Wednesday 24th September 2008 MEDIA HEADLINES IN ENGLISH

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

Kosovo minister for minorities resigns,
Greek border blocked, and
Resignations rock South Africa government,
Following the news, stay tuned for the address of Serbia’s President to the UN General Assembly yesterday.

KOSOVO
Kosovo’s Minister for communities and returns Boban Stankovic has resigned. Stankovic, who was one of two Serb ministers in the government, quit yesterday “because of personal reasons.” Prime Minister Hashim Thaci accepted his resignation and appointed Sasa Rasic to replace him.

The Kosovo government faces possible difficulties with the appointment of Naim Mala, as the ambassador designate in Bern, as he apparently has a police file in Switzerland and Swiss authorities say they will not grant Mala diplomatic immunity. Mala himself said he was not aware of Switzerland’s position.

President of FYR of Macedonia, Branko Crvenkovski, said his country will very soon recognize the independence of Kosovo, but the Government had decided to postpone the decision for few more days. “I was more than certain that I would communicate the act of recognition of Kosovo’s state by my country,” Crvenkovski said after meeting the Albanian-American National Council in the US.

Kosovo Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi blames Albanian political leaders in FYROM for failing to secure recognition from neighboring Skopje. “I see the reason for delay in the lack of unity amongst the Albanian political factors in Macedonia, and they must think about themselves as well as about our common future,” Krasniqi said.

Serbia’s Minister for Kosovo, Goran Bogdanovic, says Belgrade is preparing a new draft resolution for Kosovo. According to Bogdanovic, the document includes a claim that international presence in Kosovo without approval from Serbia would be absolutely unacceptable.

Ten observers from Kosovo’s Central Elections Commission will monitor the local elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina 5th October. The Sarajevo based elections commission sent an invitation in Pristina in May. Authorities in Republika Srpska slammed the decision since Bosnia has not recognized Kosovo.

The EU mission will be soon deployed in northern Kosovo and will get the support of the Serbian government and Kosovo Serbs. EULEX Deputy Chief Roy Reeve announced yesterday in Pristina. Talks with Belgrade officials and the EU on the full deployment of the mission will intensify by end of autumn.

REGIONAL

The EU should host more Iraqi refugees and rethink its stance focusing on helping displaced Iraqis return home, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said yesterday. "UNHCR hopes that the majority of Iraqi refugees will be able to return home in safety once the necessary conditions of stability and security are established," UNHCR spokesman William Spindler said.

The Greek delegation has walked out from a UNESCO conference on cultural heritage in Bucharest. The Greeks complained that the FYROM delegation was introduced at the conference as the Republic of Macedonia, and secondly, that the delegation from Skopje distributed a book during the conference referring to the "Macedonian language".

Hundreds of trucks remained stuck in long queues at customs stations across Greece this morning as an open-ended strike continued, forcing the near-closure of all border stations, ports and airports throughout the country. The strike is in protest against the government's plans for severe salary cutbacks for civil servants.

INTERNATIONAL
Eleven members of the South African cabinet say they are resigning along with President Thabo Mbeki, who is to step down tomorrow. The resignations are a blow to the African National Congress government. One of the eleven, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, has been asked to stay on by the ANC leaders.

Finland's prime minister has called for gun laws to be tightened after a school shooting that left 11 people dead. Matti Vanhanen said he believed handguns should no longer be used outside shooting ranges. Matti Juhani Saari shot fellow students at a college in western Finland before turning his gun on himself.

A truck carrying 20 tons of money from the Philadelphia Mint to the U.S. Treasury in Miami crashed, killing one passenger and spilling 3.7 million nickels onto the highway. "It's shiny," said Florida Highway Patrol trooper Kim Miller.

WEATHER
Today will be partly sunny with a high of 17 degrees and a low tonight of 9 degrees; rain will fall tomorrow with temperatures ranging from a high of 10 to a low of 9 degrees Celsius.

Serbia’s President Boris Tadic address to the UN’s General Assembly will follow the news.