Egypt recognizes independence of Kosovo (dailies) All dailies report on the front pages that the Republic of Egypt has recognized the independence of Kosovo. The government of Egypt made the decision on Wednesday and immediately notified Kosovo’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Enver Hoxhaj. The decision was also announced on the webpage of Egypt’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Kosovo Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi said this was happy news and said he now expects other Arab and African states to recognize Kosovo’s independence. Koha Ditore quotes Predrag Simic, political expert from Belgrade, as saying that this recognition will encourage other non-aligned countries and states from the Islamic world to recognize Kosovo. The paper recalls that 29 out of 57 member states of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation have yet to recognize Kosovo’s statehood. Thaçi: Leaders in favor of ratification of agreement and elections date (Koha) Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi said on Wednesday that he ensured the support of the broad political spectrum in the country for the ratification of the 19 April agreement and for the date of local elections. Thaçi secured the support in a meeting with leaders of parliamentary groups. Vetëvendosje representatives did not attend the meeting. “Yesterday we met with Kosovo political leaders and we agreed to ratify the interstate agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. This agreement is directly related with Kosovo’s European perspective, with the European perspective of the region, with positive reflection for all countries of the region and society, with clear messages for the Euro-Atlantic perspective for Kosovo and other countries in the region,” Thaçi said. “At yesterday’s meeting all Kosovar leaders expressed their support for local elections to be held on November 3^rd”. Tahiri: State assets, under Kosovo’s sovereignty (Tribuna) Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri, in an interview for Telegrafi, reacted against statements by Serbian officials about the future management of the Gazivoda Lake. Tahiri said natural wealth and state assets in Kosovo, including the Gazivoda Lake, are under the sovereignty of the Republic of Kosovo and as such were confirmed by the International Court of Justice. Tahiri called on Serbia to respect good neighborly relations and European standards vis-à-vis Kosovo and to stop illegally interfering in Kosovo’s internal affairs. “Serbia must emerge from surrealism and accept the reality of the independent and sovereign state of Kosovo, and respect the agreement for normalization of relations,” she added. Serbs remove barricades in the roads in the north (dailies) Several dailies report that Serbs in northern Mitrovica on Wednesday removed the barricade on the regional road Mitrovica – Zvecan. The barricade was set up there in July 2011 since the escalation of the situation in this region of Kosovo. The decision to remove the obstacle was commented by representatives of the parallel municipality of Mitrovica. Dragisa Vlaskovic said the barricade was removed because it endangered traffic and that it was already dysfunctional. Newspapers report that two barricades now remain in Mitrovica, one of which is cemented on the main bridge over Ibër and another barricade on the road that leads to the eastern side of the city, in the Bosniak Mahalla. Paho values progress in Kosovo (Epoka e Re) Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Enver Hoxhaj, met on Wednesday during his official visit with the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Paho, who highly valued the progress that is being reached in Kosovo and pledged further support of his country for Kosovo, especially in the European integrations. Minister Hoxhaj informed President Pahor on the continuous progress and stressed the importance of the decision of the EU foreign ministers to open SAA negotiations in advancing international subjectivity and opening of European perspective.