The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti received a delegation of the Southeast European News Agency Network (ABNA) with whom he discussed the Government’s priorities, the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of the media in the objective coverage of the pandemic reality.

In this meeting, Kurti spoke about the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken by the government to alleviate the consequences of the pandemic.

He said that “so far Kosovo has administered over one million doses of anti-COVID vaccine and this adds to the hope for easier coping with the risk of new waves of announced spread of the virus”.

The Prime Minister also informed the representatives of the news agencies about the legal actions taken by the Government to fight corruption. He said that “thankfully corruption in Kosovo is not a culture, but it is an established system in institutions, and as such it is more likely to be fought”.

Regarding the state of the media in Kosovo, Prime Minister Kurti said that “it is not the best, but it is not too bad”, it is said in the announcement from the Government.

He said that the media in general have contributed to informing the public about the epidemiological situation. But, he continued, “there have also been media outlets that have often undermined pandemic management efforts, reporting unverified news and misinformation, even launched by opposition MPs.”

The statement said that representatives of the Southeast European News Agency network thanked the Prime Minister for the welcome and informed him about ABNA’s work and media challenges during and after the pandemic.

We recall that the network of Southeast European News Agencies has recently held the annual conference in Kosovo with the central theme “Media and tourism in the post-pandemic era.” / Voice

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani has expressed condolences for the double murder in the city of Peja and has asked the law enforcement agencies to work intensively to solve the murder.

“I sadly received the news about tonight’s tragic event in Peja, in which a PDK candidate for mayor of Peja and a former candidate for mayor of Deçan lost their lives. Sincere condolences to the families of those killed and to PDK! I wish the injured a speedy recovery! “I call on the law enforcement agencies to solve the case of this double murder!”, It is said in the message of President Osmani.

Earlier, the Prime Minister Albin Kurti reacted regarding the case, he expressed his condolences to the families of the killed, while he invited the law enforcement agencies to solve the case with high seriousness. / Voice

world
May 26, 2021 – 20:46

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, on Wednesday (May 26) ordered the American intelligence agencies to report to him for a period of three months whether the new coronavirus has its source in animals or from a laboratory accident.

The new coronavirus, which causes COVID-19 disease, first appeared in Wuhan, China in late 2019.

Agencies must “redouble their efforts to gather and analyze information that can bring us to a conclusion and report within 90 days,” Biden said in a statement issued by the White House.

According to Biden, agencies are currently segregated as to the possible source of the virus that swept the planet over the past year, killing more than 3.4 million people.

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The US administration is responding to domestic and international concerns about the origin of the coronavirus as well as pressuring China to be transparent about the outbreak.

Republicans, including former US President Donald Trump, have promoted the theory that the virus came out of a laboratory accident.

Biden found that two of the 18 intelligence agencies lean more toward the animal origin of the coronavirus and “one more anon” into laboratory theory.

Each of these agencies has “low or moderate confidence” in these theories, according to Biden.

The president instructed U.S. national laboratories to assist with the investigation and called on China to cooperate with international investigations into the origin of the pandemic.

world
May 15, 2021 – 23:32

A high-rise building in Gaza, home to the offices of the Associated Press and Al-Jazeera, was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on Saturday as the worst violence between Israel and Palestinian militants since 2014 continues to escalate.

Israeli planes carried out airstrikes in Gaza and Hamas militants responded by firing rockets into Israel as violence between the two sides continued into the fifth night.

A 12-storey building, with apartments and offices other than media organizations, was shot down by Israeli missiles after the owner of the building received a phone warning from the Israeli army an hour before the attack that it would be hit.

AP workers and other residents were evacuated immediately, but Al-Jazeera continued to broadcast airstrikes as the building collapsed.

“Al-Jazeera will not be silent,” said one host.

“We can guarantee you that.”

AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said in a statement that the news organization was “shocked and horrified” by the attack on the building, noting that it had received a warning from Israel.

Pruitt said the AP was seeking information from Israel and the US State Department about the attack, in which 12 employees “narrowly escaped a horrific loss of life.”

“The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of this attack that happened today,” Pruitt warned.

The acting director general of the Al Jazeera network, Dr. Mostefa Souag, called the airstrike “barbaric” and said Israel should be held accountable.

The Israeli military said without giving evidence that it had destroyed the building because intelligence operatives within the Islamic militant group Hamas were using media offices as “human shields”. “The purpose of this heinous crime is to silence the media, to cover up the massacre and the untold suffering of the people of Gaza,” he said in a statement.

Israeli army spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus dismissed the idea that Israel was seeking to silence the media.

“This is completely wrong, the media is not targeted,” he told Reuters.

Hamas militants have fired more than 2,000 rockets at Israel during recent violence. Palestinian doctors say at least 140 people, including 39 children, have been killed in Gaza. Israel has reported 10 dead, including two children.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the White House said on Saturday.

President Biden reaffirmed that the United States “strongly supports Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks by Hamas” in its call to Netanyahu.

President Biden also spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, conveying the message of American commitment to strengthening the United States’ partnership with the Palestinians.

The demolition of the building came a day after President Biden’s envoy Hady Amr arrived in Israel amid diplomatic efforts to restore calm.

Asked why the entire building was destroyed, Lt. Col. Conricus said: “There was no way to destroy just the Hamas facilities inside the building. They occupied several floors in the building and it was impossible to demolish them alone. “It was considered necessary for the whole building to collapse.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden in a phone call that Israel is doing everything possible to avoid harming civilians in its fights with Hamas and other groups in Gaza.

Netanyahu said the evidence was that during the recent Israeli attacks on high-rise towers “in which terrorist groups were attacked by the military, civilians were evacuated,” a summary of a telephone conversation made public by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office said.

The Washington-based National Press Club said Saturday’s attack on the Gaza building had been followed by “Israeli warplanes bombing two other buildings housing more than 12 media outlets” on May 11 and 12.

“This trend raises the question of whether Israeli forces are attacking these agencies to undermine independent and accurate coverage of the conflict,” the group said in a statement.

An Al Jazeera report on the attack, published on its English-language website, quoted journalist Safwat al-Kahlout as saying: “I have worked here for 11 years. I have covered many events from this building, we have experienced personal experiences. Now everything, in two seconds, is gone. ”

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki wrote on Twitter, “We have communicated directly to the Israelis that ensuring the safety and security of independent journalists and media is a key responsibility.”

The building was destroyed hours after another Israeli airstrike on an overcrowded refugee camp killed at least 10 Palestinians, mostly children. It was the only deadly airstrike since the violence began to intensify earlier this week. Another airstrike killed at least two people, Palestinian health officials said.

Tensions escalated further on Saturday as Palestinians marked Nakba Day or Catastrophe Day, commemorating the destruction of the Palestinian homeland in 1948 for the creation of Israel./VOA