The news site reports that a small number of members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities protested in front of the Kosovo government building in Pristina today demanding more jobs. One of the protesters said the only way to put pressure on the government is to organize protests. Protesters also expressed dissatisfaction with their representatives in the Kosovo Assembly. They even refused a meeting with a RAE MP.

The OSCE mission in Kosovo has begun delivering a basic training for 378 former members of the Civilian Protection from northern Kosovo, on the institutional and legal frameworks in Kosovo, including community rights. The six-week training course has been organised upon request of the Kosovo Ministry for Dialogue.

Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga said today that the political parties in Kosovo must overcome the current crisis through dialogue alone. According the President, violence and vandalism are not solutions. "It is very important that the leaders of political parties start a dialogue as soon as possible  in order to find solutions. I have been very active over the past two months and took two actions to contribute to solving the crisis.

Dozens of former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) war veterans gathered in front of the government building today to express their dissatisfaction about the government’s decision not to issue pensions for all veterans. The Chairman of the Council for the Protection of KLA veterans, Xhevdet Qeriqi,  urged the government to form a commission to review their complaints and make the decisions public as soon as possible.

The 3.8 percent growth that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) anticipates this year for Kosovo will not be sufficient. The head of IMF for Kosovo, Ruud Vermeulen, said in a press conference that Kosovo will have to first address unemployment. Vermeulen further said that the recent political developments in Kosovo will result in the decline of revenues as well as of investments. He also announced that the IMF Executive Board has approved the review of the programme for Kosovo.

Following the European Parliament’s ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and Kosovo, the parliament’s rapporteur for Kosovo Ulrike Lunacek hailed the move as historical. “This agreement is a landmark in Kosovo’s relationship with the EU and its development as a European state. For the first time, the EU and Kosovo will enter into a contractual agreement, which is another important step on Kosovo’s path towards EU integration,” said Lunacek in a statement.

Oliver Ivanovic, former leader of the Serbian Initiative (SDP) was convicted of war crimes at the Basic Court in Mitrovica on Thursday and sentenced to nine years in prison for ordering the murder of nine ethnic Albanians in Mitrovica on April 14, 1999. However, he was not found guilty on the charges of committing crimes in 2000.

The Government of Kosovo is committed to step up efforts in preventing extremism and terrorism, said today Prime Minister Isa Mustafa in a meeting on the implementation of the national strategy for prevention of violent extremism and radicalism. Mustafa said Kosovo is a small country but has its share of responsibilities in the global fight against terrorism. “Consequences from terrorism are great, long-term, and necessarily require a joint alliance,” said Mustafa. He said the Government of Kosovo has defined concrete objectives in the fight against terrorism and radicalism.

Besnik Berisha, legal adviser to Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, told the news website there will be no changes or renegotiation of the agreement on Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. According to him, the Constitutional Court has found no violation of the Constitution with this agreement. “The Constitutional Court made some remarks that should be taken into account by the drafters of the statute of the Association.

The representatives of Albanians living in the northern part of Kosovo have reacted to the signing of contracts by members of the so-called Civil Protection with Kosovo’s institutions. These representatives argue that although Albanians make up over 30 percent of the population in the north they are discriminated by the mayors of the northern municipalities and are not given employment opportunities in hospitals, educational institutions or social centres.