UN Kosovo head to celebrate new millennium on bridge linking Serb and Albanian communities.
DECEMBER 31 --The head of the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr Bernard Kouchner, will celebrate the new millennium today on the Mitrovica bridge linking the Serb and Albanian communities of that town.

A statement issued today by UNMIK said the event on the bridge would feature representatives from both the Serb and Albanian communities, musicians from both sides, and representatives of UNMIK and the international peacekeeping force, KFOR.

Dr. Kouchner plans to deliver a brief speech at the bridge before returning to Pristina where he will bring in the New Year by attending a classical music concert at Pristina Theatre. A moment of silence will be observed before the concert begins to pay tribute to all missing persons in Kosovo.

Security Council concerned over continuing violence in Kosovo.
DECEMBER 30 --Security Council members today expressed their concern over continuing violent incidents in Kosovo and urged the communities there to "take a different approach to reconciliation," Council President Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom said after a private formal meeting.

Council members condemned the latest such incident -- the throwing of a grenade into a Serb café in the northern town of Vitina, he told journalists after the meeting.

"The majority of Council members are firmly in support of what UNMIK and KFOR are doing in trying to bring Kosovo back to normal life," he added.

The Council was briefed on Kosovo by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hédi Annabi, who highlighted several positive developments, according to the spokesman for the Secretary-General.

These included an agreement on an UNMIK-Kosovo Joint Interim Administration Structure, and the complete demilitarization of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

"UNMIK has also made impressive gains in normalizing life," the spokesman quoted Mr. Annabi as telling the Council, noting the distribution of more than 57,000 emergency repair kits, the resumption of limited railway services, the restoration of power supplies and telecommunications and the opening of schools.

However, he had also underscored the challenge of developing an effective social system in Kosovo, where an estimated 50 per cent of the population is expected to be unemployed for the foreseeable future.

Kosovo begins running multi-ethnic passenger trains.
DECEMBER 29 -- A multi-ethnic train began running this week in Kosovo between Kosovo Polje and Zvechan, with security provided by the UN Interim Administration (UNMIK) police and KFOR, the international peacekeeping force.

The train operation is an important first step in establishing normal transport for all, UNMIK said in a statement issued in Pristina today.

The train is stopping at Obolic, Priluzje, Vucitrn and Mitrovia and KFOR is providing additional security in the stations. About 200 people used the train on Monday, the first day of operation, but this figure jumped to 400 people yesterday.

Locomotives from Germany and France are being used for the service.

Passenger wagons on freight trains are also operating between Skopje's Volkovo station and Pristina's Teretna freight station, according to KFOR spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Henning Philipp.

"Good progress" made by UN mission in Kosovo but security concerns remain: Secretary-General.
DECEMBER 28 -- United Nations mission in Kosovo has made "good progress" over the past six months in implementing its mandate, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in his latest report to the Security Council released today at UN Headquarters in New York.

Mr.Annan called the demilitarization of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) "an important step forward," but raised concern about the security situation for Kosovo Serbs, Roma and other minority groups.

Despite the efforts of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), "the level and nature of the violence in Kosovo, especially against vulnerable minorities, remains unacceptable," he said.

The Secretary-General said that more resources were needed to allow for a rapid deployment of international police officers and increased support for the Kosovo Police Service. He also recommended the strengthening of the judiciary and penal system, warning that a "strong response" was needed to address the problem of "unofficial law-enforcement actors" that had been reported to operate within the area.

According to the report, at least 810,000 refugees have returned to their homes, and efforts have increased to provide emergency housing rehabilitation. Most of the occupants of the 50,000 houses deemed beyond repair are living with host families for the winter season, Mr. Annan said.

The Security Council is expected to consider the report in its consultations on Wednesday.

Meanwhile in Pristina, the Interim Administrative Council unanimously condemned the "violent attack" committed in Vitina yesterday, when assailants had thrown grenades into a Serb pub, injuring at least 10 people. The Council, which held its third meeting, also discussed the draft regulation on establishing the Joint Interim Administrative Structure.

UN police arrest murder suspect in Kosovo.
DECEMBER 27 -- United Nations police have arrested an ethnic Albanian man in connection with last month's deadly attack on a Serb family, a spokesperson for the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today.

In the assault that took place on 29 November during the "Albanian Flag Day" celebration, a 63-year-old Serb man was shot to death and his 51-year-old wife and 76-year-old mother-in-law were dragged from the car and beaten by a large crowd of ethnic Albanians.

The arrest of the 27-year-old Albanian suspect was made on the basis of information received from witnesses, marking the first time witnesses to a serious crime have come forward to volunteer information to the UN police in Kosovo, UNMIK spokeswoman Daniela Rozgonova told a press briefing in Pristina on Monday.

She said that UNMIK's Regional Investigation Unit was still actively looking for other suspects in this case.