Kosovo

Kosovo police have arrested Sulejman Osmani, suspected of involvement in the two-day shootout in Kumanovo, Macedonia, in May, and wanted by the authorities in Macedonia.

Panels with photographs and names of more than 2,500 Serb civilian, military and police victims have been installed in front of the parliament building.

The Commission for Legislation in the Kosovo parliament said it will proceed with amendments on transforming the current lightly armed security forces into a regular army, recommending that parliament ratify them.

Latest talks between Serbia and Kosovo brokered by the EU on June 29 ended with no signed agreements - but after Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin last week, reports have emerged that recent discussions in Brussels could result in new agreements.

Relations with Kosovo are expected to dominate meetings between Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, and Serbian officials on her visit to Belgrade on July 8-9.

Swiss TV on Monday reported the death of the 29-year-old athlete of Kosovo Albanian origin - who moved to Germany aged six - saying it was announced on Facebook in a post uploaded by his brother.

Gashi died last Saturday under circumstances that remain unclear, the Swiss public broadcaster, said.

The Church of St. Petka in the village of Drsnik in central Kosovo and Metohija was broken into and robbed early on Monday.

This was the second attack on this church in the previous 48 hours.

A heatwave entered Balkan countries from the west early this week and the next few days are expected to be the hottest so far this year.

In Romania, the authorities issued a warning that the country was entering a so-called "yellow" phase of heat alert, meaning temperatures above 30 degrees celsius and high levels of ultra-violet radiation.

Valdet Gashi from Kosovo has been killed in Syria where he fought as a member of the Islamic State (IS), the media in Pristina are reporting.

The 29-year-old, a kick-boxer, joined the IS in January.

There are good prospects for Albania, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.