Prishtina Insight

24/09/2024

A year after Serb gunmen shot dead a Kosovo Police officer in Banjska, the government renamed a road to the village after him, while the US and EU repeated their calls for justice to be served.

19/09/2024

Experts warn that exploitation of children by hooligan and far-right extremism groups as well as lack of awareness of increasing far-right extremism require institutional education and intervention.

18/09/2024

In Kosovo, agritourism is on the rise, with people abandoning urban stress to invest in village revitalisation and establish a sustainable lifestyle away from the city.

18/09/2024

New report lists three Balkan states among the ten countries worldwide where fewest people separate their household waste, causing problems for the environment and risks to health – with a lack of awareness largely to blame.

11/09/2024

Kosovo’s Special Prosecution announced on Wednesday that it has filed an indictment charging 45 over the attack in September 2023 by a Serb armed group in Banjska, near Zvecan, in which one Kosovo police sergeant was killed.

“We filed an indictment today against 45 suspects… There is a well-grounded suspicion that they have committed crimes related to terrorism, specifically crimes against Kosovo’s constitution order and security, financing of terrorism and money laundering,” Blerim Isufaj, head of the Special Prosecution, told ina press conference.
Naim Abazi, prosecutor of the case, called the armed gunmen a “well-structured group” and said that investigations in this case were “one of the most complex that prosecution has ever worked on”.

“Among the main suspects is the individual with the key position as group leader, Milan Radoicic, who has played an important role in coordinating criminal activity,” Abazi said, explaining that 120 electronic devices and hundreds of documents have been confiscated for the investigation.

During the attack, gunmen led by Radoicic killed Kosovo police officer Afrim Bunjaku and wounded two others in clashes near a Serbian Orthodox monastery in the municipality of Zvecan. Radoicic subsequently took full responsibility for the attack.

09/09/2024

As Kosovo drifts into another diplomatic row with its Western allies over an import ban on some Serbian goods, President Vjosa Osmani has told BIRN that a compromise solution is still possible “because common ground can be found”.

09/09/2024

In an interview with BIRN, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani urged ‘coordination’ with the West in steps concerning Serbia and Kosovo Serbs, saying some EU states need to be convinced – not attacked – to lift punitive measures in place since June last year.

08/09/2024

September also brought the second edition of the Pristina Q***r Festival, which from Friday to Sunday is challenging steteotypes by bringing together local, diaspora, and regional artists to celebrate q***r art and culture.

08/09/2024

Under the motto “Për kokërr të qejfit” (Just for fun), the 10th edition of Hardh Fest, the most popular grape harvesting festival in Kosovo, opened its doors on Friday to Sunday, featuring a musical program and numerous activities.

The artists headlining the three nights of the festival include: former Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist Bumblefoot, Gipsy Kings by Diego Baliardo, George Gakis, and many local artists.

The festival goers will be treated to a vibrant mix of live music, traditional activities, and international performances in Kosovo’s southern town of Rahovec.

Photo: Courtesy of Hardh Fest

06/09/2024

Under the motto “Për kokërr të qejfit” (Just for fun), the 10th edition of Hardh Fest, the most popular grape harvesting festival in Kosovo, opens its doors on Friday, featuring a musical program and numerous activities.

The artists headlining the three nights of the festival include: former Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist Bumblefoot, Gipsy Kings by Diego Baliardo, George Gakis, and many local artists.

The festival goers will be treated to a vibrant mix of live music, traditional activities, and international performances in Kosovo’s southern town of Rahovec.

Read more:

Kosovo’s Hardh Fest returns for its 10th anniversary, offering three days of music, culture, and festivities where visitors can enjoy traditional grape-stomping, family-friendly activities, and the annual Wine Fair to celebrate the start of the grape harvest.

05/09/2024

Kosovo authorities have urged citizens and diaspora to avoid going through Serbia amidst reports of plans to block roads that lead to border crossings with Kosovo.

The Kosovo Police claim they have everything under control and said that they do not expect an escalation of the situation following the anticipated closure of border crossings on Friday.

05/09/2024

Kosovo authorities have urged citizens and diaspora to avoid going through Serbia amidst reports of plans to block roads that lead to border crossings with Kosovo.

The Kosovo Police claim they have everything under control and said that they do not expect an escalation of the situation following the anticipated closure of border crossings on Friday.

Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora advised Kosovo citizens and the diaspora to avoid border crossings with Serbia amid reports of plans to block roads in Serbia surrounding the crossings.

30/08/2024

Kosovo Special Prosecution charged two former trade ministers with abuse of office for creating an oil marking monopoly in the country, after Kallxo.com’s investigations revealed the acts three years ago.

30/08/2024

Families of the thousands of missing people from the wars in the former Yugoslavia marked the International Day of the Disappeared by laying flowers and displaying the names of people whose bodies have yet to be found.

30/08/2024

The Kosovo Parliament’s approval of a controversial law regulating the Independent Media Commission has sparked widespread criticism, raising concerns among local and international organisations and media freedom advocates about potential threats to press freedom.

https://prishtinainsight.com/kosovos-new-media-law-sparks-concerns-over-press-freedom-and-regulation-mag/

29/08/2024

Kosovo’s flag flew for the first time at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, with athlete Grevist Bytyqi set to become the first to represent the country at the international games.

28/08/2024

Months before the next parliamentary election, PM Kurti's government has almost doubled the minimum wage to 2 euros an hour, or 350 euros a month for a full-time job.

23/08/2024

As part of the tour in three Western Balkans countries, CIA Chief William Burns visited Kosovo to meet President Osmani and Prime Minister Kurti.

23/08/2024

Through its vibrant culture, Prishtina is attracting an increasing number of tourists, challenging the once-dominant stereotype of Kosovo as a troubled place to visit.

https://prishtinainsight.com/kosovos-capital-expands-tourism-potential-mag/

21/08/2024

Kosovo has received a multi-million grant from the United States. But the U.S. ambassador remarked that relations with Albin Kurti’s government remain “less positive than we had hoped”, following a row over plans to open the controversial Mitrovica bridge.

20/08/2024

In an interview with Prishtina Insight, Marko Milosavljevic from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) in Serbia delves into how political actors make Kosovo’s and Serbia’s civil society cooperation attempts harder.

16/08/2024

Amid tensions over the possible reopening of the main bridge in Mitrovica, an EU official told BIRN that the issue will be returned to the dialogue table in Brussels and warned Kosovo not to open the bridge without prior coordination.

https://prishtinainsight.com/eu-warns-kosovo-as-mitrovica-bridge-standoff-goes-on/

08/08/2024

David Loyn, a BBC correspondent during the Kosovo war recounts moments of his work in a country that was descending to armed conflict.

07/08/2024

Protesters gathered in North Mitrovica to condemn the Kosovo government’s push to fully open the main bridge in the divided town, which has been closed to vehicles since the end of the war in June 1999.

07/08/2024

After returning from the Paris Olympics, Kosovo’s team, including two judoka medallists, were given a hearty reception in Prishtina's main city square on Tuesday evening.

https://prishtinainsight.com/kosovo-welcomes-home-olympic-team-medallists/

06/08/2024

The final project for the “Adem Jashari Complex” aims to cover a 450-hectare area in Prekaz, with plans to place the Jashari family towers under transparent glass.

06/08/2024

Serbia, the US and the EU all condemned the closure by police of Serbian-run post offices in the north of Kosovo, with Serbia's president appealing to Brussels to take action.

https://prishtinainsight.com/serbia-accuses-kosovo-of-provoking-conflict-by-closing-post-offices/

05/08/2024

Hundreds of Kosovo Serb villagers protested after a Kosovo court announced that five Serbs had been arrested and given 30 days' detention for suspected war crimes in 1999.

https://prishtinainsight.com/kosovo-serbs-protest-as-court-detains-five-war-crime-suspects/

05/08/2024

Nine offices run by the Serbian national postal service Posta Srbije were closed down in a Kosovo Police operation, which follows the Kosovo Central Bank’s decision to end the use of Serbia’s currency, the dinar.
https://prishtinainsight.com/police-raid-serbia-run-post-offices-in-north-kosovo/

02/08/2024

DokuFest started on Friday at the Lumbardhi cinema in Prizren, under the theme 'New Order', exploring the current changes of the global geopolitical landscape.