in other news...

It’s been a little more spicy here lately. Independence was declared a month ago today. Things generally have been pretty normal/chill where I live – and I still think it’s safer here than in most places. Yet between wobbling tectonic plates, a communist-era armory that blew up, and a protest-turned-violent, this corner of the world is getting a lot of press!

1. There was a teensy earthquake a week ago. I thought I was having a dream (4.20am), but it was indeed a quake. There was another tiny one my first month here (july 2006). For a lot of people, that’s probably not even news-worthy, but we don’t have ‘em where I come from…at all.
   
2. The explosion near Tirana, Albania at the armory that housed 100,000 tons of explosives could be felt here in Kosovo – I was near Ferizaj and felt 2 blasts, colleagues in Gjilan felt it, and friends in Prishtina felt it. The news said that Skopje felt it, too… Crazy. (you can read about it here).
   
3. There were some serious clashes up in Mitrovica today – the most violence since I’ve been here. It seems to be pretty much contained in that one area (I think). Here’s an article from BBC and here’re some pics. It's a bummer, really, on several different levels...