Excavations at a suspected mass grave site in Raska, Serbia are expected to resume today following a suspension of works due to weather conditions. The head of the Kosovo Government Commission on Missing Persons, Prenk Gjetaj, said the Kosovo side will take part in the excavation process. The site is believed to contain around 200 bodies of Albanians killed in the 1998-99 conflict.

In a statement to the media, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) said that the 28 November rally announced by the opposition will be peaceful and will send the message to the government that no one can be above the constitution and act against Kosovo’s interest. “We will be peaceful and our rally will not threaten anyone’s life,” the AAK said.

Kosovo Assembly will convene tomorrow with only one item on the agenda – the voting of the next year’s budget. The decision to call a session was reached today at the meeting of the Kosovo Assembly presidency. Meanwhile, opposition parties – Vetevendosje, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) – reaffirmed their position to block all Assembly sessions until the recall of agreement with Serbia on the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro.

Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa said in an interview that the future steps with regards to the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities will depend on the decision of the Constitutional Court. He said that the temporary suspension of the agreement to establish the Association is “natural” because it would make no sense to work on implementation of the agreement for as long as it is being reviewed by the Constitutional Court.

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci said at the meeting of the government that the decision of UNESCO not to admit Kosovo as a new member does not undermine Kosovo’s statehood and that membership in international organizations remains a priority for the government. Although Kosovo did not receive enough votes to join UNESCO, Thaci said that the votes in favour of Kosovo’s membership show that "we won against Serbia.”

Head of the European Office in Kosovo, Samuel Zbogar, considers that the decision of the UNESCO member states not to vote in favor of Kosovo’s membership at this organization should not stop the determination of Kosovo’s institutions toward progress. “There was a major support for Kosovo in UNESCO. Many countries supported Kosovo’ membership at this organization. Majority of the required numbers was not reached however Kosovo should continue to be determined on its way,” Zbogar said.

Leaders of Vetevendosje, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) said in a press conference today that the diplomacy of Kosovo has failed miserably in securing votes for membership in the United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO) and is instead blaming Serbia’s campaign for this.

Kosovo’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Hashim Thaci, writes on his Facebook account that Kosovo has scored another small but important procedural victory in the UNESCO today. “Serbia’s attempt to postpone the vote [on Kosovo’s UNESCO bid] for November 13 has failed. The vote has been confirmed for Monday,” Thaci writes.

“Although until now Kosovo has achieved very good results in many areas, it is still making efforts to have a more sustainable economic development,” it was said on Saturday at a press conference organized by the UN Agencies in Kosovo with the topic “Launching of Global Sustainable Goals in Kosovo”, where were reflected the efforts and achievements of Kosovo institutions in this regard.

The EU Office in Kosovo has issued a press statement expressing concern with recent developments at the University of Pristina (UP) regarding the dismissal of Rector Ramadan Zejnullahu. “We express full support for the attempts of the Rector of the University of Pristina to protect the quality of higher education and introduce principles of good governance by putting clear academic criteria in place, in order for the students to acquire the knowledge and the skills they need to be competitive at the labour market and to find high skill jobs,” the statement reads.