The Kosovo Police, in cooperation with the tax administration and the Kosovo Customs, conducted an operation yesterday in 33 cities in Kosovo during which 235 casinos and betting shops were searched and 35 of them were closed. Customs seized 118 gambling machines, while some betting shops and casinos which were closed did not have a work permit, which was also the reason behind this operation, the Kosovo Police announced in an urgent press conference held in Pristina.

One year after the arrest of Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Marko Djuric in Mitrovica North there is no yet official information about the investigation of his arrest, Kosovo Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Milan Radojevic said, adding it is an important test for Pristina institutions that would show whether they are functional or not, TV Most reported.

Radojevic sent a request to Pristina police to launch an investigation and determine the responsibility of individuals over the way Marko Djuric was transferred to Pristina.

Radio Gorazdevac reported that more than a hundred walnut saplings were stolen from the Dabetic family from the village of Saljinovice near Osojane. The estimated value of the stolen goods is slightly above 1,300 EUR.

Danijel Dabetic told Radio Gorazdevac that he went to the field around 9 am and noticed that about a hundred walnut tree saplings were missing. The stolen saplings were planted far from the home of the Dabetic family.

Unknown perpetrators stole a cow and a calf from the Savic family from the Izvor village in the municipality of Novo Brdo on the night between Saturday and Sunday.

The damage is estimated at approximately 2.000 EUR. Two cows were taken from the same family five years ago. The perpetrators have still not been found.

Kosovo authorities plan to have special police units storm in and take over the Trepca (mining complex) plant in the north of Kosovo and Metohija. That is according to a report in Belgrade-based daily Blic, carried by Tanjug on Wednesday.

The daily said Kosovo Albanians would in that way infiltrate into the majority Serb part (of Kosovo).

A source from diplomatic circles in Pristina told Blic that KFOR has knowledge of these preparations and does not rule out the possibility of Kosovo institutions embarking on such an action.

KFOR forces in Kosovo continued with the exercise cycle, and the media reported that the Pristina authorities activated the "Steel Ring" action.

KFOR forces are conducting an exercise in order to, as reported, be ready for quick operation throughout Kosovo, and to prevent any threats which may endanger that territory, reports portal B92.

Today's exercise is carried out in the south of Kosovo, where KFOR forces maintain the security of the environment.

Kosovo police has reacted to the information that Pristina authorities launched “Steel Ring” action, Tanjug news agency reported. The action implies blockades on the roads and checks of people and vehicles.

Asked by Tanjug news agency if it is true that Pristina has activated police units in order to block the alternative roads from central Serbia and what is the reason for it,  the police spokesperson Baki Kelani responded “that there is nothing concrete” and the police works to prevent organized crime and smuggling, undertaking actions based on legal authorization.

A memorial raised to honor the Serbs kidnapped and murdered in the Orahovac municipality was desecrated. The cross installed on it was smashed.

Serbian public broadcaster RTS is reporting on Thursday that the incident happened in Velika Hoca.

As reported, a flagpole with the flag of the Republic of Serbia has also been removed from the site.

The case has been reported to the police, and the team was sent to the field.

A taxi driver from northern Mitrovica, who went missing three days ago and is suspected to have been killed, is a relative of Oliver Ivanovic.

Ksenija Bozovic, now the leader of Ivanovic's party, CI SDP, confirmed for the Kosova Press agency that the missing taxi driver is a relative of Ivanovic.

The Kosovo police arrested two Albanians suspected of stoning a Serb family home in the town of Vitina, RTV Puls reported.

The two suspects were arrested for what the police said was a ''harassment '' of the Savic family which lives in the centre of the town, police regional spokesman in Gnjilane Ismet Hashani said.

The Savic family home was stoned a week earlier at 01:20 am. The police said that was the sixth reported attack on the family this year.