• Kosovo government with over €100 million of aid to citizens (media)
• State Department: Impunity for corruption in Kosovo continues (media)
• Government expected to adopt draft law on minimum wage today (Indeksonline)
• Kurti meets Israeli Minister of Regional Cooperation (media)
• Qalaj: Heads of state are keeping silent about Specialist Chambers (Koha)
• Limaj: Serbian Secret Service planned to kill me and Rexhep Selimi (media)
• COVID-19: 14 new cases, no deaths (media)

Kosovo government with over €100 million of aid to citizens (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti took to Twitter on Tuesday to say that the government will give over €100 million of aid to citizens. “Social assistance payment doubled for the month of April. 100 euros extra for all pension recipients for the month of April. 100 euros each for 300,000 private sector employees. 100 euros each for 80,000 public sector employees. 100 euros each for 80,000 students. 40,000 food parcels for families in need. Approximately 800,000 citizen beneficiaries – every family of the Republic of Kosovo,” Kurti tweeted.

State Department: Impunity for corruption in Kosovo continues (media)

In the 2021 World Human Rights Report, the US Department of State said that in Kosovo important issues of these rights included credible reports on: serious restrictions on freedom of expression and the media, including violence or threats of violence journalists; serious government corruption and impunity and crimes involving violence or threats of violence against ethnic minorities or other marginalized communities.

The report notes that the government took steps to identify, investigate, prosecute and punish officials who commit human rights violations, but sometimes lacked consistency in action. Many people in government, opposition, civil society and the media, reported cases of senior officials being involved in corruption or acting with impunity. The government sometimes suspended, removed offenders from office or transferred defendants, and the justice sector sometimes took steps to prosecute and punish those officials who commit violations and crimes. However, many corrupt officials continued to hold public office positions.

Government expected to adopt draft law on minimum wage today (Indeksonline)

The Kosovo Government will meet today at 10:00 and will discuss among other issues the draft law that will pave to raising the minimum wage. Prime Minister Albin Kurti told a press conference on Tuesday that the minimum wage will be raised.

Kurti meets Israeli Minister of Regional Cooperation (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met on Tuesday with the Israeli Minister of Regional Cooperation, Esawi Frej. The latter tweeted after the meeting: “I had the pleasure of meeting today @albinkurti the Prime Minister of Kosovo. A young and inspiring Prime Minister, leading a young country to a better future. Together we will promote cultural & economic cooperation, for the benefit of the citizens of our two countries”. Kurti said after the meeting “the people of Israel and Kosovo share a long struggle for freedom and a commitment to a brighter future in peace with our neighbors.”

Qalaj: Heads of state are keeping silent about Specialist Chambers (Koha)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) MP Rashit Qalaj said in an interview with KTV on Tuesday that Kosovo’s leaders are keeping silent about the proceedings at the Specialist Chambers. “I think that the leaders of Kosovo, the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, the Justice Minister are keeping silent for a long time about the Specialist Chambers. I think that now is the time to react because we have a new situation created with Mr. Marty. Without interfering in the work of the court, I think that both the President and the Prime Minister need to react and call on the Specialist Chambers to respect the Constitution and the laws of Kosovo. Every day we hear complaints from the defense attorneys that the human rights of our leaders are being violated,” Qalaj said.

Limaj: Serbian Secret Service planned to kill me and Rexhep Selimi (media)

Fatmir Limaj, leader of the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA), said in an interview with Kanal 10 on Tuesday that the former head of the Serbian Secret Service, Jovica Stanisic, told him in the Hague that the Serbian Secret Service had planned to kill Limaj. “The Serbian Secret Service carried out assassinations in 1998 and 1999 too. They prepared to assassinate all of us [former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army]. The service set up ambushes for me and Rexhep Selimi. Stanisic told me about this in the Hague, but luckily we did not take the routes where they were waiting for us,” he added.

COVID-19: 14 new cases, no deaths (media)

14 new cases with COVID-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo, the Ministry of Health reported. 24 persons recovered during this time. There are 534 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.