Kosovo

The four defendants, Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi have all pleaded not guilty. All four were senior figures in the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA guerrilla organisation during the war and were involved in leading the fight against the Yugoslav Army, Serbian police and paramilitaries, and all became senior politicians in the post-war period.

The EU Special Envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajčak, said that the acceptance of the European proposal was a positive message.

President Vucic has dashed hopes of Belgrade signing the EU plan for Serbia-Kosovo relations because it includes allowing Kosovo to join the UN.

The European Union's special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue led a delegation of Western envoys to Pristina and Belgrade on January 20 as part of a push by the EU and the United States to spur the process of normalization between them.

Kosovo’s prime minister discusses the latest ethnic tensions.

Serbia and Kosovo have stepped back from the brink of violence after ethnic Serbs began dismantling some 10 roadblocks in northern Kosovo on Thursday (29 December).

The NATO-led international peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR) has received Belgrade's request to return police and military forces from Serbia to Kosovo, RFE/RL confirmed on December 16.

Three main Kosovo leaders have signed the application for EU membership, a process which is not expected to go smoothly because of political complications stemming from five EU members not yet recognising its independence.

Through a strengthened presence in the northern part of Kosovo, in coordination with the Kosovo Police and KFOR, EULEX is trying to calm the local population, EULEX announced.

After a series of violent attacks on election premises in the North, aimed at preventing elections from taking place there on December 18, PM Albin Kurti vowed to increase police numbers in the area.