Since Macedonia declared a state of emergency in its border areas at the end of August, the "Balkan Route" has become notorious. Up to 3,000 refugees, mainly from countries in the Middle East, arrive in the small south-east European country each day. A similar number cross borders into Serbia and Hungary - most of them ultimately hoping to reach Germany.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34173252

Kosovo and Serbia have signed a series of agreements in key areas, in a major step towards normalising ties.

Serbs in northern Kosovo will enjoy greater rights through one of the deals, while Kosovo gains its own international dialling code in another.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34059497

Parliament in Kosovo has amended the constitution to allow the creation of a special court to investigate alleged war crimes committed by ethnic Albanian fighters during the war in the 1990s.

The now-disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has been accused of various war crimes, including organ-harvesting from murdered Serb captives.

Tens of thousands of Macedonians have staged a rally in support of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, a day after similar numbers had demonstrated against his government.

Monday's rally was being held outside parliament in the capital, Skopje.

Mr Gruevski, who was at the rally to address the crowd, faces wire-tapping and corruption allegations but denies wrongdoing and has refused to resign.

An anti-Gruevski protest camp has been set up outside government offices.

Power struggle in Macedonia

Macedonia says five Kosovans led the armed group which was involved in deadly clashes with security forces in the northern town of Kumanovo.

Eight officers and 14 gunmen were killed in the fighting, Interior ministry spokesman Ivo Kotevski said.

Those named were members of the now dismantled Kosovo Liberation Army.

It is only just past nine in the morning - the staff are still taking the chairs off the tables at the pub in the centre of Kosovo's capital Pristina - and Alban Ibrahimi is keen to start drinking.

But the shots the Kosovan entrepreneur has in mind are strictly non-alcoholic.

With a subtle flourish, the 36-year-old lines up a series of small, squat bottles of assorted fruit juices and smoothies, along with glasses of palate-cleansing water.

The scene in Mitrovica's 7 Arte Cafe seems convivial enough.

Fairy lights twinkle, a mixture of Albanian and English-language hits play over the sound system and the 20-somethings gathered around the tables regularly break into laughter.

But the joviality papers over a grim reality for these young people.