Citing a press release issued by Vetevendosje, Koha reports that at 12:00 p.m. today, the deadline to submit candidacies for the leader of Vetevendosje ended. With the expiration of this period, the General Election Commission (GEC) of  Vetevendosje found that there was only one declaration for candidacy submitted – that of Visar Ymeri. In accordance with the Statute and Rules of Internal Elections of Vetevendosje, the GEC announced that Visar Ymer is the only candidate who will continue in the internal elections.

Bojan Bozovic, a former associate of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (AKI), claims he has received death threats from people he calls extremists. Bozovic sent a letter to Koha saying that he has notified Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Interior Minister Skender Hyseni about the threats, but that he has received no reply. Bozovic said by the end of this year he would publish the names of people responsible for killings in Kosovo. “I will also publish the names of those working against Kosovo, those working in the Kosovo police and army who serve as Serbian spies.

Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa writes on his Facebook account today that Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic is trying to shift Serbia's economic crisis over to Kosovo. “He [Vucic] can say that all socially-owned properties are his in an effort to deceive Serbian citizens, but we know that these properties are ours and no one should be worried about this.

Albin Kurti has decided not to run for reelection as leader of the Vetevendosje Movement at the party’s Election Convention, which is expected to be held in the coming months.
Koha.net’s sources claim that the current head of the Vetevendosje Parliamentary Group, Visar Ymeri, could be the consensual candidate to replace Kurti for a three-year mandate.
Kurti is expected to remain only an activist in the party. Vetevendosje is expected to announce this news sometime today.

The Office of the President of Kosovo issued a press release which informs that President  Atifete Jahjaga, was received today at the Holy See in the Vatican in private audience by His Holiness, Pope Francis.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, met on Tuesday with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, Sebastian Kurz. Mustafa informed Kurz about Kosovo's commitment to work in economic development agenda and the European agenda. Mustafa said he will do whatever possible in order to prevent irregular migration, but also to provide better living conditions for the repatriated people. He also stressed that the government of Kosovo is focused to meet the criteria for visa liberalization process, reports Koha.

The Foreign Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, hosted a meeting with his Austrian counterpart, Sebastian Kurz.

Thaci informed on his Facebook profile that they discussed boosting of Austria’s further investments in Kosovo as well as Vienna’s support on the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

“Kurz is a big supporter of Kosovo’s integration in the European Union, while he will soon take a concrete role for Kosovo’s membership at the Council of Europe.” wrote Thaci.

A Koha reader from Trepca mines informed that the miners have initiated a strike.

“Greetings Koha. I wanted to inform you that the strike at Trepca, Stanterg mine, has begun. I want to remain anonymous,” wrote this reader.

Trepca Spokesperson, Musa Mustafa told Koha.net that miners gathered at one the corridors inside the Stanterg mine, requesting from the management clarifications regarding yesterday’s decision of the Assembly of Kosovo, on Trepca’s fate.

According to a study published by the International Labour Organization (ILO), Kosovo has only 14.8 percentage participation of women in managerial positions. Better than Kosovo is Albania, with 22 percent of women participation in business. ILO Director Deborah France-Massin, says there is a long way to achieve true gender equality in the workplace, especially when it comes to senior positions. According to her, although women are more likely to manage a business, their options are limited to maintain a high position in any of the biggest companies in the world.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hashim Thaci started his first official visit to Montenegro, where he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Igor Luksic. Thaci and Luksic discussed the cooperation between Kosovo and Montenegro, economic and cultural exchange, joint infrastructural projects as well as regional cooperation and building of good neighborly relations. Media report that during his stay in Podgorica, Thaci will meet the Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, President Filip Vujanovic and Speaker of the Parliament, Ranko Krivokapic.