Kosovo

Demonstrators in Kosovo fought with police and set fire to the government's headquarters in Pristina on Saturday in protest over a deal with Serbia giving greater power to the Serb minority, Reuters reported.

Police and other security institutions in Kosovo are bracing for fresh opposition protests on Saturday, although opposition supporters have insisted they plan a peaceful rally.

"We plan to hold a peaceful march," Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) Movement spokesperson Frasher Krasniqi told BIRN.

Opposition supporters will gather in Pristina on Saturday for a new protest against the Brussels agreement, the ZSO and demarcation with Montenegro.

In the view of the opposition, the first agreement - on a future Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) - "partitions Kosovo," while the other "gifts a part of the territory to Montenegro."

Marko Djuric says Pristina "should not expect to be given what it wants" by Belgrade before it honors the agreement on telecommunications.

"Pristina has not done that, and until it does, that will not be possible, do not expect us to give them what they want without getting what we should get," the director of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo told RTS.

Serbian Labor Minister Aleksandar Vulin wished a happy Christmas to all Orthodox believers on Friday while in Pec, a town in Kosovo.

He noted that "unsolved crimes cast a dark shadow over the holiday joy in Kosovo Metohija," Tanjug reported.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic talked over the phone on Thursday with Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, the government said in a statement.

They spoke about "implementation of the Brussels agreement and further dialogue with Pristina."

Flooding resulting from heavy rain has blocked roads and caused power outages in several parts of Albania. In the capital, Tirana, the river has overflowed its banks and flooded dozens of houses on the outskirts.

The Coordination Committee of Civil Emergencies said large areas were submerged also in Lezha, Durres, Elbasan and Kuksi, and many families had been evacuated.

Marko Djuric called on Thursday - as Orthodox Serbs celebrated Christmas - on citizens to visit the holy places of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo.

The director of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija said those religious sites "made the Serb people strong enough to survive hard times."

Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga has wished a happy Christmas to Bishop of Raska and Prizren Teodosije and all Christian believers who celebrate on Thursday.

After heavy snow at the beginning of the week obstructed circulation and transport throughout the country, Kosovo has now been hit by floods.

Large areas of several towns and some key highways and roads are under water as authorities struggle to contain the water.