Wednesday 30th July 2008 MEDIA
HEADLINES IN ENGLISH
You’re listening to NEWS REPORT, a summary of
today’s media, prepared by UNMIK ON AIR
UNMIK reconfiguration delay;
Bosnian war crimes conviction; and
Trade talks collapse.
KOSOVO
UNMIK Chief Lamberto Zannier said yesterday that the process of reconfiguration
of the international civilian presence in Kosovo will be delayed. “We
are looking at the end of November, or beginning of December, as a deadline
for completion of the operational aspect and full transfer (of competencies),”
said Zannier.
This morning, the UNMIK chief will meet Serbia’s
Minister for Kosovo, Goran Bogdanovic. Up for discussion are police
and judiciary which Bogdanovic called the biggest problems of the Serbian
community in Kosovo. This is a continuation of discussions that took
place in Belgrade last week, a UNMIK Spokesperson said.
Additionally, Serbia’s Minister for Kosovo said
that Belgrade will approve a strategy which foresees sustainable return
of Serbs to Kosovo. “Return so far has been minimal and not organized,”
Bogdanovic said, adding that the strategy will be based on the financial
empowerment aiming to make returns sustainable.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister announced that he will
appoint the Minister of Defence this week, and that appointment of the
Intelligence Agency leaders will not be delayed. Responding to the parliamentary
questions, Hashim Thaçi also said that the future Kosovo Security
Force will be professional, multiethnic, and at the service of peace
and security of all Kosovo citizens.
However, a power cut during PM Thaçi’s
speech was a signal for the difficult energy situation in Kosovo even
during these hot summer days, media report. The government announced
that €42 million will be allocated for energy, including power
imports. In response, the opposition reminded the PM of his electoral
promises for 24-hour electric power.
KFOR, UNMIK, and the Municipal Assembly of Mitrovica
have decided yesterday to not construct the water supply pipelines in
Suhodoll, media report. Mitrovica Mayor Bajram Rexhepi said that KFOR
proposed another alternative in order to avoid problems with Kosovo
Serb villagers.
The Mayor of Strpce has requested UNMIK to put a stop
to the construction of houses and holiday houses on Brezovica, claiming
that this place was becoming overpopulated by Albanians. Zvonko Mihajlovic
said municipal authorities will tear down these buildings if UNMIK does
not prevent the illegal construction.
Zait Xhemaili from Kosovo’s Supreme Court is
expected to become the CEO of the Central Election Commission (CEC)
Secretariat as the OSCE is preparing to transfer all electoral competencies,
local media report. President Fatmir Sejdiu will also soon appoint the
10 members of CEC.
REGION
Sixteen people were injured yesterday in Belgrade as Serbian riot police
fired tear gas and rubber bullets at a huge rally protesting the arrest
of top Radovan Karadzic. Up to 16,000 people attended the rally organised
by the nationalist Radical Party. Meanwhile, Karadzic arrived in The
Hague this morning.
Bosnia's war crimes court Tuesday sentenced seven
Serbs to heavy jail terms after finding them guilty of genocide during
the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995. Of the seven, six were convicted
of direct participation in the murder of more than 1,000 Muslims in
a single day in Kravice, near the ill-fated eastern Bosnian town.
Turkish warplanes have attacked a hideout of the rebel
Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, the Turkish army says.
Turkish jets destroyed a PKK base in the operation, killing an unspecified
number of militants. The air strikes come two days after a bomb attack
in the Turkish city of Istanbul, killed 17 people.
INTERNATIONAL
Marathon talks on a new global trade pact collapsed on Tuesday as the
United States and India refused to compromise over a proposal to help
poor farmers deal with floods of imports. The collapse could hurt business
sentiment -- even if it will have no immediate impact on trade -- and
could fuel protectionist sentiment.
Israel's defense ministry has said it will dismantle
a section of the West Bank barrier, improving Palestinians' access to
some of their farm land. However, farmers say the new proposed route
is a "disaster" and still cuts off much of their land. The
Israeli supreme court ruled in 2006 that the route should be altered.
An earthquake struck just east of Los Angeles on Tuesday,
rocking tall buildings and rattling nerves across Southern California,
but causing no serious injuries or major structural damage. The quake
registered a magnitude of 5.4 and was followed in the next few hours
by more than 50 aftershocks.
WEATHER
Sunshine all day today; with temperatures ranging between 27 and 15
degrees Celsius. Tomorrow will also be sunny, reaching 27 Degrees Celsius.
And that’s all for today, thank you for listening.