A few months ahead of the parliamentary elections, Kosovo PM Albin Kurti announced a 20 percent increase in pensions for various categories of retired people, a move the opposition has called an attempt to “buy votes.” Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced on Monday that the government will increase pensions by 20 percent, a move…
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…
The Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency claims that, despite identifying significant wealth among public officials, courts and prosecutors have failed to take decisive action such as asset confiscation or thorough investigation of criminal complaints. Hundreds of public officials annually report their wealth to the Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency, APK, yet the justice authorities have not carried out any…
Kosovo’s transition to green energy is at odds with its energy strategy, which includes significant investments in coal power for electricity. Kosovo’s energy sector stands at a critical juncture. Most energy in Kosovo is produced using coal-fired power plants, but there are growing calls for a shift towards a greener, more sustainable energy industry. Viktor…
Three weeks after the terrorist attack in Banjska, North Kosovo, the European Union has refrained from imposing sanctions on Serbia, even as the sanctions against Kosovo, imposed prior to the attack, remain in place. The European Commission has abstained from imposing sanctions on Belgrade in the aftermath of the events that unfolded on September 24….
Critical infrastructure resilience is vital for nations. Given the essential role of energy in all aspects of society, the energy system’s resilience is essential. But where does the Government of Kosovo stand in developing a resilient critical energy infrastructure in light of global threats and risks that are not easily forecasted? Our society is a…
Securing funding is not the only problem that some film festivals face. Yuliia Kovalenko, a Ukrainian film critic and programmer at Docudays in Kyiv who was involved in the Focus on Ukraine programme at Dokufest, told BIRN that her annual event was first hit by COVID-19 and then by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022….
Albanian PM Rama is attempting to provide alternative facts for what is happening in Kosovo by exaggerating and trying to present himself as a misunderstood hero in the midst of this exaggeration. However, in the situation in Kosovo, things are too straightforward and clear to create such a fog and use the Rashomon Effect. In…
Serbian authorities attempted to legitimize the terrorist attack in the north of Kosovo by presenting it as an effort to protect Serb minorities from the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. This narrative draws parallels to the Russian Federation’s legitimation attempts for its aggression against neighboring countries, as in the case of Ukraine. In the north of…
Human rights groups have reacted in outrage after Kosovo’s version of the ‘Big Brother’ reality TV series arranged for a contestant to confront her ex-husband, who has been charged with domestic violence, on the set of the show. Activists are calling for legal action after ‘Big Brother VIP Kosovo’, a reality TV show aired by…