Speaking during the second day of the delegation's visit to Kosovo at a special session of the Kosovo Transitional Council, Ambassador Chowdhury urged the leaders to take a pledge "in our honour and for yourselves to reject violence, to promote peace and security in Kosovo," according to a press release issued by the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK). For their part, the leaders urged the Security Council to support UNMIK and its activities.

Welcoming the delegation, the head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, said that elections, which are to be held in October, would be the "first step in giving stability to a society that has a lot of fresh and deep wounds."

Earlier, the delegation visited Prizren where they met with leaders of the Turkish, Roma and Bosniac communities and heard their concerns, particularly the issues of the return of refugees and education in their own languages.

Later, the delegation visited Mitrovica where they met with the local Kosovo Albanian leader, Bahjram Rexhepi, and leader of the Serb National Council in Mitrovica, Oliver Ivanovic, as well as representatives of other national minorities living in the Mitrovica region. Topics at the meeting included the need to return members of both Serbian and Albanian communities to their homes on either side of the Ibar river, the need to unite the city, and the need for involvement to generate employment.

In a visit to Gracanica, the delegation met with meet Bishop Artemije of the Serbian Orthodox Church and other Serb leaders, where they discussed the security problems for the Serb community.

Encouraging Bishop Artemije to continue his assistance to Dr. Kouchner and his efforts to navigate an extremely complicated situation, Ambassador Chowdhury said that while developments were not perfect he was encouraged to see progress.

The meeting agreed that the return of Kosovo Serbs must begin, but in an orderly fashion, to ensure their security and the presence of basic conditions for livelihood.

Yesterday, Ambassador Chowdhury and Ambassador Duval of Canada, whose country currently holds the Security Council presidency for April, met with leaders of the demonstrations that have been taking place this week on missing persons and detainees held in Serbian jails.

Sweden will provide four forensic teams to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), according to a Tribunal release today. Each team will spend approximately two weeks in the region gathering evidence and assisting in the exhumations of mass graves. The first team, which will consist of three experts, will be sent to the region within the next few weeks.

The agreement was signed by Mr. Per Anderman, the Charge d'Affaires of the Swedish Embassy, and by Ms. Dorothee de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh, Registrar of the International Tribunal, on behalf of the UN Secretary-General.

On 18 April, Canada signed a similar agreement to provide forensic experts to the ICTY, which resumed exhumation of mass gravesites in Kosovo on 17 April. In 1999, 14 States signed similar agreements and discussions are going on with a number of others to provide assistance, the Tribunal says.

Restaurants and businesses were closed in support of the protest in Pristina last night. Some roads entering Pristina were blocked but this did not hamper the movement of Council members, according to a UN spokesman in New York.

Yesterday, the demonstration included the stoning of a UN bus carrying Kosovo Serbs, but there were no injuries, the spokesman said.

The eight-member Security Council delegation, led by Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, began their three-day visit today with meetings at UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) headquarters in Pristina. Tomorrow, the delegation will participate in a special session of the Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC).

He was briefing the Kosovo Transitional Council, which will hold a special session on Friday with the Council delegates. Dr. Bernard Kouchner said that it was his hope that the special session will result in "a fruitful exchange of views" and will help the Security Council better understand the reality of Kosovo today.

The issue of missing persons affected today's attendance at the KTC meeting, with all but one of the Serb observers absent on the advice of the security forces, following demonstrations against continuing detainees in Serbia.

During their visit the Security Council members will meet with local leaders, including the two community leaders in Mitrovica, Dr. Bajram Rexhepi, President of the local branch of Kosovo Democratic Progress Party (PPDK) and Mr. Oliver Ivanovic, President of the Executive Board of the Serb National Council. They will also meet with Bishop Artemije in Gracinica, and will meet with families of missing persons during a visit to Gjakova.

According to the survey, carried out by the Office of Statistics of Kosovo, the International Organization for Migration and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), 15 per cent of pregnant women do not see a health-care worker. It also found that 20 per cent of deliveries take place at home without professional help.

The survey, undertaken from November 1999 to February 2000, estimates that around 9,000 of the deaths occurring during the 12 months prior were due to the war, and that nearly 90 per cent of them occurred between March and May 1999. This resulted in a 50 per cent decrease in natural population growth, according to a release issued today.

The survey also found that half of the population is less than 25 years of age, and a quarter of those aged 20-40 reside outside the territory.

The survey, the biggest population survey undertaken in Kosovo since the entry of the international peacekeeping troops (KFOR), also found that Kosovo has half of the population unemployed. It said 35 per cent of the men reported that they were financially supported by a private person.

The head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner, briefed the IAC today on the preparations for the Security Council visit. Eight members of the Security Council are visiting Kosovo on 28-29 April to observe the operations of UNMIK and to convey a message to Kosovars on the need for peace. Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh will lead the delegation.

At today's meeting, the IAC discussed a regulation on the Status, Privileges and Immunities of the international peacekeeping force (KFOR) and UNMIK, as well as an amendment to the Hotel, Food and Beverage Tax regulation. The discussions on these two regulations will continue at its next meeting on 2 May.

The IAC also decided to take up at its next meeting on 2 May the issue of the appointment of the Kosovar and international co-heads of the Department of Education and the resignation of the Kosovar co-head of the department, Mr. Agim Vinca. The term of the international co-head, Ms Steffie Schnoor, ends at the end of this month.

Under-Secretary-General of Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, told the Council that the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was at a "critical stage" in the consolidation of the Joint Interim Administrative Structure -- which has established local participation in the administration of the territory -- and the lead-up to municipal elections, according to a UN spokesman in New York.

Mr. Myet said that civil registration of the local population in preparation for the municipal elections later this year will begin on 26 April. A pilot project at five registration sites has already begun in Gnjilane.

Mr. Miyet also noted that the security situation in Mitrovica had improved recently, although the general situation in Kosovo had shown no significant change over the past two months, the spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said.

Mr. Eckhard also said that France, originally scheduled to go on the Kosovo mission, would instead participate in another Council mission, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mission to Kosovo now comprises eight members, led by Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh.

More than 500 people are suspected to have been affected by the rare infectious disease, which is carried by animals, particularly rats and rabbits. The form that is currently existent in Kosovo has manifested itself through high fever, body aches and swollen glands.

A UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) spokeswoman, Nadia Younes, said on Friday that the experts, from disease control centres in Denmark, Germany, Italy and the United States, would recommend and facilitate necessary control measures and provide guidance on the clinical management of patients.

Ms. Younes said that a task force has been set up to deal with the disease, which is easily transmitted to people via contaminated food and water. Three working groups have been established to deal with health issues, waste and sanitation, as well as with information requirements. Laboratory equipment to run tests on all the current 534 suspected cases has already arrived and is being assembled.

Mr. William Nash held his first official meeting with Dr. Bajram Rexhepi, an Albanian leader and President of the local branch of the Kosovo Democratic Progress Party (PPDK) and Mr. Oliver Ivanovic, President of the Executive Board of the Serb National Council, The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said in a press release today.

UNMIK said the talks covered a wide range of subjects including the importance of stability in the region, the safe return of displaced persons to their homes, the creation of job opportunities and development of the economy in all areas.

All participants pledged their commitment to a peaceful resolution of the issues confronting the region, the statement said.

"I am pleased with the start we have made in establishing the agenda and atmosphere for our future endeavours," Mr. Nash said. "There is no doubt, however, that much patience, persistence and hard work lie ahead for all concerned."

The 230 cadets, the third class to graduate, will now go on patrol with UN police officers for 19 weeks before being given executive authority. The class, 56 of which were women, included 15 Serbs, four Moslems, two Bosniacs, one Macedonian and one Turk.

The Police Service School is now running two classes at a time. The fourth class, with 219 students, is now half way through its training at the school, while a fifth class starts today. The new intake will be the largest entry so far, with 347 students expected. They will include 23 Serbs and five other minority students as well as 42 women.

The staffing at the police school has also increased to match the new numbers; there are now 172 international police trainers from 20 countries.