The surge in summer tourism in Kosovo, marked by the organisation of large-scale international festivals, has underscored the accommodation challenges prompting an increasing reliance on platforms such as Airbnb to fill the void left by limited hotel capacities. Rreze Cuca, from Tuz, Montenegro, was not able to find accommodation in Prishtina in 2022 when two…
Alan Chin, a photojournalist for the New York Times who covered the war in Kosovo said that powerful images of civilian suffering in the conflict ‘perhaps had influence on policies in the US and London’. New York-based photojournalist Alan Chin said during a lecture at BIRN’s Reporting House in Prishtina on Monday that images published in…
Newly formed state training centre for cyber security seeks to improve state institutions’ capacities in combating cyber attacks. The recently established State Training Centre for Cyber Security aims to improve the limited cyber security capacities of Kosovo’s public officials in order to address specific risks of cyber attacks. Bashkim Sejdijaj, commander of the Cyber Defence…
The Kosovo Parliament’s approval of a controversial law regulating the Independent Media Commission has sparked widespread criticism, raising concerns among local and international organisations and media freedom advocates about potential threats to press freedom. A new law regarding the Kosovo Independent Media Commission, IMC, was approved by the Kosovo Parliament on July 11, 2024, and…
Bashkimi Evropian pret që takimi i radhës mes kryenegociatorëve të Kosovës dhe Serbisë për çështjen e dinarit serb, të jetë rasti final për zgjidhje dhe atë në bazë të propozimit të bërë nga i dërguari i posaçëm evropian për dialogun, Mirosllav Lajçak. Kështu tha në një përgjigje për Radion Evropa e Lirë zëdhënësi i BE-së,…
An exhaustive analysis of organised crime and corruption trials in five Western Balkan countries identified a lack of efficiency, staffing, fairness and quality. Judicial proceedings in cases of organised crime and corruption in the Western Balkans are often inefficient, lack quality and underutilise the possibility of asset seizure, according to a new report by the…
Four photographers who showcased their work from the 1990s at BIRN’s Reporting House explain how difficult it was to document the hardships Kosovo faced until its liberation in 1999. Four wartime photographers recall the hardships of documenting daily life in Kosovo in the 1990s and the importance of remembrance . Their accounts, partially showcased in…
Jufka is a new pasta and pizza restaurant in Prishtina that opened at the beginning of March this year. It is situated in the rapidly developing southern end of Dragodan, close to the neighbourhood’s numerous other new restaurants like Commandante Marcos and Thana Rosticeri. Despite being easy to reach on the main road, the restaurant…
Kosovo lacks sufficient capacity to combat disinformation and false narratives, with public officials also often falling for these narratives, experts claim. Experts call on the Kosovo government to increase the capacities to counter false anti-Western narratives that often not only influence the country but also target it, as even public officials are sometimes affected. In…
Elez Biberaj, a Voice of America journalist, reflected in an interview with BIRN on how the 1980-1990s rising tensions in Kosovo prompted VOA leadership to send correspondents to report from the region. Biberaj, an ethnic Albanian from Montenegro, migrated to the U.S. with his family at the age of 15. He began working at VOA…