An urgent meeting has been called with representatives of the four Serb northern municipalities as the Kosovo Assembly is expected to vote on the draft law for the Trepca mining complex today. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:00 hours in Zvecan municipality and the only topic of discussion is the political and security situation in light of the Trepca draft law. Serb workers of the mining complex blocked the Raska-Pristina road for two days in a row.

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, said today that his government has no funds and no ways to pay for pensions of Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) veterans. He said that the government commission, which prepared the list of KLA members eligible for a pension, had assured him that there would be no more than 12,000 people on the list. “Now, there are almost 30,000. If we pay for those who do not deserve the public money, we slide into corrupt activity”, said Mustafa at the meeting of the government.

Enver Hoxhaj, Foreign Minister of Kosovo, spoke today at the meeting of the government of Kosovo about the arrest of the director of Mitrovica regional police, Nehat Thaçi.

He said that the Ministry is dealing with the case and that they are giving their maximum. He added that Thaçi’s arrest by Serbian authorities is unacceptable.

US Army Commander for Europe, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges said in Pristina after visiting the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) that he is hopeful about Kosovo’s future from what he saw at the KSF premises. “In the US, the army is the institution that brings people together and helps in the future development of their talent and I believe the KSF can offer the same thing under the leadership of commander [Rrahman] Rama. What I’ve seen here is impressive”, said Hodges stressing the importance of political support for the KSF in its transformation process.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi on the occasion of the International Peace Day, has urged the people of Kosovo to reflect and reject violence. He said the people of Kosovo have open wounds from the last war, and they should know how valuable peace is.  “The International Peace Day, which is celebrated around the world, delivers messages of peace, solidarity and understanding between people.

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Branimir Stojanović said today at the government meeting that the Municipality of Pristina threatened Kosovo Serbs by halting the cleaning-up works at the Orthodox Church in the city and called on the government of Kosovo to take a position on the issue. Prime Minister Isa Mustafa however said that the matter should not be politicized.

Pristina Mayor, Shpend Ahmeti, informed through a status on his Facebook page that Pristina Municipality inspectors have noticed today at the Orthodox Church that some unofficial individuals have started works there.

After many reporting about the works, the Directory of Pristina Municipality Inspection went today at the site.

The technical dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade is expected to continue today with focus on cadasters and recognition of diplomas. It is reported that the main issues discussed yesterday among the technical teams were implementation of the agreement on freedom of movement and the issue of the use of license plates for Kosovo vehicles. Neither parties gave details about the meeting. In the last day of discussions, the delegations, mediated by the EU, will discuss the border between the northern and southern parts of Mitrovica.

Klan Kosova claims to have secured the list containing the members of the managing team tasked with establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and they include: Igor Kalamar, Dejan Radojković, Vinka Radosavljević, and Svetislav Durlević. The team is expected to work closely with the Kosovo’s Ministry for Local Government and Administration as well as the OSCE and other institutions.

Kosovo’s Minister of labor and Social Welfare and spokesperson for the government, Arban Abrashi, told Klan Kosova on Thursday that the withdrawal of demarcation deal from the agenda of the Assembly was the most rational choice, given the situation. “It has been a pragmatic and rational step, since a number of MPs were blackmailed and there was public incentive for the citizens. The opposition is sending signals to the world that we have problems with Montenegro,” Abrashi said.