AFP: Five facts for Kosovo

Kosovo, which celebrates its 10th anniversary of independence on Saturday, has a flag that few people respect, four international telephone codes and a judo heroin.

AFP brings five things to be known for the newest European state.

Instead of the flag

Kosovo's flag includes in itself the shape of its six-star territory, for its six main ethnic groups, in a blue background.

By scoffing, it is called a towel by members of the Albanian majority, who believe it was approved primarily to satisfy Western patrols, broadcast Koha.net.

The flag that waves throughout Kosovo is that of neighbouring Albania a two-headed black eagle in a red background.

Even the American flag, star and line, is visible, dedicated to Washington's strong support for Kosovo's battle for independence from Serbia.

While, in areas that are populated by Serb majority in Kosovo, “the balancer” is rarely encountered and Serbia's flag dominated instead.

Four phone codes

As a result of Serbia's opposition to independence, Kosovo has three phone codes: Serbia's +381 for the plus landline of Monaco +377 and Slovenia +386 for mobile phones.

Kosovo has been assigned the +383 phone code after reaching agreement with Belgrade. This code has already started to be used on the famous Viber communications app and is expected to be fully operational later in the year.

Judo Icon

Kosovo defeated its older brother, Albania, for Olympic medals during the country's first performance at these Games in Rio in 2016, when national hero Majlinda Kelmendi took gold in the jungle.

Kosovo uses sports as a diplomatic tool and was admitted to the International Olympic Committee in 2014, even despite Serbia's discontent.

Kosovo proudly introduced skier Albin Tahiri, the only athlete at last week's parade in Pyongchang and the first athlete at a Winter Olympics, broadcast Koha.net.

A powerful diaspora

Kosovo has about 1.8 million inhabitants, but even about 700,000 Kosovo Albanians are estimated to live abroad, mainly in Germany and Switzerland.

The diaspora, which has its own ministry, sent about 620m euros to Kosovo in the first 10 months of 2017, thus becoming a major contributor to state functionality, along with international aid.

The gratitude cathedral

About 95 percent of Kosovo Albanians are Muslims, but one of the largest Catholic cathedrals is located in downtown Pristina, broadcast Koha.net.

This cathedral, dedicated to St. Under Teresa, an Albanian from his background, is a symbol of Western gratitude that upheld independence.