Tuesday 9th September 2008 MEDIA HEADLINES IN ENGLISH

You’re listening to NEWS REPORT, a summary of today’s media, prepared by UNMIK ON AIR

Sejdiu refuses a pay rise,
Serbian radicals split, and
US troops to begin leaving Iraq

KOSOVO
Kosovo’s President Fatmir Sejdiu has decided to give up his salary raise, after reports found he was one of the best-paid presidents in the region. The Presidents’ office said Sejdiu’s monthly pay check will be reduced back to €2,600 from €3,100. He also asked for all salaries of public servants to be harmonised.

Kosovo is not a multiethnic society, according to the latest report of the OSCE, published yesterday. Head of the mission in Kosovo, Tim Guldimann also criticized the Kosovo judiciary as the weakest sector. However, despite political changes in February this year, the political and security situation in Kosovo has remained stabile.

The former US Ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke stated in Pristina yesterday that he is surprised that Islamic Conference countries have not recognized Kosovo’s independence. Holbrooke called upon the EU not to accept any agreement with Serbia as long as Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Kosovo’s President and Prime Minister denied the possibility that Kosovo’s recognition by FYR of Macedonia has been conditioned by the latter country. The Kosovo leaders believe that the neighboring country, as many other democratic countries, will recognize the independence of Kosovo soon.
Montenegro’s prime minister Milo Djukanovic says “part of international community is expecting from Montenegro to recognize Kosovo’s independence.” Djukanovic says this is not a surprise, and if we want to be part of European integration processes, than we have to follow the same foreign policy lines.
The head of Slovenian diplomacy Dmitrij Rupel says the EULEX mission is a reality and it cannot be annulled. “Sometimes I wonder that EULEX is being denied in Serbia…if we want to have an international presence in Kosovo, we should decide on a form of this presence, but there is no better solution than EULEX,” Rupel said.

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and UNMIK Chief Lamberto Zannier at a meeting yesterday discussed UNMIK’s reconfiguration process and the role of Kosovo institutions in the process. It was agreed that despite challenges UNMIK was a successful story and the path for EULEX deployment must be opened.

At the war crimes tribunal in the Hague, Kosovo's ex-culture minister, Astrit Haraqija, and one of his aides faced charges yesterday of intimidating a witness during the trial of former prime minister. Haraqija and Bajrush Morina have pleaded not guilty, while the trial will last through Friday.

The host country of the International Court of Justice, the Netherlands, says it will oppose Serbia’s initiative to question the legality of Kosovo’s independence. “We believe in the future of Kosovo, because its future is important for the peace in the region and for the EU,” said Dutch Ambassador to Kosovo Henk Voskamp.

REGIONAL
Tomislav Nikolic, the former deputy leader of the hardline Serbian Radical Party, has formed own rival grouping in parliament. The group, calling itself “Go Serbia”, numbers 11 out of the 77 Radical Party deputies in parliament but Nikolic said he expected more to join him.

The Serbian government yesterday removed its draft resolution on continuity of the Kosovo policy from parliamentary procedure. The government decided to withdraw the draft due to a lack of political unity on that document. The session was not held due to absence of quorum.

Ikea, the Swedish furniture retailer, closed its only furniture factory in Romania and fired almost 500 employees because of the rising cost of wood in the country. The price for wood paid by the factory, which has been in Romania since 1999, has risen 20 percent since the beginning of the year.

INTERNATIONAL
US President George W Bush is set to announce plans to withdraw about 8,000 troops from Iraq by February and to send additional forces to Afghanistan. Bush will say that the improving security situation in Iraq will allow a "quiet surge" of troops in Afghanistan in coming months.

Russia agreed yesterday to completely withdraw its troops from Georgia's heartland within a month, but there was no commitment to scale back its military presence in two Georgian separatist regions. Georgia welcomed the deal as a "step forward", brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on behalf of the EU.

The UN's World Food Programme says it will halt food aid distribution in parts of Darfur unless the security situation improves. A WFP spokesman said the job had become too dangerous as 43 drivers and 69 trucks were missing after being attacked by armed groups in the region this year.

WEATHER
Today will be sunny with a high of 24 degrees with a low tonight of 11 degrees; the sun will shine again tomorrow reaching 24 degrees Celsius

And that’s all for today, thank you for listening.