Association of families of kidnapped and murdered civilians, soldiers and police officers in Kosovo and Metohija today requested from the Serbian Foreign Minister and the OSCE Chairperson in Office Ivica Dačić to appeal on the European Union, United States and United Nations for release of Serbs kidnapped in Kosovo and Metohijia in 1998 and later.

Association communicated that they presented a video tapes to the Hague Tribunal and Serbian prosecution about kidnapped Serbs from camps Likovac, Lapusnik and Malisevo.

Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told German daily Die Welt that Belgrade has made progress in the dialogue with Pristina and that it has carried out painful reforms, adding he hopes that chapters in Serbia's EU accession talks will be opened soon.

"Serbia worked very hard on that. We have advanced in the dialogue with Pristina; we have carried out painful reforms and initiated austerity measures. Belgrade has done that without pressure from outside," he said.

The Prime Minister of Serbia Vučić today stated that Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic’s platform on Kosovo and Metohija is a serious text which will be discussed at the state level, and that it will be published after an analyzes over its realistic dimension, and said that he won’t quarrel over it with the President.

UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing Leilani Farha voiced concern on Wednesday in a meeting with members of three Serbian parliamentary committees over a rise in the number of homeless people and the fact that most social housing programs in Serbia are being financed from EU funds.

That is not a sustainable solution, Farha said, noting that there are some very good social housing programs, but that there is room for improvement in that field.

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic stated on Tuesday that the position of Serbs in Kosovo is unacceptable and is far below the Council of Europe (CoE) standards in terms of respect for human rights.

He underscored that Serbia supports every CoE effort aimed at improvement of CoE standards in Kosovo to the benefit of all people living there which is in keeping with the legally binding international documents, primarily UNSC Resolution 1244.

Leader of the Serbian List in Kosovo, Aleksandar Jablanovic said that it would not be safe for him to visit Gjakova/Djakovica, western Kosovo, in answer to a summons by the local prosecutor’s office, despite considering himself to be innocent.

The first chapter in the Serbia's negotiations to join the European Union "could be opened in October, with the consent of Germany."

According to the agency, "agreement has been reached in principle for a formal decision to be taken during the ministerial meeting in September."

"Concrete chapters" would then open in October - something that Germany - "until recently reserved on this issue" - has now reportedly agreed to.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday that he was confident that Serbia would open the first chapters in its EU accession negotiations before the end of the current year.

“I hope and expect that it will happen in September, but I have still not lost hope that we can get the first chapters even earlier. These could be Chapters 23 and 24, concerning the rule of law, 32, which concerns financial control, and Serbia-specific 35 (on Kosovo)," Vucic said for Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) after a ‘Friends of Serbia’ meeting in Brussels.

Three unidentified persons broke into the house of Neda and Miodrag Konic, Serb returnees to Klina/Kline, Kosovo, late Sunday, inflicted bodily harm on them and robbed them, RTK2 reported.

The couple Konic received injuries to the chest, due to multiple blows with a blunt object, Bozidar Sarkovic, the president of the temporary municipal governing body in Klina/Kline, said.

The elderly couple was asleep when the attackers broke in.

The incident was reported to the police and an investigation has been carried out.

Deputy Special Representative of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Jennifer Brush has stressed her concern over the number of incidents in recent weeks targeting people returning to their homes in Kline/Klina, central Kosovo, UNMIK has stated.

She called on the authorities to investigate the events, bring the culprits to justice and take steps to prevent such incidents in the future.

Serb returnee Bogosav Dabizljevic was attacked and robbed in Kline/Klina on May 11, suffering three broken ribs in the process.