Kosovo Democratic Institute

Two women's rights organisations on Wednesday called for action by the Prosecution and Police after a court ruling said relevant institutions failed to protect a woman, Sebahate Morina, who was killed by her husband in March 2021 in Pristina.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic condemned the Kosovo government's latest decision about licence plates for Serbs living in northern Kosovo, claiming its goal is "to expel Serbs, especially from the north of Kosovo and Metohija". He said Kosovo's goal was "to make a new Storm", referencing the Croatian army operation in 1995, codenamed Storm, that forced most Serbs to flee Croatia.

Secondly, the Kosovo authorities will have access to the Valac/Vallaq substation, an important part of the country's power grid that is located in a Serb-majority municipality, and other energy infrastructure that Pristina was not able to access previously.

Serbs to pay bills to Serbian company

"The EU assisted both delegations in identifying solutions, but it is the responsibility of both parties to agree on a solution. We expect them to make progress by 21 April," Stano told BIRN in written answers.

According to a 2020 report by the Kosovo Democratic Institute, KDI, 90 per cent of wastewater in Kosovo is directly or indirectly discharged into rivers without proper filtration. In the three years up to June 2020, 32 million euros were earmarked for sewage filtration, but only 2.2 million euros was actually spent.

Dozens of Kosovo citizens on Thursday evening paid tribute in the capital Pristina to Sebahate Morina, a woman killed several days ago by her ex-husband in the capital's Kalabria neighbourhood.

Protesters held placards with the name of the victim and the inscription: "Not one more".

"It is in Kosovo's interest to benefit from this historic opportunity and push forward Kosovo's requests by lobbying the US administration," said Violeta Haxholli, a researcher at the Kosovo Democratic Institute, KDI, a Pristina-based think tank.

Dialogue 'will be imposed as important'

Following the surprise resignation earlier this month of Kosovo's premier Ramush Haradinaj, after he was invited for questioning as a suspect by war crimes prosecutors in The Hague, pressure has increased on President Hashim Thaci to call early elections.

Members of civil society groups in Kosovo accused the security guards of the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, of pushing them away from the party building on Monday as they were protesting in a "March for Refusal", as they called it, over the new bill on financing political parties.

The resignation offered by one Kosovo minister and possible dismissal of two more, all considered close to President Hashim Thaci, has fuelled speculation about serious rifts in the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, and its relations with Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj.