CDE News - The Dispatch

Kosovo starts issuing extra documents to Serbian citizens as protesters block roads

ZUPCE, Kosovo (Reuters) - Kosovo's government on Monday began issuing extra documents to Serbian citizens crossing into its territory, as Serbs living in the north of the country who oppose…

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Kosovo hopes to join Council of Europe after Russia’s exit

PRISTINA, May 12 (Reuters) - Kosovo government said on Thursday it will apply for membership at the European rights watchdog the Council of Europe, seizing an opportunity after Russia quit…

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Kosovo bans Serbian vote on constitutional changes on its soil

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo's parliament on Saturday passed a resolution banning ethnic Serbs from voting on Kosovan soil in Serbia's national referendum on constitutional amendments. Serbia will hold a referendum…

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Kosovo reports first cases of COVID-19 Omicron

Kosovo's health ministry said it had registered its first nine cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the Balkan country. The ministry said that out of 22 people who tested…

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Denmark to rent jail cells in Kosovo to ease prison overcrowding

Kosovo has agreed to rent 300 prison cells to Denmark to ease overcrowding in the Scandinavian country's jails. Denmark will pay an annual fee of €15m (£12.8m) for an initial…

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Serbs unblock roads in Kosovo as NATO moves to end car plate row

JARINJE, Kosovo - Serbs removed trucks and cars used to block the border with Kosovo on Saturday as NATO troops moved in under a European Union mediated deal to end…

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Kosovo, Serbia agree deal to end border tensions

Kosovo agreed to withdraw police units from its northern border with Serbia to end a mounting dispute over vehicle licence plates that briefly escalated into violence and prompted NATO to…

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Kosovo PM urges mutual car plate recognition with Serbia to ease tension

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Wednesday his country and neighbouring Serbia should start recognising each other's car licence plates to allow free movement of people…

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Kosovo to destroy 133,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines

The Kosovo government decided to destroy 133,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines over their expired date of use as the country faces a sharp rise in the coronavirus death rate. The vaccines…

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NATO attempts to appease Serbian concerns over Croatian troops in Kosovo

NATO sought on Monday to assuage Serbian concerns over the deployment of Croatian troops to Kosovo, stressing they were bound by exactly the same rules as all other troops of…

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Vjosa Osmani elected as new president of Kosovo

Kosovo’s parliament has appointed a 38-year-old U.S.-educated female law professor and candidate of the ruling Vetevendosje party as the country’s new president, following an election in February. Vjosa Osmani took…

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Kosovo parliament backs Albin Kurti as new prime minister

Kosovo's parliament voted in Albin Kurti as the country's new prime minister on Monday (March 22), more than a month after the small Balkan country held a snap election. Kurti,…

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Kosovo opens embassy in Jerusalem

Kosovo opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem on Sunday, joining the United States and Guatemala as the only countries with embassies in a city whose status is at the…

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Early results point to Kosovo opposition party win in parliamentary vote

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo's anti-establishment party Vetevendosje is set to win Sunday's parliamentary poll, preliminary results showed, further complicating Western efforts to resolve the country's decades-long territorial dispute with Serbia.…

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Kosovo goes to polls in vote that could complicate dialogue with Serbia

Kosovo goes to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election that an anti-establishment party is expected to win by a landslide, further complicating Western efforts to resolve a decades-long…

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Kosovo president sets Feb. 14 as date for snap vote

Kosovo’s acting president, Vjosa Osmani, set Feb. 14 as the date for an early parliamentary election, following a decision by the country’s top court to annul the June parliamentary vote…

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Kosovo pins U.N. membership hopes on Biden presidency

Like many Kosovars, cattle seller Xhelal Terstena hopes incoming U.S. President Joe Biden will help the small Balkan country’s push for United Nations membership. Biden is respected in Kosovo for…

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Kosovo president resigns to face war crimes charges

Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci, a guerrilla leader during Kosovo's war for independence from Serbia in the 1990s, resigned on Thursday in order to face charges for war crimes and crimes…

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Serbs commemorate 1,000 days since killing of Oliver Ivanovic

Hundreds of Serbs in Belgrade lit candles on Monday to mark 1,000 days since the killing of a moderate Kosovo Serb politician in January 2018 and to demand greater efforts…

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Serbia and Kosovo sign deal to normalise economic relations

Former foes Kosovo and Serbia agreed Friday to normalise economic relations in a US-brokered deal that the administration of President Donald Trump touted as a major diplomatic success — but…

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Kosovo PM contracts coronavirus

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said on Sunday he has contracted COVID-19 and will self-isolate at home for two weeks. “I don’t have symptoms expect a very mild cough,” Hoti…

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Serbia accuses Kosovo of ‘blackmail’

Face-to-face talks between Serbia and Kosovo got off to a bumpy start in Brussels on Thursday as Belgrade accused Pristina of being unrealistic in its demands. More than two decades after clashing…

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Serbia, Kosovo resume ‘very difficult’ talks on normalising ties

The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo at the beginning of the weekend held their first talks in 18 months on resolving one of Europe's most intractable territorial disputes, agreeing to…

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Kosovo President Hashim Thaci indicted for war crimes

Kosovo’s president and nine other former separatist fighters were indicted on a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes charges, including murder, by a court investigating crimes against ethnic…

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Hashim Thaci will quit Kosovo politics at end of Presidential term

After more than 20 years spent in Kosovo’s political arena, President Hashim Thaci on Thursday announced that he will no longer be involved in politics once his mandate ends in…

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Kosovo’s government facing crisis as Interior minister is fired on CoVid19 response

Kosovo’s government faces a major crisis only a few weeks after taking power as one of the coalition partners is threatening to walk out of government. On Wednesday morning, Prime…

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Kosovo confirms its first cases of coronavirus

Medical staff wear face masks to protect against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the state hospital University Clinical Center in Pristina, Kosovo, 14 March 2020. The government of the Republic…

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Kosovo to lift tariffs on Serbian products

Kosovo will abolish 100% taxes imposed on import of raw material from Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina on March 15, Kosovo’s prime minister said on Thursday. Albin Kurti, who took office…

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Albania and Kosovo considering shared embassies

The Albanian Minister-in-office for Europe and Foreign Affairs Gent Çakaj and the Foreign Minister of Kosovo Glauk Konjufca met to discuss the establishment of common economic space for free movement…

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Kosovo and Serbia sign deal on rail and road links in huge diplomatic step

Kosovo and Serbia have agreed to create rail and motorway links between the two countries in a huge diplomatic step for the region. Representatives of both Balkan states signed a…

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EU to help tackle air pollution in Kosovo with €76.4 million

As part of his first visit to Kosovo, the European Union’s High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell will launch today a major EU-financed project to improve the environmental performance of the “Kosovo…

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Photo Story: Pollution in Pristina

A face mask is placed on the St. Teresa statue during a smog and heavy air pollution in the morning in Pristina, Kosovo, 19 December 2019. Air pollution in…

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Photo Story: Holiday decorations in Pristina, Kosovo

Workers install decorations on a Christmas tree at the main square in Pristina, Kosovo. Kosovars are preparing to celebrate New Year's Eve on 31 December and Christmas on 25 December…

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The ruling alliance in Kosovo has lost the election

Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) snatched 26% of the vote at the Sunday's parliamentary election, in Kosovo, barely edging out another opposition party, the LDK, which claimed around 25% according to an early…

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Kosovo holds early election

Kosovo is holding an early general election Sunday amid calls for leaders to resume dialogue with Serbia over normalizing ties. The vote comes after the outgoing prime minister resigned following…

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Kosovo heads to early election

Kosovo is heading to an early election after MPs voted to dissolve parliament on Thursday, after Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj resigned last month. Eight-nine deputies voted to dissolve the 120-seat…

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Joint foreign policy for Kosovo and Albania

Kosovo and Albania signed a landmark agreement to coordinate their foreign policies and which will include joint embassies. The agreement was signed after Kosovo Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli visited his…

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Balkan’s conflict tensions echo in World Cup

The Guardian: Swiss footballers Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri have risked inflaming political tensions in the Balkans after they used an Albanian nationalist symbol to celebrate their goals against Serbia in…

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