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☆ NATO peacekeepers secure Kosovo town halls in standoff with Serb protesters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] U.S. KFOR soldiers stand guard in front of the municipality office, while ethnic Serbs gather to protest, in the town of Leposavic, Kosovo, May 29, 2023. KFOR troops also acted to protect the town halls in Zubin Potok and North Mitrovica from possible threats. Serbs refused to take part in local elections in April and ethnic Albanian candidates won the mayoralties in four Serb-majority municipalities with a 3.5% turnout. Serbs have called on the Kosovo government to remove ethnic Albanian mayors from town halls and allow local administrations financed by Belgrade return to their duties. NATO peacekeepers deployed in Kosovo after the alliance's 1999 bombing campaign that drove Serbian security forces out of Serbia's then-southern province, ending a brutal counter-insurgency campaign.

☆ Serbian president to meet U.S., Russia, China, EU ambassadors after clashes erupt
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers clash with local Kosovo Serb protesters at the entrance of the municipality office, in the town of Zvecan, Kosovo, May 29, 2023. REUTERS/Laura HasaniMay 30 (Reuters) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will meet on Tuesday with the ambassadors of the United States, Russia, China, Britain and the head of the European Union mission, the president's office said late on Monday, after new clashes erupted in northern Kosovo. Afterwards, he will conduct separate meetings with the ambassadors of Finland, Russia and China. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell late on Monday condemned the clashes, calling the violence against NATO peacekeepers "absolutely unacceptable" and urging immediate dialogue. "The EU urges Kosovo authorities and the protesters to immediately and unconditionally de-escalate the situation,” Borrell said on Twitter.

Tensions have risen in the past week after ethnically Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo, a majority Kosovo Serb area, following April elections that Kosovo Serbs had boycotted. NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) said the recent developments prompted them to increase their presence in northern Kosovo on Monday morning, which they later said turned violent. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her sympathy for the Italian KFOR soldiers injured in the clashes, adding in a statement, “What is happening is absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible. But Serbia still considers Kosovo to be an integral part of its territory as do the Serbs living in northern Kosovo. NATO has troops stationed in Kosovo to maintain peace, with tensions often flaring between Serbia and Kosovo.

☆ NATO urges Kosovo to de-escalate tension with Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The resulting clashes on Friday between Kosovan police and protesters opposed to the ethnic Albanian mayors prompted Serbia to put its army on full combat alert and to move units closer to the border. "We urge the institutions in Kosovo to de-escalate immediately and call on all parties to resolve the situation through dialogue," said Oana Lungescu, a spokeswoman for the transatlantic military alliance, in a Twitter post. She said KFOR, the 3,800-strong NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, would remain vigilant. It is also the right of citizens to be served by those elected officials," Kurti said on Twitter on Saturday. Ethnic Albanians form more than 90% of the population in Kosovo, with Serbs only the majority in the northern region.

☆ UK, France, Italy, Germany and U.S. condemn Kosovo violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) - Britain, France, Italy, Germany and the United States condemned Kosovo's decision to force access to municipal buildings in northern Kosovo on Friday, calling on the authorities to step back and de-escalate the situation. "We condemn Kosovo's decision to force access to municipal buildings in northern Kosovo despite our call for restraint. Police fired tear gas in the town of Zvecan to disperse a crowd from in front of a municipality building. The protesters were trying to prevent a newly-elected ethnic Albanian mayor from entering his office following an election which Kosovo Serbs had boycotted. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Remains found last week have been identified as those of a missing 4-year-old Oklahoma girl, authorities said Thursday. The state bureau said Thursday that the Oklahoma Office of Chief Medical Examiner positively identified the remains as Athena. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via FacebookOn Jan. 16, investigators said their search had shifted to a “recovery operation” to find her remains. The remains were found outside of Rush Springs, about 16 miles southeast of Cyril, in neighboring Caddo County, the state bureau said. Cyril is a town about 65 miles southwest of Oklahoma City in Caddo County.

☆ NATO declines Serbia's request to deploy its troops in Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Serbia's former province of Kosovo declared independence in 2008 following the 1998-1999 war during which NATO bombed rump-Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, to protect Albanian-majority Kosovo. Last month, for the first time since the end of the war, Serbia requested to deploy troops in Kosovo in response to clashes between Kosovo authorities and Serbs in the northern region where they constitute a majority. Kosovo authorities condemned the incident, which has inflamed tensions. Goran Rakic, the head of the Serb List, which is the main Serb party in Kosovo, accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti of trying to drive out Serbs. International organisations condemned the attacks, expected to deepen mistrust between majority ethnic Albanians and around 100,000 ethnic Serbs that live in Kosovo.

Last year, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, the Human Rights Campaign, labeled 2021 the “worst year” for LGBTQ rights in modern U.S. history, citing a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures across the country. “The LGBTQ+ community is really under siege right now,” said Ricardo Martinez, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Texas. One bill that was successfully implemented, and gained national headlines for months, was Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, or what critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The word “grooming” has long been associated with mischaracterizing LGBTQ people, particularly gay men and transgender women, as child sex abusers. Those losses came after some conservative groups ramped up misleading or inflammatory campaign ads targeting transgender rights.

☆ U.S., EU, NATO urge restraint as Serbia-Kosovo border crossings close, dispute escalates
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Locals walk near a roadblock in the northern part of the ethnically-divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, December 28, 2022. Dejan Pantic was arrested on Dec. 10 for assaulting a serving police officer, since when Serbs in northern Kosovo have exchanged fire with police and erected more than 10 roadblocks, demanding his release. Serbs in northern Kosovo, which they believe to be still part of Serbia, resist any moves they see as anti-Serb. Around 50,000 Serbs living in northern Kosovo refuse to recognise the government in Pristina or the status of Kosovo as a separate country. Albanian-majority Kosovo declared independence with the backing of the West, following a 1998-99 war in which NATO intervened to protect ethnic Albanian citizens.

☆ Serbia's Vucic urges Serbs in Kosovo to remove barricades - official
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia and Serbs in north Kosovo have refused to recognise that and their licence plates are still being issued by Serbia. Serbs in north Kosovo have erected barricades and blocked roads for about three weeks following the arrest of former police officer Dejan Pantic by Kosovo police. Vucic has called on Serbs in the north to remove barricades, Petkovic added. Vucic and Kosovo Serb representatives will meet Wednesday evening near the Kosovo border and announce if the barricades will be removed, Petkovic said. Earlier on Wednesday, the United States, NATO and European Union urged maximum restraint by both sides in the standoff.

☆ Kosovo closes main border crossing after roadblock in Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Kosovo closed its biggest border crossing on Wednesday after protesters blocked it on the Serbian side to support their ethnic kin in Kosovo in refusing to recognise the country's independence. With two other crossings on the Serbian border closed by similar protests on their Kosovar sides since Dec. 10, only three entry points between the two countries remain open. Serbs in Serbia used a truck and tractors on Tuesday to create the latest roadblock, close to the Merdare crossing on Kosovo's eastern border, Belgrade-based media reported. Around 50,000 Serbs living in ethnically divided northern Kosovo refuse to recognize the government in Pristina or the status of Kosovo as a country separate from Serbia. Since Dec. 10, Serbs in northern Kosovo have exchanged fire with police and erected more than 10 roadblocks in and around Mitrovica.

☆ Tensions rise in northern Kosovo, Serbia puts army on alert
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MITROVICA, Kosovo, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Protesting Serbs in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo erected new barricades on Tuesday, hours after Serbia said it had put its army on the highest combat alert following weeks of escalating tensions between Belgrade and Pristina. Since Dec. 10, Serbs in northern Kosovo have erected multiple roadblocks in and around Mitrovica and exchanged fire with police after the arrest of a former Serb policeman for allegedly assaulting serving police officers during a previous protest. Around 50,000 Serbs live in the northern part of Albanian-majority Kosovo and refuse to recognise the Pristina government or the state. They see Belgrade as their capital and are backed by Serbia, from which Kosovo declared independence in 2008. The local Serbs are demanding the release of the arrested officer and have other demands before they will remove the barricades.

☆ Shots fired near NATO patrol in Kosovo's volatile north, NATO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PRISTINA, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Shots were fired near a NATO patrol in the northern part of Kosovo where local Serbs have set up roadblocks to bar police from Pristina from patrolling the area marred by ethnic tensions in recent months, NATO said on Sunday. No one was injured and the car was undamaged when the shots were heard in the area of Zubin Potok, NATO's mission, KFOR, said in a statement. Local Serbs, a population of around 50,000 in Kosovo's north, set up barricades after police on Dec. 10 arrested a former Serb police officer on charges of assaulting serving police officers during a previous protest. Kosovo's government has asked KFOR, which maintains a neutral role, to remove the barricades. Reporting by Fatos Bytyci in Pristina; Additional reporting by Ivana Sekularac in Belgrade; Editing by Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kosovo asks NATO to airlift a Serb detainee as tensions rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dejan Pantic was arrested on Dec. 10 for allegedly assaulting serving police officers during a previous protest. Tensions have been running high since then as thousands of Kosovo Serbs protest demanding the country's Albanian-majority government pulls its police force out of the north, where the Serb minority is concentrated. Local Serbs, who number around 50,000 in northern Kosovo, reiterated at a protest on Thursday that they would not remove the roadblocks unless Pantic is released. The NATO force, which has more than 3,000 troops on the ground, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Svecla said his police force could remove the barricades but that he wanted local Serbs or NATO troops to remove them.

As the nation's drag performers face an unprecedented wave of protests and threats directed against their events, drag icon RuPaul Charles addressed the incidents for what appears to be the first time publicly Friday. "I pray for our country, and the world really, and I still believe in the power of love." Notably, a doughnut shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was vandalized and firebombed by a Molotov cocktail in two separate incidents after it hosted a drag event in October, according to KFOR and KJRH, NBC affiliates in Oklahoma. Aside from the protests and attacks, at least eight bills seeking to restrict drag have been introduced in state legislatures this year, according to GLAAD. RuPaul during the monologue on "Saturday Night Live" in New York, on Feb. 8, 2020.

☆ Kosovo calls for NATO intervention after weekend of violence amid rising ethnic tensions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Niamh Kennedy Cnn Reuters | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Kosovo’s Prime Minister urged NATO peacekeeping troops to intervene after minority Serb protesters blocked roads and unknown gunmen exchanged fire with police over the weekend amid rising ethnic tensions in the country’s restive north. In recent weeks, minority Serbs in northern Kosovo have responded with violent resistance to moves by Pristina that they see as anti-Serb. On Sunday, Vucic said Serbia demanded the release of all arrested Serbs from northern Kosovo, but also seeks to defuse tensions in the region. Vucic accused authorities in Pristina and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Kurti of stoking tensions by making “countless unilateral moves.”“Whenever one would think we have something solved, another problem emerges,” Vucic said. “Kosovo police has nothing to do in the north…especially people armed…up to their teeth,” Vucic said.

☆ Serbia's president says Belgrade seeks to deescalate situation in Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BELGRADE, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Serbia demands the release of all arrested Serbs from northern Kosovo, but also seeks to defuse tensions there following tensions in the restive region, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday. After a meeting of the National Security Council, Vucic said Kosovo Serbs must not engage in violence against NATO troops and members of the European Union mission there. Asked whether Belgrade would seek to de-escalate the situation in northern Kosovo, he replied: "Absolutely." Serb protesters in northern Kosovo blocked main roads on Saturday after the arrest of a former Serb policeman. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, following the 1998-99 war in which NATO intervened to protect Albanian majority Kosovo.

☆ Serbs in Kosovo block roads, clash with police as ethnic tensions worsen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In recent weeks Serbs in northern Kosovo, a hotbed of Serb nationalism, have met attempts by Pristina which they see as anti-Serb with violent resistance. Barricades must be removed immediately by groups of Kosovo Serbs. For a second day on Sunday, trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles blocked several main roads in northern Kosovo that lead to two border crossings with Serbia. After Saturday's incidents, Goran Rakic, the head of the Serbian List party, which is supported by Belgrade, called on Serbs in northern Kosovo to show restraint and cooperate with NATO peacekeepers and EULEX. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with the backing of the West, following a 1998-1999 war in which NATO intervened to protect Albanian-majority Kosovo.

☆ Kosovo police exchange fire with local Serbs blocking roads
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Kosovo Serbs block the road near the village of Rudine, North Mitrovica, Kosovo December 10, 2022. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiMITROVICA, Kosovo, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Kosovo Serbs and country’s police exchanged gunfire on Saturday after a flareup of tensions in the volatile northern part of the country. Earlier in the day Serbs from Kosovo's north blocked main roads in the region to protest against the arrest of a former member of the Kosovo police who quit his post last month along with other ethnic Serbs. With a crisis mounting in the majority Serb north, Kosovo's president Vjosa Osmani on Saturday announced that local elections in that area would be delayed until April 23. "Serbia has instructed its illegal structures to set up barricades in the north Kosovo.

☆ Serbia to ask NATO to deploy Serb military, police in Kosovo, President Vucic says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BELGRADE, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Serbia will ask NATO peacekeepers to let it deploy Serbian military and police in Kosovo, although it believes there is no chance of the request being approved, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Saturday. Vucic told a news conference in Belgrade that he would make the request in a letter to the commander of the NATO force KFOR. It would be the first time Belgrade requested to deploy troops in Kosovo, under provisions of a U.N. Security Council resolution which ended a 1998-1999 war, in which NATO interceded against Serbia to protect Albanian-majority Kosovo. At the time it was agreed, Kosovo was internationally recognised as part of Serbia. With the West's backing, Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a declaration not recognised by Serbia.

☆ Man demanded $300K before killing 4 Chinese nationals at Oklahoma pot farm, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A man accused of killing four people at an illegal Oklahoma marijuana farm last month opened fire after demanding employees give him $300,000 as a return for his “investment” in the illegal operation, prosecutors said. He is accused of killing Chinese nationals Quirong Lin, Chen He Chun, Chen He Qiang and Fang Hui Lee and injuring Yi Fei Lin, according to charging documents. Police respond to a crime scene where four people were found dead in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, on Nov. 21, 2022. The marijuana farm has since been seized by law enforcement, the filing stated. Law enforcement officials have reported a rise in black market operators using suspected human trafficking victims, including Chinese nationals, to grow and trim marijuana sold in legal dispensaries.

☆ Colorado shooting prompts top drag queens to tour with armed guards and metal detectors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Matt-Lavietes-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Matt Lavietes | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Curtis Brown“We’re trying to smile and make people happy for the holidays, and in the back of our heads we’re thinking, ‘I hope I don’t get shot,’” said Jinkx Monsoon, winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season five and “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” season seven. For months, many right-wing lawmakers, media personalities and activists have accused LGBTQ people — and drag performers in particular — of “grooming,” “indoctrinating” and “sexualizing” children. Latrice Royale, who has appeared on both “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” reasoned that the backlash is due to the greater visibility of drag brought on by the global success of the RuPaul-led competition shows, which have spinoffs in at least 16 other countries. Drag performers who have hosted events that have catered to children, such as Drag Story Hours at public libraries or family-friendly drag brunches, have particularly drawn the ire of conservative protesters. Them.”BenDeLaCreme, who appeared on the sixth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and the third season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” shared a similar sentiment.

☆ 4 people found dead at Oklahoma marijuana farm were Chinese nationals who were 'executed,' officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Four people who were found dead at a marijuana farm in Oklahoma over the weekend were “executed,” authorities said Tuesday. The victims included three men and one woman, the agency said in a statement. Law enforcement investigate a quadruple murder and one injured following a reported hostage situation northwest of Oklahoma City on Monday. KFORA fifth Chinese national was injured in the incident, which occurred Sunday in a rural area northwest of Oklahoma City, the agency said. While the status of the grow operation where the quadruple homicide occurred remains unclear, law enforcement officials have reported a rise in black market operators using suspected human trafficking victims, including Chinese nationals, to grow and trim marijuana sold in legal dispensaries.

☆ Oklahoma deputies answering hostage report find 4 dead
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Authorities were searching for a suspect after four people were found dead at an apparent marijuana grow in Oklahoma, authorities said Monday. The victims, who were not identified, were discovered after deputies from the Kingfisher County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a hostage situation, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. A fifth person was injured in the incident, NBC affiliate KFOR of Oklahoma City reported. The 10-acre property where the killings occurred was believed to be a marijuana farm, according to the station, which cited Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Capt. Medical marijuana was legalized in the state in 2018, and investigators said they found the farm’s grow license, the station reported.

☆ Four people are dead after a reported hostage situation in Oklahoma, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

HENNESSEY, Okla. — Four people have been found dead and one injured following a reported hostage situation in northwest Oklahoma, authorities said Monday. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that the Kingfisher County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance after deputies responding to the hostage report Sunday night found the four dead and one injured west of Hennessey, about 55 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. Four people have been found dead and one injured following a reported hostage situation west of Hennessey, Okla. KFORThe injured person was taken to a hospital in undisclosed condition, according to the statement, which said the deaths are being investigated as a quadruple homicide. The statement did not identify the victims nor say how they are believed to have died or what injuries the survivor had. A bureau spokesperson did not immediately respond to phone calls for comment.

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