Friday 25th July 2008 MEDIA HEADLINES IN ENGLISH

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

EU injects €3.3m for Kosovo returns,
Turkey bombs rebels in northern Iraq, and
Arctic is very rich in oil, estimates say

KOSOVO
The European Commission has today announced a €3.3 million project to encourage those who have left Kosovo to return, and assist with their reintegration. The project will be implemented with Kosovo’s Ministry for Communities and Return.

Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel says that Kosovo was the biggest challenge of the Slovenian EU presidency. He added that “Kosovo has thus far been recognized by 20 EU member-states,” and that “in spite of its determined stand over Kosovo, Serbia displayed a great deal of responsibility.”

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic for the first time has showed “acceptance” signs when talking about the deployment of the EULEX mission in Kosovo and told a German newspaper that the Serbian Government is ready to discuss EULEX deployment, but for this a UN Security Council mandate is also needed.

The AAK opposition party criticized the ‘indifference’ of the Government towards talks between UNMIK and Belgrade, saying that the Government has no other line to the issue except to say that Lamberto Zannier is in a supporting, and not negotiating, role. According to AAK, the content of Zannier’s talks remains unknown for Kosovo’s public.”

Serbia's new government decided yesterday to reinstate its ambassadors withdrawn from EU countries that recognized Kosovo's independence. This is a move that will help Serbia's attempts to join the 27-country bloc, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said.

The KFOR engineering unit was prevented by local Serbs to resume works on the water supply project in Suhodoll of northern Mitrovica. Protestors, including women and children, did not allow KFOR to start work. Local Serbs also stoned a group of journalists at the site.

A 10-minute road block yesterday between Mitrovica and Pristina by the protesters in Shupkovc village, who refused to follow Police orders, ended with 16 protestors arrested. The protesters have repeatedly asked for the removal of trucks with dangerous chemical substances from the town.

A Kosovo journalist, Baton Haxhiu, was found guilty for contempt of court at the Hague Tribunal and was fined €7,000. Haxhiu was convicted of contempt of court during the trial of the former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj.

Kosovo Customs Service is ready to go back at the customs points that were attacked in February, as heard in a debate at the Media Centre in Caglavica yesterday. Kosovo Police has promised to offer security at the gates 1 and 31, but allegedly it’s UNMIK not allowing the re-establishment of the Customs in the north.

The Kosovo Police Service says they have seen one of the most notorious Albanian gangsters in northern Kosovo. “We have good reason to believe that (Enver Sekiraqa) is hiding in northern Mitrovica or somewhere in Serbia,” a police spokesperson said. Sekiraqa is wanted for criminal activities and murder.

REGION
Turkish warplanes have bombed Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq overnight in the Zap region, near the Turkish border. Additionally, a military court yesterday sentenced the former leader of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party to one year in jail for evading military service by deception.

The Greek government has been accused of neglecting 140 war refugees who have been evicted from their reception centre on the Aegean island of Patmos. The refugees, including women and babies, are from the Palestinian territories, Afghanistan and Somalia. Patmos is targeted by people-traffickers paid thousands of dollars to smuggle refugees to Europe.

INTERNATIONAL
Bomb blasts rocked a cafe and a Hamas politician's home in the Gaza Strip this morning, killing at least one Palestinian in one of the biggest flare-ups in internal violence since Islamists seized the enclave a year ago. Hamas blamed unidentified "gunmen" for the bombings, suggesting the involvement of a Palestinian faction.

The Arctic is estimated to hold 90bn barrels of untapped oil, according to figures from the US Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS says the area has three times as much untapped natural gas as oil. Drilling plans in the Arctic have been controversial, with environment groups worried about the effect on wildlife.

WEATHER
Light rain will fall throughout the weekend, with temperatures ranging between lows of 14 and highs of 24 degrees Celsius.

And that’s all for today, thank you for listening. Have a nice weekend!