10/02/2026

TUESDAY | FEB 10, 2026 9 Kosovo leader’s war crimes trial nears end THE HAGUE: Kosovo’s ex-president Hashim Thaci, whose war crimes trial enters its closing phase in The Hague, is a former rebel leader who fought for his country’s independence and then dominated its politics for more than two decades. Thaci is widely seen as a guerilla hero in the Balkan country for his leadership of the Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1998 1999 war with Serbia. The tall 57-year-old, who served more than seven years as prime minister, saw his popularity soar when he helped oversee Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008. But his image was tarnished by a 2010 Council of Europe report that linked him to organised crime and politically-motivated murders of Serb, Albanian and Roma civilians. He has also faced accusations of corruption, clientelism and cynical politicking. Thaci resigned as head of state in 2020 and handed himself over after a judge confirmed an indictment against him for crimes including murder, torture, illegal detention and enforced disappearances. “These are not easy moments for me and my family, and for those who have supported and believed in me,” he said announcing his surrender to the court. Born on April 24, 1968, in the Drenica region of western Kosovo, Thaci was involved in passive resistance against the Belgrade authorities as a student from the early 1990s. He later moved to Switzerland, home to a large Albanian diaspora, where he studied history. He became frustrated by the policy of peaceful resistance to Belgrade’s repression of ethnic Albanians espoused by the late Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova. Instead he gathered other like-minded ethnic Albanians into a guerilla army, the KLA, to take on the forces of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic. More than 13,000 people, mainly ethnic Albanians, were killed in the war that ended after Nato intervened in 1999. Thaci became premier after the November 2007 election and was elected president in 2016, despite accusations of corruption from his critics. – AFP

Thousands protest Israeli president’s visit

SYDNEY: Thousands gathered across Australia yesterday to protest over the arrival of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is on a multi-city trip aimed at expressing solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community following a mass shooting last year. Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the Dec 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15. The visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza. Pro-Palestine groups have organised protests in cities and towns across the country yesterday. In Sydney, thousands gathered in a square in the city’s central business district, listening to speeches and shouting pro-Palestine slogans. “The Bondi massacre was terrible but from our Australian leadership there’s been no o Sydney police use pepper spray, tear gas

away from the protests, honouring the victims of the Bondi attack. “We all remember the boycotts, the threats, the colleagues who turned their backs on their Jewish friends ... that was the prelude to Bondi,” he told a large crowd at Sydney’s International Convention Centre, according to an ABC News report. Herzog began his visit earlier yesterday at Bondi Beach, where he laid a wreath at a memorial for the victims of the attack. He also met survivors and the families of 15 people killed in the shooting. “This was also an attack on all Australians. They attacked the values that our democracies treasure, the sanctity of human life, the freedom of religion, tolerance, dignity and respect,” Herzog said in remarks at the site. In a statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-Chief Executive Alex Ryvchin said Herzog’s visit “will lift the spirits of a pained community”. The Jewish Council of Australia, a vocal critic of the Israeli government, released an open letter yesterday signed by over 1,000 Jewish Australian academics and community leaders, urging Albanese to rescind Herzog’s invitation. – Reuters

acknowledgment of the Palestinian people and the Gazans,” said Jackson Elliott, a 30 year-old protester from Sydney. “Herzog has dodged all the questions about the occupation and says this visit is about Australia and Israeli relations but he is complicit.” There was a heavy police presence with a helicopter circling overhead and officers patrolling on horseback. Police used pepper spray and tear gas to push back groups of people who were trying to breach the line and march ahead. Several protesters were arrested as they clashed with police. Authorities in Sydney declared Herzog’s visit a major event and were authorised to use rarely invoked powers during the visit, including the ability to separate and move crowds, restrict their entry to certain areas, direct people to leave and search vehicles. Yesterday in a Sydney court, the Palestine Action Group, which organised the protest, failed to legally challenge the restrictions on the demonstration. Meanwhile, thousands of Jewish community members, government officials and opposition party politicians welcomed Herzog at an event, more than a kilometre

Demonstrators gather at Town Hall Square in Sydney to protest against Herzog’s state visit. – REUTERSPIC

Congress to depose Epstein accomplice Maxwell WASHINGTON: Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell will be questioned behind closed doors by the US Congress today, though she’s expected to invoke her right to not answer questions. Maxwell, however, is expected to invoke her right to not incriminate herself, guaranteed in the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. he intended to ask Maxwell even if she refuses to answer.

Some touch on Trump’s ties to Epstein and Maxwell. Others focus on four “co conspirators” as well as 25 other men who allegedly “sexually abused minors at Epstein’s island”. One question asks: “Why do you believe they were not indicted?” Last year Maxwell was moved to a minimum-security prison in Texas after meeting twice with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer. Trump himself was an associate of Epstein but has not been called to testify by the committee led by members of his party. Trump has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing related to Epstein’s activities. – AFP

Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor. He died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for trafficking children in what was ruled a suicide. Maxwell’s lawyers have pushed for Congress to grant her legal immunity to testify in the deposition, but lawmakers refused. Without that, her legal team said she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. “Proceeding under these circumstances would serve no other purpose than pure political theatre,” her lawyers said in a letter. Though the deposition will occur behind closed doors, Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat, published a letter of the questions

Maxwell, serving 20 years in prison for trafficking girls to the disgraced financier Epstein, will face questions from prison via videolink, in a deposition by the House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee. Though no new US prosecutions are expected after the latest dump of government files on Epstein, numerous political and business leaders have fallen into scandal or resigned as their ties to the convicted sex criminal were revealed. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is investigating Epstein’s connections to powerful figures and how information about his crimes was handled.

A giant banner depicting Thaci hanging in Pristina on Friday. – AFPPIC