević resigned on January 28. The protests — Serbia’s largest since 2000, when mass demonstrations brought down Slobodan Milošević’s regime — were triggered by the collapse of a recently reconstructed canopy at the Novi Sad train station on November 1, 2024, which killed 15 people.
However, they come in a wider context of dissatisfaction with the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which has consolidated its control over Serbian politics since coming to power in 2012. At the center of the current protests is particularly strong anger against corruption.
In the days after the collapse, students from Novi Sad began blocking faculties and organizing protests, demanding that authorities take responsibility for the collapse and pervasive corruption they see as being responsible. Protests featured banners with phrases like “Corruption Kills” and “Your Hands Are Bloodied.” Additionally, the “Zastani Srbijo” — “Stop, Serbia” — campaign was launched in cities across Serbia. On November 15, 2024, the campaign coordinated 15-minute traffic blockades at 11:52 a.m., the exact time the canopy collapsed, to honor the victims.
Read more at: https://shorturl.at/8QXGM
How a train station tragedy is threatening to bring down a hardline European president (CNN)
On the first day of November, Aleksandar Matkovic was running late for a train. He was traveling from Novi Sad, in the north of Serbia, to its capital Belgrade, where he works as an economic historian. When he got to the station, he witnessed a scene of horror that has rocked the country to this day.
Minutes before he arrived, the canopy of the station – where reconstruction had been completed months earlier – had collapsed, crushing passengers waiting on the platform. Fifteen people were killed.
“I stood there for about two or three hours, just staring blankly at the space where the canopy was. The whole thing was so unrealistic,” Matkovic told CNN.
Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/5n9as56v
EU silent as protests in Serbia gain momentum (Euractive)
While von Ursula von der Leyen has not hesitated to express support for “the Georgian people fighting for democracy”, she has remained remarkably quiet about the uprising in Serbia.
Student protests against corruption are growing in Serbia, but EU institutions, for which Vučić’s regime is considered a key partner in the Balkans, have so far refrained from expressing support for the demonstrators.
On Thursday morning, 500 Serbian students set off on foot from Belgrade under the slogan “One step for justice.” After an 80-kilometre march, they reached Novi Sad to join Saturday's blockade of three bridges over the Danube.
This comes amid an unprecedented wave of protests, with growing calls for strikes and farmers joining the movement, after the roof of the railway station in the major northern Serbian city of Novi Sad - a key stop on the future Belgrade-Budapest high-speed line, central to China's Belt and Road infrastructure project - collapsed three months ago.
Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/mr3uncez
Serbian State media shift tune in coverage of huge protests, testing leader (The New York Times)
State TV had previously largely ignored the demonstrations against President Aleksandar Vucic, but now it is putting a spotlight on the rallies.
When tens of thousands of protesters blocked three key bridges across the Danube River, paralyzing Serbia’s second-biggest city this weekend, the Balkan country’s beleaguered governing party issued a stern warning — not to the protesters but to the state-controlled broadcasting service for reporting on them.
After mostly ignoring three months of student-led street demonstrations across the country, Radio Television Serbia, long a propaganda bullhorn for President Aleksandar Vucic, had suddenly shifted gears and put protests in Novi Sad atop its news bulletins.
Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/b4x6j4e9
USAID security leaders on leave after trying to keep Musk’s DOGE from classified info, officials say (AP)
The Trump administration has placed two top security chiefs at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Elon Musk’s government-inspection teams, a current and a former U.S. official told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Members of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, eventually did gain access Saturday to the aid agency’s classified information, which includes intelligence reports, the former official said.
Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/3cuzyp8f