Kosovar Albanians

The proposal to establish the new tribunal was passed by 89 votes to 22 in parliament on Wednesday, although Prime Minister Hashim Thaci called it “the biggest injustice and insult which could be done to Kosovo and its people”.

Kosovo’s government on Tuesday voted in favour of a draft law which will see the mandate of the EU rule-of-law mission, EULEX, extended until June 15, 2016, and guarantees the continued operation of EULEX’s Special Investigative Task Force, SITF.

The extension of EULEX’s mandate was requested by Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga.

EU's Ashton expected in Belgrade next week

BRUSSELS -- EU High Representative Catherine Ashton will visit Belgrade later this month, as soon as Serbia's new government has been formed.

This is according to EU sources in Brussels.

"Court is insult to Kosovo, but vote to establish it"

PRIŠTINA -- Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has called on members of the Kosovo assembly to vote in favor of establishing a special court for war crimes.

The court would deal with crimes committed by ethnic Albanians against Serbs during the war in 1999.

Kosovo will ask the EU to set up a special tribunal outside the country, to address war crimes committed in the 1990s.

According to Kosovo's President Atifete Jahjaga, a specialized court outside the country to look at cases against former Kosovo Liberation Army fighters would ensure an "independent and unbiased process".

President Atifete Jahjaga said she would ask the EU to set up a special court outside Kosovo to deal with war crimes committed in the 1990s, having secured all-party consent.

PRISTINA - The leader of Kosovo's Independent Liberal Party (SLS) Slobodan Petrovic said on Friday that the party will vote for a ratification of an extension of Eulex's mandate and establishment of a special war crimes court.

The closure of a memorial dedicated to Kosovo Liberation Army fighters in the village of Marina, in Skenderaj/Srbice, has sparked a heated debate amongst lawmakers who have accused institutions of neglecting the monument.

Ganimete Musliu, lawmaker from the ruling Kosovo Democratic Party, PDK, said the closure was “offensive for the martyrs’ families and the Kosovo state.

Thaci's statement "irresponsible and untrue"

BELGRADE -- The Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija has strongly condemned a statement by Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.

Earlier this week, he said that Serbian forces "committed genocide in Kosovo."

In its reaction, the office stressed that this claim was "irresponsible and untrue."

Fatmir Limaj has denied involvement in corruption and organized crime, maintaining that the latest indictment raised against him was based on prejudice and speculation.

“If this indictment was a screenplay, a good movie could be made, based on it”, Limaj told the court on Wednesday.