Thursday 15th August 2008 MEDIA HEADLINES IN ENGLISH

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

Serb Foreign Minister in New York
MOU to be signed this month
And the SRSG returns to Kosovo on Saturday

LOCAL
Serb Foreign Minister, Vuk Jeremic, has travelled to New York to officially submit Serbia’s proposal for adoption of a resolution which requests interpretation of the International Court of Justice on the legality of Kosovo’s independence. Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hajredin Kuçi considered the move as an attempt on the part of Serbia to prevent normal and democratic functioning in the region.

Zeri reports on the front page that the UN and EU are still in search of reaching a Memorandum of Understanding which would define the technical aspects of EULEX’s deployment in Kosovo while UNMIK conducts its reconfiguration.
The MoU would foresee transfer of competencies from UNMIK to EULEX in the field of police, courts and customs. UNMIK expects the MoU to be signed this month.

UNMIK Chief Lamberto Zannier will return to Kosovo on Saturday. While the SRSG was away he was replaced by Nicholas Haysom, the special envoy of Ban Ki-moon. Today Haysom will hold a press conference in UNMIK HQ.

Express quotes Balkans analyst Tim Judah as saying that the conflict in Georgia could have a negative impact and slow down the recognition of Kosovo by countries that still have not done so.
“I think this situation will further discourage countries that haven’t recognized Kosovo’s independence and which should do so. There have been tendencies to compare Kosovo to the breakaway regions in Georgia,” Judah said, adding that Regardless of whether we like it or not, Kosovo, South Ossetia and Georgia were units of republics in communist states. Therefore there is clearly a legal and political comparison.

REGION

U.S. Secretary General Condoleezza Rice believes nothing should stop Macedonia’s bid for NATO membership. In an interview with the Voice of America’s Macedonian language service, Rice said that the U.S.’s view was that Macedonia should be accepted into NATO, regardless of the “name” dispute between Skopje and Athens.

The European Commission has not been persuaded that the funds allocated to Bulgaria's road infrastructure authorities has not been the embezzled. The EC official notified Bulgaria that funds under two projects were frozen.

Romania decided to send humanitarian aid, mainly drugs and medical equipment, to the people affected by the military conflict in Georgia.

INTERNATIONAL

Media report that Russian troops are still blocking entrance to the city of Gori in Georgia. Doubt remains about whether Russia will honour an agreement to pull back its forces. The city is on Georgia's main east-west road. The Russian troops' presence there effectively cuts the country in two. A cease-fire agreement calls for Russian forces to pull back to the positions they held before fighting that broke out a week ago in the separatist region of South Ossetia. The conflict has since seen Russian forces enter Georgia proper.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep concern at the humanitarian impact of recent fighting on the civilian population in Georgia, which has suffered loss of life and injury, significant damage to property and infrastructure, as well as sizeable displacement.

The U.S. dollar rose against the euro yesterday to its highest level in six months, after data showed Europe's economy contracted, and as higher-than-expected inflation numbers in the U.S. raised speculation that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates. This morning, 1 euro equals 1.47 US dollar

WEATHER

This week end will be sunny in Kosovo. Temperatures will reach a maximum high of 34 degrees Celsius today.

And that’s all for today, have a good week end thank you for listening.