DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Six months into the war in Gaza, Israel has no exit strategy and no real plan for the future
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —The war in Gaza has been raging for six months and the patience of Israel’s allies is running out. Israel launched the war immediately after the deadly October 7 terror attacks by Hamas. “There is no viable plan for the future of Gaza, not just for the day after, but even today. The number of Israeli soldiers killed in combat in Gaza since the start of the war has now surpassed 250. “He does not have a significantly different set of ideas for Gaza or for the future of Israel, Palestine or for Palestinian sovereignty.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Israel, Yayha Sinwar, ”, Khaled Elgindy, Joe Biden, ” Elgindy, –, Nathan Thrall, “, Abed Salama, ” “, ” Thrall, don’t, Thrall, Elgindy, “ It’s, Yahya Hassouna, Harel Chorev, Moshe Dayan, ” Chorev, we’ll, it’s, ” Hellyer, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s, it’s Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, Gaza Ministry, Health, Palestinian Affairs, Middle East Institute, Gaza, West Bank, European Union, Getty, Moshe, Moshe Dayan Center for, African, Tel Aviv University, America, “, United, United Arab Emirates, Hellyer, Royal United Services Institute, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Washington DC, Palestinian Authority, KFOR, NATO Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States, United Kingdom, Palestine, Rafah, Jerusalem, Hamas, Gaza City, AFP, Britain, Germany, France, Egypt, Palestinian, United Arab, London, Washington, Kosovo

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook an area near Oklahoma City late Friday night, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The earthquake hit at 11:24 p.m. and was centered 8 kilometers (4.9 miles) northwest of Prague, Oklahoma, the agency said. Prague is about 57 miles (92 kilometers) east of Oklahoma City, where residents reported feeling the shaking. At least six earthquakes, including two greater than magnitude 4.0, were recorded near another Oklahoma City suburb in January. In April, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake was among a series of six that struck the central Oklahoma town of Carney, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City.

Organizations: OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma City, U.S . Geological Survey, KFOR Locations: Oklahoma, U.S, Prague , Oklahoma, Prague, Oklahoma City, Shawnee, Stillwater, Tecumseh, Carney

☆ British troops patrol Kosovo-Serbia border as tensions remain high
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] British troops part of the NATO reinforcements patrol at the Kosovo-Serbia border in Jarinje, Kosovo November 24, 2023. NATO has sent 1,000 extra troops to the region, bringing its presence there to 4,500 peacekeepers from 27 countries. British soldiers are now being deployed in 18-hour shifts in freezing conditions to make sure no weapons or armed groups enter Kosovo. Kosovo, which has an ethnic Albanian majority, declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a guerrilla uprising and a 1999 NATO intervention. Around five percent of the population in Kosovo are ethnic Serbs, of which half live in the north and refuse to recognize Kosovo independence and see Belgrade as their capital.

Persons: Valdrin, Joss Gaddie, Jens Stoltenberg, Albin Kurti's, Fatos Bytyci, Mike Harrison Organizations: NATO, REUTERS, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Belgrade, KFOR, British Army, Reuters, Kosovo, Kosovo police, Thomson Locations: Kosovo, Serbia, Jarinje, NATO, Britain, Romania, Banjska, Balkans, Belgrade, Pristina

☆ A 'festering' powder keg in Europe is lurking in the shadow of the Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Consequently, the Serbia-Kosovo discord, while festering, finds itself languishing in the shadow of these more immediate and globally resonant challenges." It highlights a major challenge for policymakers: providing ongoing conflicts with near-constant attention, while still monitoring other strategically significant risks. "The fact remains that the Balkan region is a powder keg, where even minor incidents can swiftly spiral into broader conflicts. History has underscored the adage that what happens in the Balkans, doesn't stay in the Balkans," the CEPA's Hartwell said. "The U.S., EU and U.K. do not have the diplomatic and military bandwidth to respond to several conflicts of strategic interest.

Persons: Stringer, Leon Hartwell, Hartwell, Banjska, doesn't, Majda Ruge Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, KFOR, Afp, Getty, Center for, CNBC, European Union, Anadolu Agency, European Council, Foreign Relations Locations: Mitrovica, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Balkans, Europe, Serbia, Kosovo, Palestine, Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Southern, Eastern Europe, Moscow, Brussels, Washington, Serbs, Kosovan, U.S, EU, Pristina, destabilising Kosovo, Yugoslavia

☆ A huge python built its lair in a trailer park and grew 13ft long eating the neighborhood cats
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A 13-foot snake has been living on a steady diet of cats since moving into a trailer park in Oklahoma. AdvertisementAdvertisementAnimal control is hunting down a 13-foot-long python thought to have eaten half of the neighborhood cats since it showed up in an Oklahoma trailer park. The animal appeared in Oklahoma City's Burntwood Mobile Home Park about five months ago, Oklahoma news channel KFOR reported. Since then it's been eating opossums, rats, and cats in its lair under a mobile home, the channel reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe python is believed to have doubled in size on his steady cat diet, according to another Oklahoma City channel, News9.

Persons: Mike Tyson's bicep, —, Trevor Bounds, Shandi Mosley, Shandi, Bounds Organizations: Service, Park, KFOR, Oklahoma City Locations: Oklahoma

☆ An unusual military build-up in southern Europe sparked fears of another invasion like Russia's full-scale assault on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The US warned last week that Serbia staged an "unprecedented" military build-up along its border. AdvertisementAdvertisementA massive build-up of military power in Serbia has officials in neighboring Kosovo drawing comparisons to what Russian forces were doing before Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On September 24, heavily armed Serb gunmen killed a Kosovar police officer and stormed a monestary in northern Kosovo, setting off a shootout that left several attackers dead. Meanwhile, on Friday, the US made public its observation of the Serbian military build-up along the border and expressed concerns over the situation. "We are monitoring a large Serbian military deployment along the border with Kosovo that includes an unprecedented staging of advanced Serbian artillery, tanks, and mechanized infantry units.

Persons: —, Biden, Donika Gervalla, Schwarz, Deutschlandfunk, Ukraine —, Vladimir Putin, STRINGER, Jens Stoltenberg, John Kirby, Albin Kurti Organizations: US, Russia, Service, Reuters, Yugoslavia, NATO, Kosovo, Intervention, Serbian, AP, Kosovo Force, KFOR, UK, Getty, Belgrade, National Security Locations: Serbia, Kosovo, Kosovo's, Ukraine, Serbian, Russia, Belgrade, Pristina, Mitrovica, EU, Kosova

☆ NATO says it has authorized additional forces for Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A Swiss pilot member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) walks at NATOÕs headquarters in Pristina, Kosovo, June 20, 2023. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - NATO has authorized additional forces for Kosovo, the military alliance said on Friday, following the worst violence in northern Kosovo in years. NATO said in a statement that it had "authorized additional forces to address the current situation" but did not immediately specify how many or from which countries. Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a guerrilla uprising and 1999 NATO intervention, accuses Serbia of arming and supporting the Serb fighters. Serbia, which has not recognised its former province's independence, blames Kosovo for precipitating violence by mistreating ethnic Serb residents.

Persons: Fatos, Wales's, Andrew Gray, Charlotte Van Campenhout, James Davey, Alex Richardson, Grant McCool Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, KFOR, REUTERS, Rights, Britain's Ministry of Defence, 1st Battalion, Wales's Royal Regiment, NATO’s Kosovo Force, Thomson Locations: Swiss, Pristina, Kosovo, Rights BRUSSELS, Serbia, London

☆ Britain to provide NATO with troops for Kosovo support
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Britain's Ministry of Defence has transferred command of an army battalion to NATO so it can provide support in Kosovo if required, it said on Friday. A battle between police and armed Serbs holed up in a monastery turned a quiet village in northern Kosovo into a war zone earlier this week. “Due to the current situation in Kosovo, we have transferred command of the 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment – a reserve force for NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) – to NATO so it can provide support if required," the MoD said in a statement. Reporting by James DaveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wales's, James Davey Organizations: Britain's Ministry of Defence, NATO, 1st Battalion, Wales's Royal Regiment, NATO’s Kosovo Force, KFOR, –, MoD, Thomson Locations: Kosovo, NATO

Kosovo authorities say around 30 heavily armed Serbs stormed the village of Banjska on Sunday, battling police and barricading themselves into the Serbian Orthodox monastery. Police recaptured the monastery late on Sunday after three attackers and one police officer were killed. Kosovo has accused Serbia of backing the armed militants; Serbia says Kosovo is to blame for mistreating residents in the Serb-majority area. It said one of them was Milan Radojcic, a Kosovo Serb politician and one of the leaders of the Serb List party. Serb List was the dominant Serb party in Kosovo's parliament before Serbs from the north and those loyal to Belgrade boycotted Kosovo's institutions nearly a year ago.

Persons: Milos Vucevic, Bjoern Arild Gram, Ognen, Aleksandar Vucic, Albin, Kurti's, Milan Radojcic, Dejan, Dusan Maksimovic, Fatos Bytyci, Aleksandar Vasovic, Ivana Sekularac, Christina Fincher, Alison Williams Organizations: Kovoso Police, Kosovo police, Police, ", Kosovo Serbs, REUTERS, KFOR, Kosovo, Reuters, Belgrade, Kosovo's, Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party, Thomson Locations: PRISTINA, BELGRADE, Kosovo, Banjska, Serbian, Serbia, NATO, Belgrade, Pristina, Serb, Zvecan, United States, EU, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Kosovo Serb, Kosovo's

CNN —Kosovo police said Sunday that they have killed three armed attackers and arrested another amid an ongoing shootout in the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo. Kosovo is majority Albanian, but like other villages in the north, Banjska is predominantly Serbian. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Serbia sees Kosovo as a breakaway state. Kosovo Police and a group of armed, masked men stand in front of the Banjska Monastery in North Kosovo. Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have escalated in recent months with violent protests erupting in May over controversial local elections.

Persons: “, ”, Veton Eljsani, Albin Kurti, Josep Borrell, ” “, Borrell Organizations: CNN, Kosovo police, Police, ”, Facebook, “ Kosovo Police, Kosovo Police, . Police, AP, Kosovo, Serbia’s Foreign, EU, KFOR, NATO Locations: Banjska, Kosovo, ” Kosovo, Serbian, Serbia, Belgrade, Pristina, “, North Kosovo, Banjska Monastery, EULEX

BRUSSELS (AP) — The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo held a long-awaited face-to-face meeting on Thursday in talks aimed aimed at improving their strained relations as calls mount for a change in the Western diplomatic approach toward them amid concern that their tensions could spiral out of control. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti are in Brussels for talks under the so-called Belgrade-Pristina dialogue process, supervised by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Serbia and its former province of Kosovo have been at odds for decades. Their 1998-99 war left more than 10,000 people dead, mostly Kosovo Albanians. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008 but Belgrade has refused to recognize the move.

Persons: Aleksandar Vučić, Albin Kurti, Josep Borrell, Kurti, Borrell, Angelo Michele Ristuccia, “, ”, aren't, Vladimir Putin, Kosovo — Organizations: Serbian, Kosovo, European Union, NATO, KFOR, United Locations: BRUSSELS, Serbia, Kosovo, Brussels, Belgrade, Pristina, Kosovo Albanians, Serbian, United States, Russia, Ukraine, West, Moscow, Balkans, Yugoslavia

☆ The West’s ‘see no evil’ approach to Serbia’s Vucic is destabilizing the Balkans
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

The result is that, despite Serbia’s professed hopes to join the EU, Vucic has continued to walk a tightrope between Moscow and western powers. A Pristina government official told CNN that they did not want to “surrender” official government buildings to protesters. A decade on, these municipalities have not been created, leaving disputes to fester over the degree of autonomy for Kosovo Serbs. After such episodes, Joseph told CNN that the “see no evil” approach to Vucic’s regime may be starting to crack. “The situation is clear who the bully of the Balkans still is,” Meliza Haradinaj, Kosovo’s former foreign minister, told CNN.

Persons: Moscow’s, Aleksandar Vucic, Vladimir Putin, Daniel Mihailescu, ” Jasmin Mujanovic, Vucic, “, Mujanovic, Alicia Kearns, ”, –, Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, Albin Kurti, Serbia’s, you’ll, Kearns, wouldn’t, Putin, Viktor, Orban, ” Majda, you’re, Quint, ” Kurti, Kurti, Edward Joseph, Laura Hasani, He’s, Shqiprim Arifi, Arifi, Ben Kilb, ” Dusan, Milorad Dodik, Oliver Bunic, Boris Grdanoski, ” Joseph, Viktor Oban, Joseph, Biden, Aleksandar Vulin, ” “ He’s, ‘ we’re, ’ He’s, I’ve, ” Vucic, Meliza Organizations: CNN, European Union, Putin, Belgrade, Getty, Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, NATO, National Security, United Nations, Kosovo's, EU, Anadolu Agency, Gazprom, Serbian, European Council, Foreign Relations, ”, US, Kosovo Serbs, Kosovo’s, Johns Hopkins University, …, Kosovo Serb, Reuters, British, Kosovo, Kosovar Business Alliance, Kosovar, Serbs, “ Association of, Bloomberg, ASM, Russian, AP, Serbia ”, KFOR, NATO’s Kosovo Force, Red Star, Red Star Belgrade soccer Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Serbia, Europe, Belgrade, West, Kosovo, Kosovo’s, Kosovar, AFP, Russian, Balkan, Western Balkans, British, United, EU, Brussels, Belgium, Moscow, ” Kosovo, Serbs, France, Germany, Italy, Balkans, Pristina, … Serbia, Zvecan, Serbian, Presevo, Albanian, Leposavic, Republika Srpska, ” Republika Srpska, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Dayton, Banja Luka, Kurti, Ohrid, North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, appeasing Serbia

☆ Serbia army chief urges NATO, international agencies to protect Kosovo Serbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BELGRADE/PRISTINA, June 23 (Reuters) - Serbia's army commander urged NATO peacekeepers and other international bodies on Friday to step up measures to protect minority Serbs in Kosovo, adding that "the international community is not fulfilling its obligations." Mojsilovic in a rare public address said he had asked NATO peacekeeping mission KFOR and other international bodies to undertake urgent measures to protect ethnic Serbs there. Earlier on Friday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was "very alarmed" by the situation in northern Kosovo, citing "extrajudicial arrests" of Kosovo Serbs and the march by Kosovo Security Forces "followed by heavy rhetoric from Serbia". Ethnic Serbs, who make up the majority of the population in the region, had boycotted the vote. Ethnic Albanians make up more than 90% of the population in Kosovo, while the Serbs form the majority in four northern municipalities and several enclaves inside Kosovo.

Persons: Milan Mojsilovic, Mojsilovic, Xhelal Svecla, Svecla, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Armend Mehaj, Aleksandar Vasovic, Fatos, Andrew Gray, Hugh Lawson, Mark Porter, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: NATO, European Union, KFOR, Belgrade, Kosovo Security Forces, Kosovo, Twitter, Kosovo Defence, Kosovo police, Serbian, Thomson Locations: BELGRADE, PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbia, Mitrovica, Mojsilovic, Zvecan, Kosovo Serbs, Serbian, Brussels, Belgrade, Pristina, Yugoslavia, Montenegro

☆ NATO ready to act to save Kosovo's peace, calls for de-escalation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA, June 19 (Reuters) - NATO forces in Kosovo are ready to face any situation if acts of violence similar to recent encounters threaten the peace, the NATO commander in Pristina said late on Monday. Some 30 NATO peacekeeping soldiers defending three town halls in northern Kosovo were injured in clashes with Serb protesters late on May. We do not react, we act," the commander of NATO troops, known as KFOR, Angelo Michele Ristuccia told to a group of journalists from his headquarters in the outskirts of Pristina. Kosovo says the three were arrested inside its territory by Serbian officers who had crossed the border. Some 50,000 Serbs who live in the north part refuse Pristina ruling and consider Belgrade as their capital.

Persons: Angelo Michele Ristuccia, Ristuccia, Albin Kurti, Kurti, Fatos Bytyci, Franklin Paul Organizations: NATO, KFOR, European Union, Franklin Paul Our, Thomson Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Pristina, Serbs, Serbia, United States, Serbian, Belgrade

☆ Kosovo PM presents plan to defuse tensions in Serb-majority area
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Around 200 Serbs gathered in North Mitrovica to protest against the arrest, with Kosovo Albanian police in anti-riot gear standing a few hundred metres away. During the operation to arrest Milun Milenkovic, three Kosovo Albanian policemen were lightly injured, Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said on his Facebook page. Kurti said nothing about setting up the association of Serb municipalities which would ensure greater autonomy for the Serb majority area. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic urged Kosovo last week to grant more autonomy to Serbs before organising a new vote. NATO bombing drove out Serbian security forces but Belgrade continues to regard Kosovo only as its southern province.

Persons: Kurti, Milun Milenkovic, Xhelal Svecla, Albin Kurti, Quint, Aleksandar Vucic, Petar Petkovic, Milenkovic, Fatos, Ivana Sekularac, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: KFOR PRISTINA, Kosovo Albanian, NATO, KFOR, European Union, U.S, Serbia, Serbian, Thomson Locations: Kosovo, North Mitrovica, U.S, United States, Republic of Kosovo, Italy, France, Germany, Britain, EU, Serbian, Brussels, Serbia, Belgrade

☆ NATO says reinforcements arriving in Kosovo after clashes last week
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, June 5 (Reuters) - Reinforcements for NATO's peacekeeping force have begun to arrive in Kosovo following last week's unrest in the north of the country, the alliance said on Monday. The clashes injured 30 members of the NATO peacekeeping force known as KFOR as well as 52 Serb protesters. "Around 500 service members from Turkey's 65th Mechanized Infantry Brigade will make up the bulk of the reinforcements," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said in a tweet. NATO decided to deploy 700 additional peacekeepers to Kosovo, reinforcing the 4,000-strong contingent, in response to the crisis and the alliance's secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Thursday it was ready to send more. Kosovo won internationally recognised independence in 2008 but Serbia rejected it and Serbs in the country's north seek autonomy for their region under a 2013 deal that has not been implemented.

Persons: Oana Lungescu, Jens Stoltenberg, Sabine Siebold, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: NATO, KFOR, Turkey's 65th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, Kosovo, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Kosovo, Oslo, Serbian, Serbia

☆ NATO member Turkey to send troops to Kosovo amid unrest in the north
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, June 3 (Reuters) - Turkey plans to send commandos to Kosovo on Sunday and Monday in response to a NATO request to join the alliance's KFOR peacekeeping force following unrest in the north of the country, the Turkish defence ministry said. In a statement on Saturday, the ministry called for restraint and constructive dialogue to resolve a crisis that it said could harm regional security and stability. "Our assigned unit (a commando battalion) is planned to be deployed to ... Kosovo on June 4-5," the ministry said. In violence on Monday, 30 peacekeepers and 52 Serbs who protested against the installation of the mayors were injured. The violence prompted NATO to announce it would send additional troops on top of 700 already on their way to the Balkan country to boost its 4,000 strong mission.

Persons: Ezgi Erkoyun, Giles Elgood Organizations: NATO, alliance's KFOR, U.S, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey, Kosovo, Turkish, ., Kosovo's, Pristina

☆ NATO ready to deploy even more troops to quell unrest in Kosovo - Stoltenberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Italian members of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) stand guard behind wire fencing, in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiOSLO, June 1 (Reuters) - NATO is prepared to deploy more troops to Kosovo to quell violence in the ethnically polarized north, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, adding that the first 700 reinforcement troops are on the way there. NATO decided to boost its 4,000-strong mission in the region with 700 additional troops after 30 of its KFOR peacekeepers and 52 ethnic Serb protesters were hurt on Monday. Stoltenberg called the violence against NATO troops "totally unacceptable" and said allies were readying more troops in case NATO needed to send additional reinforcements to the region. Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Bart MeijerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Sabine Siebold, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Bart Meijer Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, KFOR, REUTERS, U.S, Thomson Locations: Leposavic, Kosovo, Ognen, OSLO, Oslo, Kosovo's, Serbs, Pristina, Belgrade, EU

[1/2] An Italian member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) looks on while standing guard in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiBULBOACA, Moldova, June 1 (Reuters) - The presidents of Serbia and Kosovo insisted on Thursday they want to defuse a violent crisis in northern Kosovo but showed little sign of backing down from their opposing positions. Violence flared on Monday after Kosovo authorities, backed by special police units, installed ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in northern municipalities. But he said Kosovo authorities should withdraw "alleged mayors" from the north and declared the Kosovo special police units were there illegally. Vucic said he did not even know who was coming to the summit from Kosovo.

Persons: Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, Vjosa Osmani, Osmani, Vucic, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Albin Kurti, Macron, Scholz, Jens Stoltenberg, Andrew Gray, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Sabine Siebold, John Irish, Daria Sito, Edmund Blair Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, REUTERS, Kosovo, European, Political, Thomson Locations: Italian, Leposavic, Kosovo, BULBOACA, Moldova, Serbia, Belgrade, Moldovan, European Union, United States, Oslo

☆ NATO-led troops guard town hall in northern Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] U.S. Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers, under NATO, stand guard near a municipal office in Leposavic, Kosovo May 31, 2023. Following clashes on Monday in Zvecan, another northern town, during which 30 NATO troops and 52 ethnic Serbian protesters were hurt, NATO said it would send 700 more troops to Kosovo to boost its 4,000-strong mission. Those ethnic Albanian mayors were then installed last week, a decision that spurred rebuke of Pristina by the U.S. and its allies on Friday. The ethnic Albanian mayor of Leposavic, another northern Kosovo town, remained in the municipal building on Wednesday after entering it amid Serb demonstrations on Monday. Peacekeeping troops were deployed in Kosovo in 1999 after NATO bombing drove Serbia's police and army out of its former province.

Persons: couldn't, Dragan, –, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Olaf Scholz, Albin Kurti, Novak Djokovic, Djokovic, Jeton Hadergjonaj, Aleksandar Vucic, Fatos Bytici, Ivana Sekularac, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Kosovo Force, KFOR, NATO, REUTERS, Serbian, U.S, Reuters, United, Wednesday, Belgrade, Kosovo Olympic, International Olympic Committee, Kosovo Albanian, Thomson Locations: U.S, Leposavic, Kosovo, LEPOSAVIC, Zvecan, Serbian, Pristina, KOSOVO, United States, Serbia, Bratislava, Northern, Belgrade, EU

CNN —Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti told CNN on Tuesday that he would not surrender the country to what he described as a Serbian “fascist militia,” following violent protests in its north over the installation of ethnically Albanian mayors in a disputed election. “We are not facing peaceful protesters, we are facing a mob of extremists,” Kurti told CNN. Disputed electionsMonday’s violence erupted after tensions bubbled for months in northern Kosovo over controversial local elections. More than a decade on, these municipalities have not been created, leaving disputes over the degree of autonomy for Kosovo’s Serbs to fester. “Kosovo is a success story of NATO intervention – that is what bothers both Belgrade and the Kremlin,” Kurti told CNN.

Persons: CNN —, Albin Kurti, ” Kurti, –, Valdrin Xhemaj, Antony Blinken, Kurti, ” Blinken, Emmanuel Macron, ” Macron, CNN’s Isa Soares, Kosovo’s, Aleksandar Vucic, “, Meliza, Quint, ” Haradinaj, Laura Hasani, Slobodan, Milosevic, ”, Putin, Vucic, ” Bosko Jaksic, we’ve Organizations: CNN, CNN — Kosovo’s, NATO, Serbian, NATO’s Kosovo Force, KFOR, Reuters, “, US, Kosovo, Kosovar, Albanian, European Union, Serbs, Kremlin Locations: Serbian, Zvecan, NATO’s, Albanian, United States, Kosovo, Slovakia, Pristina, Kosovo’s, Belgrade, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Reuters Kosovo, Brussels, Serbia, fester, Yugoslavia, Montenegro, “ Kosovo, Ukraine, ”, He’s

CNN —Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic left a political message on a TV camera lens at the French Open on Monday in response to violent clashes in Kosovo. Following his first-round victory against American Aleksandar Kovacevic, Djokovic wrote “Kosovo is the [heart] of Serbia. Stop the violence” in Serbian on a camera lens, using a heart symbol. I don’t know what will happen.”Djokovic leaves his message on the camera lens after his first-round victory at Roland-Garros. Djokovic is aiming to win his 23rd grand slam title at the French Open, which would move him clear of Rafael Nadal at the top of the men’s all-time list.

☆ NATO soldiers on guard in Kosovo Serb town following clashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ZVECAN, Kosovo, May 30 (Reuters) - Dozens of NATO troops secured on Tuesday a municipal building in the Kosovo town of Zvecan, where the previous day 30 NATO soldiers and 52 Serb protesters were injured in clashes. On Monday, Serb protesters in Zvecan threw tear gas and stun grenades at NATO soldiers. The NATO force, known as KFOR, said 30 of its soldiers were hurt in the clashes. In another Serb-majority town, Leposavic, an ethnic Albanian mayor was unable to leave his office for more that 24 hours because of protesters outside, media reported. Tensions have risen since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo's Serb-majority area after elections the Serbs boycotted.

☆ Kosovo tensions: Why did ethnic Serbs attack NATO peacekeepers?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Dozens of NATO peacekeepers were injured after they were attacked by ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, during protests over the installation of ethnically Albanian mayors. More than a decade on, these municipalities have not been created, leaving disputes over the degree of autonomy for Kosovo’s Serbs to fester. Valdrin Xhemaj/ReutersFearing potential violence, Kosovo’s central election commission changed plans to put voting booths in local schools, instead setting up mobile huts patrolled by NATO peacekeepers. Of these, more than 16,000 are ethnic Serbs – with only around 500 ethnic Albanians. The peacekeeping mission said that it had increased its presence in northern Kosovo after the newly elected ethnically Albanian mayors took office in majority Kosovo Serb areas.

☆ Factbox: Key facts on Kosovo, independent for 15 years from Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here are key facts about the small western Balkan republic:POPULATION: Around 1.8 million, according to the most recent census in 2011, which local Serbs boycotted. HISTORY & PEOPLE: Kosovo became part of the Kingdom of Serbia in the early 13th century, with a mixed population of ethnic Albanians, Serbs and Vlachs. Mutual expulsions and migrations to and from neighbouring Albania in the early 20th century changed Kosovo's ethnic makeup. He accused Kosovo Albanians of persecuting local Serbs and restricted their rights in education and local government. It backs nationalist minority Serbs in north Kosovo boycotting the state, creating a de facto partition.

Search resuls for: "KFOR"

25 mentions found