13 people were injured in an apparent shootout between criminal gangs late last night on Bill Clinton Boulevard. It is possible that one of the injured persons later died of their injuries but that information is unconfirmed at this time. Most of the wounded were innocent bystanders, including an 8-year-old girl, who happened to be walking past at the time when one man reported opened fire with an AK47. Police have arrested four people in connection with the shooting.
Following Monday's events, NATO has imposed de facto military law in N.Mitrovica following the riots. The UN has accused Serbian officials of inciting the violence however Serbia denies that there were any members of its Ministry of Interior in the court building. The Kosovo press has also been busy writing about the violence and lack of authority in northern Kosovo. Ukraine is considering the possibility of pulling out their troops from Kosovo following the death of one of their international police officers.
I was sent a link to a very good collection of photos from the riots in N.Mitrovica. Thanks, ER, for passing on the info :) Photos from Italian La Republica
And finally, taking a break from politics for a moment as becoming a news & politics blog was never really my true intention, last night the rain turned to snow and this morning we were greeted with what is probably the last snowfall of the winter which was a total of about 1.5 inches over the course of the night. Kosovo is beautiful after a snowfall until later in the day when all the vehicles have turned the white streets into muddy messes. The temperatures are supposed to stay down in the mid-30�F range for the next week. The talk on the street these days is that MSN Weather is kicking butt in weather reporting for Kosovo and seems to be the most accurate weather reporting site the days.
I realized as well that I never updated my Restaurant Guide to include one of my favorite newer places to go, Odyssea Bistro Bar. I know that I talked about Odyssea Bakery which has heavenly desserts and breads but I never got around to mentioning that earlier this year they opened up a very nice restaurant in Pejton Place. The restaurant interior would make you forget you were in Kosovo with a large central bar, posh bathrooms, and excellent ventilation. Odyssea Bistro is a great place to head if you want a quick meal or just to hang out to talk to friends. The background music is relaxing and kept low enough so that you can have a normal conversation across the table on a Friday night but still loud enough so that you can enjoy listening to the lively collection. The bar's cocktail menu is extensive and includes Caipirinha when they have cacha�a and my personal favorite, the Appletini although you have to say Apple Martini to the waiters or I need to work on my English *hehe*
