From Belgrade and Banja Luka to Pristina, politicians are again speaking of war and division. But they are the words of political losers, running out of arguments to justify their hold on power, writes Frank Hofmann. "If Belgrade tried to take Serbian dominated northern Mitrovica by force, then Albanian demonstrators would immediately take to the streets in other Serbian enclaves that cannot be protected. There they would come up against plain clothes Serbian security forces that are apparently already equipped with light weapons provided by Serbian authorities.

The president of Kosovo has accused Serbia of provoking fresh tensions in the region. In an interview with DW, Hashim Thaci warns that Belgrade is following Russia’s example in Ukraine. http://www.dw.com/en/hashim-thaci-serbia-is-distributing-arms-in-northern-kosovo/a-37320626

In an interview with Deutsche Welle, President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci said that Belgrade should be pressured to stop undermining Kosovo’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. “Seeing Brussels silence, Belgrade gets more encouraged to proceed with its plans to annex the northern part of Kosovo and join it to Serbia,” said Thaci adding that such a scenario will not unfold as Kosovo will use its constitutional and legal power to prevent it. “All these – the wall, the arrest, the train - are consecutive and related incidents, provoked directly by Belgrade.

According to Deutsche Welle, talk about the possibility of France extraditing Ramush Haradinaj to the Special Court for KLA crimes is growing louder.

The head of the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution, Milan Petrovic, confirmed that this is a possibility, the German broadcaster said in a report published on its Serbian service website.

Serbia will strive firmly to be part of the EU, says Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. He underlined that his country has done more in the refugee crisis than several EU members.

Aleksandar Vucic spoke to DW on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

DW: There are many refugees in Serbia at the moment. Your country has been criticized by several EU member states for your approach to the refugee crisis.

On the country's eighth independence day, thousands of protesters in Kosovo have called for new leadership. The opposition supporters have accused the government of violating the constitution. http://www.dw.com/en/kosovo-protesters-demand-government-resignation-on-independence-day/a-19054561

An international court sitting in Kosovo has sentenced a Serb leader to nine years in jail for war crimes committed against ethnic Albanians. Serbia condemned the verdict as an attempt at humiliation. http://www.dw.com/en/court-jails-kosovo-serb-politician-for-paramilitary-war-crimes/a-18997258  

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic wants a new four year mandate, even though he won an overwhelming parliamentary victory less than two years ago. He says the new mandate is needed to ensure his EU accession talks. -See more at: http://www.dw.com/en/serbian-prime-minister-calls-for-early-elections/a-18985434

Kosovo police and opposition supporters have traded blows over a deal with the country's ethnic Serb minority. Ethnic Albanian nationalists disrupted parliament this week with tear gas, pepper spray and thrown objects. http://www.dw.com/en/tear-gas-attacks-disrupt-kosovo-parliament/a-18858430