Serbian Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ivica Dacic said Friday that Serbia will continue to fight against Kosovo's joining the UNESCO, stressing that this would be hypocrisy at its worst.

Dacic said that the final decision on this matter will be made by the organization in November.

The governments of Serbia and Albania, in cooperation with civil society organizations, will soon launch an initiative to set up the Western Balkans Youth Office, said the participants of a press conference organized by the National Youth Council of Serbia (KOMS) on Tuesday, on the occasion of the International Youth Day, August 12.

The main theme of this year's International Youth Day is civic activism of young people, the officials said, pointing to the significance of international youth exchange programs.

The Eparchy of Raška and Prizren of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has expressed deep concern over the health of Civic Initiative SDP leader Oliver Ivanović, who has gone on a hunger strike, and urged the international community in Kosovo-Metohija to ensure that he is released pending a verdict.

In a statement, the Eparchy urged a soonest possible conclusion of the trials of Ivanović and retired Serbian police colonel Dragoljub Delibašić, to which it said they are entitled, pursuant to all international conventions.

Several hundred citizens gathered in Mitrovica on Monday demanding Oliver Ivanovic, the Head of the Citizens Initiative Freedom, Democracy, Justice (SDP), to be released pending trial immediately.

The half an hour-long protest was held in front of the building of the Basic Court in Mitrovica where the regional central office of EULEX is located as well. The protestors hung a sign on the court's gate reading "EULEX's court a dungeon".

The extension of detention for leader of the Serb party Citizens' Initiative Freedom, Democracy, Justice in Kosovo, Oliver Ivanovic is scandalous and Serbia and the Ministry of Justice will do all they can to provide assistance in his defence as much as possible, Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic said on Friday.

Director of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo-Metohija (KiM) Marko Djuric expressed on Thursday his deep disappointment and revolt over the court decision to extend the detention for Oliver Ivanovic, leader of the Serb party Citizens' Initiative Freedom, Democracy Justice, and qualified it as yet another proof that the case against Ivanovic is politically motivated.

The detention for Ivanovic has been extended until October 6. According to Djuric, this decision is a bad signal for the overall political climate and the rule of law in Kosovo.

Lead Prosecutor of the European Union Special Investigative Task Force (SITF) David Schwendiman welcomed the Kosovo assembly's adoption of constitutional amendments and the law paving the way for the setting up of the specialist court, as a step towards addressing the claims of war crimes committed by the KLA, and called for the establishment of specialist chambers and prosecutor's office as soon as possible.

Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn has said that his country will do everything in its power to ensure that Serbia opens the first negotiation chapters along the path toward full membership in the bloc during its EU presidency.

Our presidency will encourage the opening of negotiation chapters with Serbia as soon as requirements are met, Asselborn said for Wednesday's issue of Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti, underlining that the intention is that this should happen this year, depending on an extent to which Serbia is capable of fulfilling the criteria.

Serbian Minister of Interior Affairs Nebojsa Stefanovic stated that the investigation of all crimes committed against Serbs in Kosovo constitutes one of the priorities, together with the implementation of the Brussels agreement.

Reacting to the Monday debate in the Kosovo parliament concerning the constitutional amendments the adoption of which would make room for constitution of a special court in charge of prosecuting war crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo, Stefanovic said that investigation of all crimes committed against Serbs constitutes a priority.

Deputy Kosovo PM and ruling LDK party leader Hashim Thaci was pelted with bottles on Monday as he was walking from the assembly to the government building.

Thaci was attacked by former members of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), who were also chanting, "thief, thief." They were protesting for not being included in a list of KLA "veterans."