Source: Dnevnik / Yesterday, during a joint operation with their colleagues from the border police in Presevo, customs officers prevented on the Presevo border-crossing five Afghans from crossing the border illegally, stated the Customs Administration of the Serbian Ministry of Finance.

Source: Narodne novine - Nis / The paving with asphalt of the new Vranje-Bujanovac motorway on Corridor 10 began.  The first tons of asphalt arrived at an eight-kilometer section of the road, which is firstly built from Donji Neradovac, located near Vranje, to the Serbian House, located in the vicinity of Bujanovac. This winter, a five-kilometer lane will be put into operation. The entire section, including several bridges and overpasses, should be completed by June 2013.

The Coordination Body of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja stated that it hadn’t been informed by representatives of the municipality of Presevo about the construction and erection of a monument to the so-called Liberation Army of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja (LAPBM) in the city center. To our knowledge, the monument was erected in the morning of November 16, which was followed by the holding of a meeting, which hadn’t been reported in advance.

Source: Večernje Novosti / The erection of a monument to the fallen soldiers of the Liberation Army of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja (LAPBM) in front of the local government building in central Presevo provoked strong reactions of the public.

Source: Večernje Novosti – Serbia / Vranje – The U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, Michael Kirby, visited for the first time the city under Przar yesterday.  During the meeting, he firstly met with Vranje’s Mayor Zoran Antic and his associates. The topics mostly discussed during the meeting included the functioning of the local government, as well as the cooperation between Vranje and the municipalities of Bujanovac and Presevo, in the light of the current political and economic situation in South Serbia.

Source: Jugpress / Presevo – The U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby spoke yesterday with Ragmi Mustafa, the President of the municipality of Presevo, about the current situation in the municipality.

Source: Politika / Young Albanians from South Serbia learn Serbian on a massive scale and this is proved by the number of Albanian students who applied for admission to the school of the Serbian language organized for the first time by the Office of the Coordination Body of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.

Source: Vecernje Novosti / Investments in the underdeveloped South Serbia and the arrival of new investors will guarantee a peaceful coexistence of Serbs and Albanians. There are no inter-ethnic tensions in the places where there are no shortages of money and jobs.   This was said by Zoran Stankovic, the new President of the Coordination Body of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja:

Source: Serbian Broadcasting Corporation / Mr. Stankovic reiterated that almost all companies from South Serbia operated with large losses, as well as that the unemployment rate in Presevo was 56 percent, in Medvedja 47 percent and in Bujanovac 43 percent. BELGRADE – The President of the Coordination Body of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, Zoran Stankovic, said this morning that South Serbia was a neglected territory and that the biggest problem of the  people living there was a high unemployment rate.

Source: Danas daily / Vranje –  Budimir Mihajlovic, Governor of the Pcinj District,  said at the "Open Day for the Media," event that South Serbia’s municipalities needed  urgent help from the state, since  the economy was in a rather bad state. “This is the time for the state to do something, as the state of the economy has never been worse.  My impression is that the resources of local communities are squandered on some useless things, instead of being used for creation of new jobs, "Mr. Mihajlovic said.