Serbian news reports say Belgrade has officially decided to go forward with its own local elections in newly independent Kosovo, in a move the United Nations says is illegal.

The first shipment of Russian aid to minority Serbs in newly independent Kosovo has arrived in Belgrade, in a show of Moscow's support for Serbia in its dispute with the West over Kosovo.

Political leaders of large ethnic Hungarian communities in Serbia and neighboring countries say the international recognition of Kosovo could lead to more hardship for minorities in the region. They spoke at a government-sponsored conference in Budapest.

Sweden today officially recognised Kosovo as an independent state.

Serbian prosecutors are preparing an indictment against a suspect accused of setting fire to the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade last month during riots against the Kosovo declaration of independence.

A senior Bush administration official Thursday rejected the partition of newly-independent Kosovo in any form. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns says the United States and European allies are supporting Kosovo independence in the interest of a stable Balkans. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

US-based Russia specialist Dimitri Simes told a Washington audience Tuesday that fundamental disagreement over Kosovo's independence from Serbia will drive Russia and the United States even further apart. But a U.S. diplomat says there were no other choices. VOA's Barry Wood has more.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev has told Serbian leaders there will be no shift in his country's support for Serb sovereignty over Kosovo.

The Swedish foreign ministry is recommending that Swedes refrain from travelling to northern Kosovo.

Serbian President Boris Tadic has called for an end to violence after rioters opposed to Kosovo's declaration of independence Thursday attacked the U.S. and other embassies in Belgrade.

A senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Palestinians should follow the example of Kosovo and unilaterally declare independence. VOA's Jim Teeple reports the idea was dismissed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and by Israeli officials.

Serbia's president told the U.N. Security Council that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is illegal and violates Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. But despite his demands that the council reject Kosovo's independence, several members expressed their support for the new state. From United Nations headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.