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☆ 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.

☆ 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 president delays local elections in volatile north
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Kosovo's president on Saturday announced that local elections in majority Serb areas in the north would be delayed until April, a move aimed at defusing ethnic tensions that have intensified in recent months. Elections had been scheduled for Dec. 18 but Serbs said they would boycott the polls. Police in Pristina said Pantic was arrested for allegedly attacking election commission offices, police officers and election officials on Tuesday. Earlier, Kosovo police arrested another Serb, on suspicion of taking part in an armed attack on a police patrol. Reporting by Fatos Bytyci in Pristina, Ognen Teofilovski in North Mitrovica and Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade; editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

When Mark arrived at the Sofra e Ariut (Bear's Table) restaurant he was just a cub, said Scherk Trettin, estimating him to have been born in 1998. "Today I am not feeling good because they are taking the bear away. We have been used to living with (him)," said Misir Maxhuku, whose duties have included caring for Mark for the past four years. Four Paws says inadequate legislation means bears and other wild animals remain at risk of being abused as pets or tourist attractions in Albania, where has rescued 11 other bears. Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Albanian opposition leader punched in face as he marches to protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Albania's opposition Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha reacts after being punched in the face by a protestor, as the EU-Western Balkans summit takes place in Tirana, Albania, December 6, 2022. We will save Albania," Berisha told the crowd, pledging to halt the crime and poverty which are driving people to leave the country. The attacker was beaten by Berisha supporters and arrested by the police. The attack was condemned by Prime Minister Edi Rama. Berisha, a former president and prime minister, is banned from entering the United States over alleged corruption.

☆ Kosovo, Serbia reach deal to end dangerous dispute over car plates -EU
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PRISTINA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Kosovo and Serbia reached a deal on Wednesday to end a nearly two-year dispute over car licence plates in northern Kosovo, which the West had warned could trigger ethnic violence, the European Union's foreign policy chief said. "We have a deal," Josep Borrell posted on Twitter after the agreement was reached in Brussels under EU mediation. Kosovo had planned to start issuing fines from Thursday to some 10,000 Serb drivers who continue to use Serbian-issued car licence plates. "Serbia will stop issuing licence plates with Kosovo cities’ denominations and Kosovo will cease further actions related to re-registration of vehicles," Borrell wrote. Kosovo has attempted this year to require its Serb minority to change their old car plates that date before 1999 when Kosovo was still part of Serbia.

☆ Kosovo delays fining Serb drivers for 2 days after U.S. request
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Around 50,000 ethnic Serbs who live in Kosovo refuse to recognise Pristina's authority, and still consider themselves a part of Serbia. Belgrade has said it will never recognise Kosovo's independence. Hundreds of police officers, judges, prosecutors and other state workers from the Serb minority quit their jobs this month after Pristina ruled that local Serbs must finally replace car plates issued by Kosovo Serb municipal authorities, loyal to Belgrade, with Kosovo state ones. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who chaired the talks, blamed mainly Kosovo for rejecting an EU proposal on how to resolve the dispute. NATO, which has around 3,700 peacekeepers in Kosovo, said it was ready to intervene should the security situation be threatened.

☆ Father and son missing as floods hit northern Albania
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TIRANA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A father and son were missing in Albania on Sunday after their car was swept into a river during floods in the north of the country as heavy rains led emergency services to evacuate those at risk. A girl who was also in the car when it was caught in the flow of a swollen stream managed to escape, police said. Some schools were closed in the affected areas and Albanian emergency services had begun to evacuate people close to the town of Shkoder as a result of the flood danger. Albania, which relies all its electricity domestic production from hydro, has seen its worst drought in years during 2022, forcing the government to import more power. Reporting by Florion Goga; writing by Fatos BytyciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Anti-government protesters scuffle with police in Albania
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Supporters of the opposition party attend an anti-government protest in front of Prime Minister Edi Rama's office in Tirana, Albania, November 12, 2022. After demonstrating peacefully for around three hours, protesters broke through the police cordon around the government building and threw red and black paint. The protest is seen in Albania as an attempt by Berisha to flex his muscles before local elections in May 2023. Berisha, who has previously served both as president and prime minister, was barred in 2021 from entering the United States over alleged corruption. Reporting by Florion Goga, writing by Fatos Bytyci; editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Serb policemen quit jobs in anti-Kosovo protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NORTH MITROVICA, Kosovo, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Kosovo Serb policemen who work in the Jarinje and Brnjak border posts in the north of the country resigned on Sunday in protest over Pristina's order to use Kosovo vehicle licence plates instead of those issued by Serbia. In North Mitrovica, several thousand Serbs gathered at noon to protest against obligatory Kosovo licence plates. Kosovo police said in a statement it was aware Serb police officers had abandoned their posts and some have handed over police equipment. Prime Minister Albin Kurti blamed Belgrade for seeking to destabilise Kosovo by supporting the Serbs in their boycott of state institutions. "The withdrawal of Kosovo Serbs from Kosovo institutions is not a solution to the current disputes.

☆ North Kosovo Serbs quit state jobs in licence plate protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MITROVICA, Kosovo, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Minority Serbs in the north of Kosovo said on Saturday they were quitting their posts in state institutions including the government, police and courts to protest Pristina's order for them to start using Kosovo vehicle licence plates. The long-running licence plate row has stoked tensions between Serbia and its former province of Kosovo, which gained independence in 2008 and is home to a small ethnic Serb minority in the north that is backed by Belgrade. Blerim Vela, chief-of-staff to Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, accused Belgrade of seeking to destabilise Kosovo by backing Serbs in the north. "Serbia is coercing and inciting Kosovo Serbs to abandon their jobs in Kosovo institutions," Vela tweeted. Another roughly 40,000 ethnic Serbs, who live in parts of Kosovo that are majority ethnic Albanian, use licence plates issued by Pristina.

☆ Kosovo backs off from Serb car plate rule after West warnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kosovo has attempted a few times this year to require its Serb minority to change their old car plates that date before 1999 when Kosovo was still part of Serbia. "These car plates are illegal...we want to give a chance to all of those who are interested to be integrated," Kurti said. He said the decision was taken to respect the rule of law but also address Western countries' concerns. Mediated by the European Union and supported by the United States, Serbia and Kosovo have been holding talks for years to normalise relations but little has been achieved. Kosovo is recognized by around 110 countries, mainly western nations, but not by Serbia, China, Russia and others.

☆ Albania investigates military factory intruders from Russia and Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TIRANA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Albania said on Sunday it was investigating why two Russians and a Ukrainian had tried to enter a military factory and police detained four Czech nationals also close to another military plant. Tirana-based media said the three suspects were bloggers who often visited abandoned military bases and other big plants in different countries. In a similar incident police said on Sunday four Czech nationals had been detained at the Polican military plant. The Polican plant was used during communism to produce ammunition for Russian made rifle AK 47, hand grenades, anti-personnel and anti-tank mines. Albania, a member of NATO since 2009, has joined the United States and other western countries to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has introduced sanctions against Moscow.

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