Thousands of ethnic Albanians lit candles, placed flowers and flew flags at half mast yesterday in memory of Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova, who led them for nearly two decades toward their demand for independence from Serbia.
With family at his bedside, Rugova, 61, died at his official residence shortly before midday on Saturday. He had suffered from lung cancer since September, when he was first diagnosed with the illness, and went through months of treatment.
Rugova will be buried on Wednesday in Kosovo's capital, Pristina. Five days of official mourning were declared, and mourners will be allowed to pay their last respects for two days at the parliament's headquarters.
PHOTO: EPA
Kosovo's lawmakers were to hold a commemorative session yesterday.
"Kosovo lost the president in the final run-up to independence," read the front page of Koha Ditore daily.
"There's no greater pain for the people of Kosovo," said 40 year-old Agim Zeka, a Pristina resident. "We have lost the great man."
Others like Jusuf Sina, appealed to the rest of the leaders to continue Rugova's path.
"He worked his entire life for our state," he said.
Rugova's death left a leadership vacuum in Kosovo's fraction-ridden political scene before crucial talks on whether the province should gain the independence that was his lifelong dream.
International leaders stepped up their appeals for calm and unity in the disputed UN-run province, fearing the death could trigger instability. The Serb government expressed concerns that Rugova's successor might not share his commitment to nonviolence.
The immediate effect of his death came almost immediately. The much-anticipated start of the talks between ethnic Albanians and Serb officials had been scheduled for Wednesday in Austria, but were postponed until next month.
The flags throughout Kosovo were lowered to half mast and long lines of tearful mourners visited his hillside residence in Pristina after the announcement of his death.
Rugova had been at the forefront of demands for independence since the early 1990s, when he started leading a nonviolent movement against the policies of Slobodan Milosevic, then president of Yugoslavia.
No other Kosovo politician has been held in such high regard. He won international respect through his peaceful opposition to Serb dominance, in contrast to other Kosovo Albanians now in positions of leadership, who were part of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army that fought Serb troops.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS