Former Kosovo transport minister and six other defendants went on trial Monday on charges of involvement in organised crime and corruption that cost the state budget of two million euros ($2.6 mn). European prosecutor Johannes Pickert said that Fatmir Limaj and the other defendants had manipulated tender procedures, gave and received bribes and tampered with evidence in three tenders held by the transport and telecommunications ministry.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic will meet his Kosovo counterpart Atifete Jahjaga in Brussels next week, in a first such meeting since breakaway Kosovo declared independence in 2008, officials said Friday. "President Nikolic will meet Atifete Jahjaga in Brussels on Wednesday, February 6," said the message on Nikolic's official Twitter account. A source from the presidency confirmed to AFP the authenticity of the tweet, but could not reveal further details. In Brussels, officials could not confirm the meeting on Wednesday.