The Hague

The trial of former KLA leaders Hashim Thai, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi began on April 3.

The first witness of the Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor's Office in the trial of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and his three co-defendants was heard this week in the Hague in closed sessions - after the prosecution requested protection of the identity of the witness.

Day 414 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

The resumption of Turkey's challenging Greek sovereignty over some islands in the east Aegean with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's proposal that all differences between the two countries, including those which dispute Greece's rights, are referred to the international court at The Hague came as no surprise to anyone following developments in the last few months.

During his visit to the Netherlands yesterday, French President Emmanuel Macron renewed his call for greater European sovereignty. In the eagerly awaited speech, Macron said that both the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine have made it clear that Europe needs to reduce its dependencies in order to preserve its identity, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.

Throughout the opening day on Monday, Albanians wearing the traditional plis cap or T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Liria ka emer" ("Freedom has a name") made their voices heard in the Dutch city as opening statements were delivered in the trial of Thaci and his wartime comrades turned politicians, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.

A panel of judges at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague decided on Thursday that Salih Mustafa, the wartime commander of one of the Kosovo Liberation Army's operational zones should pay 207,000 euros in compensation "for the harm inflicted on the victims of the crimes for which he is convicted".

"No matter how much disinformation Russia spreads, it cannot deny the truth" about the deportation of Ukrainian children from territories under its control, nor protect individuals from responsibility for these crimes.

Jakup Krasniqi told the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague during opening statements in the case against him and three other ex-guerrillas that he denies the charges, some of which he described as "absurd".

Krasniqi, 72, told the court he had nothing to do with the war crimes and crimes against humanity mentioned in the indictment.

According to him, if the former leader of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army is found guilty, it will mean that NATO fought against Milosevic's regime in 1999 with the help of a war criminal.