The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, stated that his country would not recognize the independence of Kosovo. Fico met with his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic in Bratislava. He stressed that he is following the developments on the relations between Belgrade and Pristina and that there is reason for his country to change its position. “We are not ready to recognize Kosovo and we will not do it,” said Fico. The Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic made a similar statement.

New roads would connect highways in five states into the Balkan ring, specifies interlocutor of Danas

Kosovo is interested in the construction of the Adriatic-Ionian highway because it connects the recently completed Tirana - Pristina road with the new road corridor. It's good for Kosovo, but is also good for its neighbours, says Petrit Selimi to Danas, Deputy Head of the Kosovo diplomacy, commenting on the proposal of the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama to engage Kosovo and FYROM in the aforementioned regional strategy through accelerated procedure.

A regional ministerial conference opened in Kosovo on Wednesday, bringing together the Foreign and Infrastructure ministers of Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

Along with regional decision makers, Johannes Hahn, the EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, will also participate in the conference as well as Violeta Bulc, the European Commissioner for Transport, who will join via video link.

BELGRADE -- Serbia is on Tuesday marking the 16th anniversary since the beginning of NATO's air war against the country, then a part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The attacks lasted for 11 weeks and resulted in the deaths of between 1,200 and 4,000 people, according to different sources.

NATO caused heavy damage to Serbia's infrastructure, economy, schools, health institutions, media outlets, monuments of culture.

On the sixteenth anniversary of NATO strikes in Kosovo, Brussels based correspondent of this daily, Augustin Palokaj, writes that each year at this date, people of Kosovo remember where they were when they heard the news of the air strikes, and remember the happiness that they felt for the end of Slobodan Milosevic’s aggression in former Yugoslavia, and his intention of creating greater Serbia. Palokaj further brings arguments which according to him give “not one but a hundred of good reasons for NATO’s intervention at that time.”

Political analysts in Pristina said that Kosovo’s image has suffered because of violent unrest 11 years ago that left 19 people dead.

On the 11th anniversary of the unrest in March 2004, Pristina-based political analyst Imer Mushkolaj said that the outbreak of deadly violence was sparked by frustration among Kosovo Albanians which had accumulated in the years after the 1998-99 war with Serbian forces.

Kosovo Serb leaders - currently boycotting the government - gathered on Wednesday in Gracanica to form a joint political umbrella, and produce a list of joint demands.

Kosovo Serb mayors and municipal assembly members from the country's Serb-majority municipalities filled the house of culture in the central town of Gracanica on Wednesday on a mission to coordinate future steps.

Three parts in Kosovo

BELGRADE -- The Basketball Federation of Serbia (KSS) has said that Serbia should "avoid matches with Kosovo at all costs."

World basketball's governing body FIBA has granted Kosovo full membership amid Serbia's request to make sure that clubs or national teams from the two countries never meet at any level.

"The decision comes on the back of the International Olympic Committee granting full recognition to the Kosovo Olympic Committee in December 2014," FIBA said on its official website (www.fiba.com).