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Serbia Wants EU to Change Formulation on Kosovo Integrity

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said the EU should change its formulation on Kosovo's territorial integrity since the current wording meant Brussels recognised Pristina's independence, a local daily said Saturday.

"The European Union is taking a positive stand towards Kosovo's independence through... formulations in the (bloc's) enlargement strategy" report, Nikolic told the Vecernje Novosti daily.

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EU Police Arrest Two in Kosovo over Warcrimes

European police on Thursday arrested two people suspected of committing rape during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war, the European Union rule-of-law mission EULEX said in a press release.

"Two people have been arrested in a joint operation by EULEX Police and Kosovo police in a war crimes related case," the statement said.

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International Body Ends Kosovo Supervision

Western powers which have overseen Kosovo since its 2008 declaration of independence have ended their supervision over the territory, a top official said Monday.

"The supervision of Kosovo is finished ... The International Steering Group has decided to end the period of (Kosovo's) supervised independence," Dutch diplomat Pieter Feith, the highest international representative in Kosovo, told a press conference, speaking in Albanian.

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Belgrade Anxious at Kosovo Sovereignty Decision

A senior Serbian official on Monday said a decision by the international body overseeing Kosovo to give the territory full sovereignty in September was bad news for its Serb minority.

"When any international mission in Kosovo leaves, it can mean a greater danger for both Serbs and Serbia," Oliver Ivanovic, Serbia's state secretary for Kosovo, told B92 television.

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Kosovo to win full sovereignty in September

Kosovo will finally gain full sovereignty in September, almost five years after breaking away from Serbia, the International Steering Group overseeing its independence announced Monday.

Kosovo had fulfilled its commitments, "thereby setting the scene for ending supervised independence after the ISG's meeting scheduled for September 2012," the group said in a statement after a meeting in Vienna.

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Kosovo Protesters Greet EU Envoy with Rotten Tomatoes

Around a hundred ethnic Albanian hardliners on Thursday threw rotten tomatoes at the EU mediator in talks with Pristina and Belgrade, after he met Kosovo prime minister Hashim Thaci.

The tomatoes did not hit European Union envoy Robert Cooper as he stepped out from the government building, but he was forced to retreat and leave through a back door.

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Grenades Thrown at NATO on Tense Kosovo, Serbia Border

Unknown attackers threw two grenades at NATO barracks at the tense border between Kosovo and Serbia early Tuesday but there were no casualties, NATO troops said.

"At 4.00 am this morning (02:00 GMT Tuesday) two hand grenades were thrown at the KFOR Compound ... at the Brnjak crossing point," in northern Kosovo, the NATO-led KFOR mission said in a press release.

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NATO Soldier, 3 Serbs Wounded in Kosovo Clash

A NATO soldier and three Serbs were wounded Friday when KFOR used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd that clashed with units removing Serb-held barricades in northern Kosovo.

KFOR spokesman Uwe Nowitzki told Agence France Presse that one soldier was wounded "during the removal operation in (the village of) Rudare", the latest in a series of clashes in the flashpoint area since last year.

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Polls Open in Serbian Presidential Election

Voters across Serbia headed to the polls Sunday to elect a new president in a run-off with the incumbent pro-European Boris Tadic set for a victory over nationalist challenger Tomislav Nikolic.

Surveys published just ahead of the final round of the presidential election showed Tadic, 54, leading with 58 percent, while Nikolic had 42 percent.

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Germany, Austria Sending Troops to Kosovo for Serbia Vote

Germany and Austria said Saturday they are sending some 700 more troops to Kosovo to help prevent unrest in the north of the breakaway province ahead of elections in neighboring Serbia on May 6.

Germany's defense ministry said 550 soldiers would be deployed at the request of the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force, while Austria's defense ministry said 150 troops would join the Kosovo Operational Reserve Force.

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