The three Serb-dominated municipalities in the north of Kosova get 500 international and 300 local policemen. The thing is that this manpower could be used much better in other areas with Serb population where there are actual security threats. The number of people living in these municipalities or the level of crime there does not warrant this kind of security, unless another threat is in mind.
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Just when we thought that there was some agreement on some of the side issues of negotiations, an unidentified member of the Serb delegation denies the progress.

He denied claims of the chief of Pristina's negotiating team for cultural heritage, Ylber Hysa, who said that representatives of the U.N., the Council of Europe and of the Serbian Orthodox Church, supported his proposal for the forming of a protective zone around the monastery, and accepted the arguments against talks about the security protection of Orthodox Christian sites in Kosovo.

"No agreement has been accomplished, contrary to what Hysa said, and there was no agreement about the protective zone around the Visoki Decani Monastery, since this zone was formed in 2005 by UNMIK.

But there is progress in another front. Raksovic-Ivic and UNMIK's second in command "expressed satisfaction with the 'very good and useful' meeting and added that, besides the usurped property and the return, the talks were about "the problem of public transportation" in Kosovo.
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Another UNMIK official is upbeat about security in Kosovo.

Speaking at a regular news conference of international organizations in Pristina, Sandra Mitchell said economic issues, primarily the possibility of employment, were the most important factors that affected the process of return.

In her words, security is no longer a problem "worth mentioning." Under way are 20 return projects, worth EUR30 million.

All these funds, she said, were provided by the Kosovo government. However, there are no financial possibilities for responding to all requests for returning, and this is why aid and engagement of international donors is needed.

Ah, if she only had the money, wonders would happen. Kofi Anan has called on both sides to be flexible. Albanians say that they won't budge from their current 3+1 offer: 3 new municipalities with majority Serb population, an expansion of another one, and a municipality for a monument. The monument in question is a memorial to the the First Battle of Kosovo Field: a stone structure built in the 50's to commemorate the battle, although nobody is sure where the battle exactly took place. I can only imagine the faces on Ahtisaari when Albanians and Serbs are arguing about the merits of the memorial for having it's own municipality.
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Slovak President tries to help by offering this invalualbe tip. Gasparovic:

"Kosovo should remain a multi-ethnic region within Serbia, or some kind of autonomy. I cannot imagine that the Serbs who have been forced to leave here, cannot return to their property and relatives."

You know the bad shape of things you are in when Slovaks are lecturing you.
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Arrested Vetevendosje protesters have entered hunger strike yesterday. In the morning they were offered food Made in Serbia, which they refused. Later they decided to refuse food altogether. There are about 80 of them in jail.