The Freedom House has published the 2015 annual report on the freedom of the media. The report, which covers 199 countries and territories, ranks Kosovo 100^th in the list, compared to the 98^th position it had last year. Zekirija Shabani, the chairman of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK), said he was not surprised by Kosovo’s ranking and said that an even more negative assessment was expected. “There is a marked increase of attacks, threats, blackmails and censorship against journalists this year.

By UN Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Our world is out of balance. It is both wealthier and more unequal today than at any time since the Second World War.

We are recovering from a global economic crisis - but that recovery has been jobless. We have the largest cohort ever of educated women, yet globally women are struggling to find work. Unemployment rates are at historic highs in many countries, including those in the Middle East and North Africa, in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as in southern Europe.

Augustin Palokaj, the paper’s Brussels correspondent, writes that as the European Commission prepares to approve the text of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Kosovo, there are many issues that needs to be explained so that neither Kosovo nor the EU spend too much energy on exaggerating the agreement’s benefits. While Kosovo will be able to benefit quite a lot from the agreement, particularly in the area of foreign investment, the SAA, in its legal form, will not be the same for Kosovo as was for other countries in the region which already signed it, writes Palokaj.

KTV editor-in-chief Adriatik Kelmendi writes in his opinion piece that “if the three opposition parties do not carry out thorough reforms in their structures and approach, the potential of those who are not satisfied [with the government] will continue to remain scattered and as such powerless vis-à-vis a government that has great power and arrogance”.

Publicist Enver Robelli writes in his opinion piece that in an interview for a foreign newspaper, the EULEX chief Gabriele Meucci said that EULEX has no friends in Kosovo and that therefore its job is difficult and close to impossible. Meucci also said in the interview that the Kosovar society is infiltrated by organized crime.

Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj writes in his opinion piece that the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) came to Kosovo with the executive mandate to investigate corruption and organized crime at the highest levels of Kosovo institutions. “Now we have a situation where investigations on corruption cases are being conducted within EULEX, and, among others, even Kosovo authorities are conducting investigations against EULEX.

The opinion piece of the editor in chief of this daily, Agron Bajrami, which was initially published in the Montenegrin daily Vjesti, comes as a response to the statement of the World Bank Director, Jan Peter Olters, who criticized publicly Kosovo politicians for not being able to change the difficult socio-economic situation in Kosovo for fifteen years and for leading Kosovo into deeper crisis for their narrow interests.

Domestic violence, which in 99% of cases victims have been women, has seen a significant increase compared to previous years. This is confirmed by data from the Kosovo Police for Peja/Pec region, including Gjakova/Djakovica.

Political analyst Halil Matoshi argues in an opinion piece that if the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) led by Isa Mustafa had said “yes” to another mandate of reserved seats for minority communities in the Kosovo Assembly last year, the Kosovo Army would be a reality today and its troops would be executing the orders of their superiors.

The Kosovo government has expressed its intention to accept cadres from the University of North Mitrovica into public institutions, relocated after the war in Pristina.

"Koha Ditore" reports that the draft provides for the introduction of the University of Mitrovica into legal flows, and the government of Kosovo say they have a constructive approach in two directions.

The first involves a review of the compatibility of the Statute of the University of Mitrovica and harmonization with the central laws in order to integrate into Kosovo's legal framework.