Saturday, November 27, 2010
Oops!
Well, it looks like something went wrong when I was adding my historical posts and many of the older ones showed up blank. I'll have to go back and try to update them again...
Friday, November 26, 2010
Done Re-Posting Historical Posts!
Whew, it took awhile but I am officially finished posting all my historical posts dating back to 2002!!! I'd like to welcome any new visitors to the blog and hope that I can continue updating on a regular basis!!! As I said a few days ago, with the upcoming elections and talks with Serbia...these are exciting times for Kosovo and the future is wide open!!! Now that the historical posts are done, I will be adding my Kosovo Photo Albums to share :)
A representative from Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will be conducting a fact-finding mission in Kosovo at the end of November. The focus will be on the political situation and the positions of the communities in Kosovo (if you remember, Serbia is encouraging all Serbs to boycott the election in December).
The results of the vote in Rahovac has been certified by the Election Commission. As a result of the AAK complaint about missing votes, a re-count was held and the results corrected to show LDK and AAK leading in the number of votes with PDK in third place. A run-off election between LDK and AAK will be held now in the coming weeks.
More than 150 election experts from Europe have arrived in Kosovo to monitor both the campaign and voting process for the 12 December snap elections. In other election news, LDK head Isa Mustafa has joined in criticism of Acting Kosovo President Jakup Krasniqi regarding Krasniqi's involvement in campaigning for PDK while holding office. Mustafa has stated that Krasniqi is breaching the Kosovo constitution and called for PM Haschim Thaci's resignation in wake of the Rahovac election. Also in the news, AAK has announced that they expect leader Ramush Haradinaj to return to Kosovo before the selection of the post of Prime Minister. Haradinaj is currently awaiting retrial in the Hague for war crimes although he was previously acquitted of the same charges. It was added that AAK expects the Haradinaj trial to be concluded by March if not earlier.
MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
A representative from Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will be conducting a fact-finding mission in Kosovo at the end of November. The focus will be on the political situation and the positions of the communities in Kosovo (if you remember, Serbia is encouraging all Serbs to boycott the election in December).
The results of the vote in Rahovac has been certified by the Election Commission. As a result of the AAK complaint about missing votes, a re-count was held and the results corrected to show LDK and AAK leading in the number of votes with PDK in third place. A run-off election between LDK and AAK will be held now in the coming weeks.
More than 150 election experts from Europe have arrived in Kosovo to monitor both the campaign and voting process for the 12 December snap elections. In other election news, LDK head Isa Mustafa has joined in criticism of Acting Kosovo President Jakup Krasniqi regarding Krasniqi's involvement in campaigning for PDK while holding office. Mustafa has stated that Krasniqi is breaching the Kosovo constitution and called for PM Haschim Thaci's resignation in wake of the Rahovac election. Also in the news, AAK has announced that they expect leader Ramush Haradinaj to return to Kosovo before the selection of the post of Prime Minister. Haradinaj is currently awaiting retrial in the Hague for war crimes although he was previously acquitted of the same charges. It was added that AAK expects the Haradinaj trial to be concluded by March if not earlier.
MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
- Leading figure in Kosovo organized crime living in Ireland
- 20 displaced families receive keys to new homes in Kosovo
- Kosovo Supreme Court upholds war crimes sentence
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
The Updating Continues!!!
Well, today I was able to finish uploading posts from 2006. I have included a few posts from earlier years but am still not finished with 2004-2005 yet...but hopefully soon!!!
Bajram Asllani, a convicted terrorist wanted in the US, has hit the news again. For those that don't remember, EU judges rejected a request from the US to extradite Asllani for trial in the US as Kosovo does not have any extradition treaty with the US.
MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
Bajram Asllani, a convicted terrorist wanted in the US, has hit the news again. For those that don't remember, EU judges rejected a request from the US to extradite Asllani for trial in the US as Kosovo does not have any extradition treaty with the US.
MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
- Serbia shifting West, Away from Russia
- Study predicts PDK victory in snap-elections
- Thaci increases salaries for teachers
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Shots Fired at EULEX Vehicle in Downtown Pristina
This morning, a window in an EULEX vehicle was reportedly shot out not far from the downtown Police headquarters. The possibility that the window was damaged by a rock is also being explored. It is not yet known if the vehicle or the senior police official in the vehicle were specifically targeted. No one was injured in the attack.
In other Kosovo news, extraordinary mayoral elections following the resignation of the mayor in July for personal reasons in the town of Rahovec/Orahovac did not result in a clear winner and run-offs are expected. LDK beat both PDK and AAK out by a small margin. AAK has presented documents which they claim prove that they had a larger percentage of the votes cast than what was reported and are stating that they should be participating in the run-off instead of PDK.
Also in election news, Acting President Jakup Krasniqi has been asked to stop campaigning ahead of the 12 December snap elections by a Kosovo NGO which believes his involvement in a political party could be a violation of the Kosovo constitution. While being under investigation is not an indication of guilt, senior international officials and Kosovo-based groups have criticized the number of candidates appearing on the election rolls that have pending court cases. A group of Serbian political parties have jointly published a list of candidates for the east of Kosovo. While Serbia has encouraged a boycott of the elections, the Kosovo government and some Kosovo-Serbian political parties are urging participation lest the community be left without full representation in the new government.
After being arrested back in July on charges of corruption, Kosovo's Central Bank governer Haschim Rexhepi has been released on bail of 20,000 Euros. The trial for Rexhepi is expected to start within the next six months to a year.
After leading a revolt against the Serbian Orthodox Church, the ultra-nationalist and renegade Arch-Bishop Artemije has been stripped of his ranks by the church and escorted by police out of the monastery that he and his supporters broke into to hold mass.
In other Kosovo news, extraordinary mayoral elections following the resignation of the mayor in July for personal reasons in the town of Rahovec/Orahovac did not result in a clear winner and run-offs are expected. LDK beat both PDK and AAK out by a small margin. AAK has presented documents which they claim prove that they had a larger percentage of the votes cast than what was reported and are stating that they should be participating in the run-off instead of PDK.
Also in election news, Acting President Jakup Krasniqi has been asked to stop campaigning ahead of the 12 December snap elections by a Kosovo NGO which believes his involvement in a political party could be a violation of the Kosovo constitution. While being under investigation is not an indication of guilt, senior international officials and Kosovo-based groups have criticized the number of candidates appearing on the election rolls that have pending court cases. A group of Serbian political parties have jointly published a list of candidates for the east of Kosovo. While Serbia has encouraged a boycott of the elections, the Kosovo government and some Kosovo-Serbian political parties are urging participation lest the community be left without full representation in the new government.
After being arrested back in July on charges of corruption, Kosovo's Central Bank governer Haschim Rexhepi has been released on bail of 20,000 Euros. The trial for Rexhepi is expected to start within the next six months to a year.
After leading a revolt against the Serbian Orthodox Church, the ultra-nationalist and renegade Arch-Bishop Artemije has been stripped of his ranks by the church and escorted by police out of the monastery that he and his supporters broke into to hold mass.
Moving Time...
It seems like it is time for transition again. Thanks to my dad, I found that I could continue blogging about Kosovo without having to pay for web-hosting and a domain name each year (yea, Dad!) I am sure that regular followers have noticed that I have not been blogging quite as frequently as I once did and that can be attributed with life interfering with the "quality" time I spend on the internet :) So far I have managed to add all my blog posts from 2008-Present and I will continue to add previous year posts over the next weeks (they go back quite a ways...this blog was started in 2001, my first year living in Kosovo!!!)
There have been quite a few major events since I last blogged including but not limited to the melt-down of the Kosovo government and upcoming snap elections on 12 December 2010 (which will be the first since the 2008 declaration of independence!!!) These are interesting and exciting times in Kosovo and for regular followers I promise to try to do better at updating the information here :)
MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
MTCowgirl's Interesting News Articles/Commentary
There have been quite a few major events since I last blogged including but not limited to the melt-down of the Kosovo government and upcoming snap elections on 12 December 2010 (which will be the first since the 2008 declaration of independence!!!) These are interesting and exciting times in Kosovo and for regular followers I promise to try to do better at updating the information here :)
MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
- Seven arrested in connection with Kosovo organ trafficking ring
- Kosovo faces first major political test as government collapses
- Kosovo Government Falls
MTCowgirl's Interesting News Articles/Commentary
- Kosovo News Agency abandons reporter to threats
- Kosovo politics could see a shift
- How James Blunt prevented World War 3 in Kosovo
- Greater Albania idea enjoys massive support in Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia
- Kosovo PM Thaci faces slander lawsuit from Vetevendosje activist
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Attack of the Crazy Cat Lady!
Well, technically she didn’t have any cats but while driving home for lunch today, Troy and I were attacked by a woman of questionable mental health who has been on a stone throwing rampage against EULEX vehicles in Pristina. Quite cunningly, the woman placed several large stones in the roadway causing a backup of traffic as normal vehicles had to swerve around them. Then it appeared that she laid in wait for an EULEX vehicle to pass and bam, she throws a rock at your window! So far she has managed to break the windows of 3-4 EULEX vehicles this week and allegedly smashed the windows of a KPS vehicle last month.
Troy was able to detain the woman until EULEX Security and KPS showed up but as usual in Kosovo, it seemed like KPS was reluctant to do anything (you know, paperwork is such a headache!) and from appearances, the woman will probably be smashing out more windows from EULEX vehicles in the near future. An interesting side note is that the woman had a pile of stones pre-selected for her attacks on top of a cardboard UCK sign and had note attached to some of the rocks…
Troy was able to detain the woman until EULEX Security and KPS showed up but as usual in Kosovo, it seemed like KPS was reluctant to do anything (you know, paperwork is such a headache!) and from appearances, the woman will probably be smashing out more windows from EULEX vehicles in the near future. An interesting side note is that the woman had a pile of stones pre-selected for her attacks on top of a cardboard UCK sign and had note attached to some of the rocks…
Kosovo Begins Exhuming Suspected Mass Grave
Kosovo authorities have begun an investigation into a suspected mass grave near the northern Kosovo town of Vushtrri. The site, an abandoned coal mine, is thought to contain the bodies of Serb citizens allegedly killed by ethnic Albanians in 1998. This is reportedly the second attempt at exhuming the grave as the work in the first attempt was halted due to a landslide. Kosovo authorities also plan on investigating another suspected grave but it must first be cleared of landmines before work begins.
Typically close neighbors with good political cooperation, Kosovo and Albania appear to be headed to their first disagreement over plans to build a hydro-electric powerplant in the south of Kosovo. Reportedly, Albania is concerned that the Kosovo plant will divert needed water from Albania’s hydro-electric plants and affect their power production.
There are many hopes in Kosovo following the International Court of Justice decision on the declaration of independence. One such hope is that the decision will boost tourism and economic development in Kosovo. I can only hope that tourist who are interested in Kosovo wait until all the road construction is done!!! I can only imagine the first impression of a person traveling to Peja/Pec would have if they left the airport and suddenly find themselves traveling halfway to Peja/Pec down a dusty non-paved road or even more fun, getting stuck in traffic at the monster roundabout at the Mitrovica bridge and Bill Clinton! Kosovo has a LOT of tourism potential but as I have said before, the people here still need to realize the potential and start taking care for their wonderful nature (so that means no more graffiti and throwing trash anywhere you want!!!)
MTCowgirl’s Interesting News Articles/Commentary
Typically close neighbors with good political cooperation, Kosovo and Albania appear to be headed to their first disagreement over plans to build a hydro-electric powerplant in the south of Kosovo. Reportedly, Albania is concerned that the Kosovo plant will divert needed water from Albania’s hydro-electric plants and affect their power production.
There are many hopes in Kosovo following the International Court of Justice decision on the declaration of independence. One such hope is that the decision will boost tourism and economic development in Kosovo. I can only hope that tourist who are interested in Kosovo wait until all the road construction is done!!! I can only imagine the first impression of a person traveling to Peja/Pec would have if they left the airport and suddenly find themselves traveling halfway to Peja/Pec down a dusty non-paved road or even more fun, getting stuck in traffic at the monster roundabout at the Mitrovica bridge and Bill Clinton! Kosovo has a LOT of tourism potential but as I have said before, the people here still need to realize the potential and start taking care for their wonderful nature (so that means no more graffiti and throwing trash anywhere you want!!!)
MTCowgirl’s Interesting News Articles/Commentary
- Kosovo begins to find its independent identity
- State of Hope
- Kosovo is Everywhere
- Kosovars forget the taste of the past
- Hurdles in Kosovo for repatriated Romas
- A long road to reconciliation for Kosovo
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