Talks on Kosovo status resume in Brussels

Turkish Press

EU Kosovo mediator urges move on Serb visas
Reuters - 39 minutes ago
By Mark John BRUSSELS, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The European Union's mediator on Kosovo urged European states on Sunday to relax visa rules for Serbian travellers, arguing the move could help unlock talks with Belgrade on the future of its breakaway province ...
EU envoy urges Serbia, Kosovo to accelerate status talks AFP
Talks on Kosovo status resume in BrusselsXinhua

Swissinfo

Swiss heads tough OSCE Mission in Kosovo
Swissinfo - 3 hours ago
Kosovo is not an island and its future status can be decided only in partnership with the international community, says a Swiss diplomat.

Serbia's Kostunica: Kosovo will never be independent
Earthtimes - 14 minutes ago
Belgrade - Kosovo "will never be independent," Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said at a convention of his Democratic Party of Serbia Sunday in Belgrade.

Authorities condemn Czar Lazar Guard rally

Euronews.net

Kosovan negotiators set for more talks with Serbia
Euronews.net - 4 hours ago
A delegation from Kosovo has left Pristina airport for a face-to-face meeting with a delegation from Serbia, in Brussels. Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu said he was not expecting anything new from the meeting, insisting his side could not move from ...

AFP

Albania, Croatia, Macedonia Expect NATO Invitation in 2008
Voice of America - 6 hours ago
By VOA News Croatia's foreign minister says she expects her country, Albania, and Macedonia to be invited to join the NATO military alliance next April.
Albania, Croatia, Macedonia expect NATO invitation in 2008 AFP


Euro 2008 Albania Share The Points In Slovenia
Goal.com - 15 hours ago
Albania's luckless run in the Euro 2008 qualifiers continued in Celje as they couldn't take down an ambitious Slovenia side... Albania came to Slovenia with high hopes for a good result after the disappointment of near-misses against the likes of ...
Slovenia 0 Albania 0 Sportinglife.co.za

Javno.hr

Soccer: Croatia ends Israel's Euro hopes
Jerusalem Post - 12 hours ago
By ALLON SINAI Croatia ended any illusion Israel coach Dror Kashtan still had of guiding his side to Euro 2008, defeating the national team 1-0 at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb on Saturday night.
Eduardo goal gives Croatia 1-0 win over Israel Guardian Unlimited

Sofia News Agency

Bulgaria defends its Cyrillic spelling of 'euro'
AFP - 20 hours ago
SOFIA (AFP) - Bulgaria's bizarre linguistic row with the European Union over the spelling of the euro on Friday threatened to spike a pact Montenegro is due to sign with the bloc.

Goal.com

Greece edge past Bosnia, widen Group C lead
Guardian Unlimited - 14 hours ago
By Karolos Grohmann ATHENS, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Greece beat Bosnia 3-2 in a scrappy performance in their Euro 2008 Group C qualifier on Saturday, opening up a four-point lead over second-placed Turkey and edging closer to qualification.
Greece beats Bosnia 3-2 in Euro 2008 qualifier International Herald Tribune

Javno.hr

Goian helps Romania down Dutch
Sports Network - 14 hours ago
Constanta, Romania (Sports Network) - Romania took sole possession of the top spot in Group G on Saturday as Dorin Goian scored in the 71st minute to give his side a 1-0 win over the Netherlands at Stadionul Farul.

Yahoo! Eurosport

Euro 2008: Germany qualify, Poland, England and Romania take giant ...
Bangkok Post - 12 hours ago
Also taking a major step towards qualification where Poland, who beat Kazakhstan 3-1 in Warsaw, Scotland who won against Ukraine by the same score, England who had no problems in overcoming Estonia 3-0 and Romania who stunned the Dutch 1-0.
France and Italy battle for Euro 2008 places Guardian Unlimited
Germany first to advance to Euro 2008; Scotland, France, England ... The Canadian Press

Turkish Press

Turkey shells Iraq border areas amid incursion talk
AFP - 45 minutes ago
Wahid Kista, 42, who lives in the village of Kista near the Iraq-Turkey frontier, said by telephone the shelling was targeting villages in the Metin mountain area "where the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) has bases.

Blogged with Flock

German peacekeepers could stay in independent Kosovo

Canada.com

Kosovo Teen Wants Family Back in Austria
The Associated Press - 9 hours ago
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Clutching a teddy bear, a 15-year-old Kosovo girl who had threatened to kill herself unless her family was reunited in Austria pleaded Friday for the return of her deported father and four siblings.

German peacekeepers could stay in independent Kosovo
The Post - 11 hours ago
BERLIN: A senior German politician said Berlin could keep its peacekeepers in Kosovo if the Serbian province unilaterally declared itself a sovereign state.

Business: Kosovo takes steps to join WTO
Southeast European Times - 18 hours ago
Kosovo's institutions have made a decision to begin talks on eventual WTO membership. Also this week: Fortune magazine débuts in Turkey.

Albania, Croatia, Macedonia get vote of confidence
Southeast European Times - 18 hours ago
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution calling on the Alliance to launch membership talks with Albania, Macedonia and Croatia in 2008, provided the necessary conditions have been met.

PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)

Serbia puts up €1m reward for the capture of General Mladic
Independent - 10 hours ago
By Vesna Peric Zimonjic in Belgrade Serbia has put up a reward of €1m (£700000) for information leading to the arrest of the Bosnian Serb fugitive General Ratko Mladic.

Slovenia finds its way
Seattle Times - Oct 10, 2007
The country is Slovenia, whose population is not much greater than King County's. Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, thereby separating itself from the Bosnian war.

Blogged with Flock

UN to delay Kosovo talks to accommodate Serbs

Serbs attend a protest in the ethnically divided Kosovo town of Mitrovica February 9, 2007. The protest against U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan on the future status of Kosovo was organised on Friday by the Serbian National Council of Northern Kosovo. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (SERBIA)

A Serb boy holds a plastic rifle during a protest in the ethnically divided Kosovo town of Mitrovica February 9, 2007. The protest against U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan on the future status of Kosovo was organised on Friday by Serbian National Council of Northern Kosovo. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (SERBIA)

A Kosovo Serb carrying a box with a toy machine gun before a protest against the U.N. plan for the southern province, in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, Friday, Feb. 9, 2007. Several thousand Serbs rallied in the tense northern city Friday to protest against a U.N. plan granting monitored statehood for the troubled province. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Kosovo police officers provide security in the ethnic Albanian half of Mitrovica, 25 miles north of the capital Pristina, February 9, 2007, as 10,000 Serbs across the river protest against a U.N. plan setting Kosovo on the path to independence from Serbia. REUTERS/Hazir Reka

U.S. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, right, walks with U.S. independent Sen. Joe Lieberman after a meeting with Kosovo's Prime Minister Agim Ceku, unseen, in Pristina, Kosovo, Friday, Feb. 9, 2007. Eight U.S. senators and Congress representatives visited Kosovo on Friday amid regional tensions over a U.N. plan that could give the Serbian province supervised statehood. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

UN to delay Kosovo talks to accommodate Serbs
Reuters AlertNet - 5 hours ago
PRISTINA, Serbia, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The United Nations will delay the start of final talks on the status of Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province by just over a week, UN deputy envoy Albert Rohan said on Friday. "A period of consultations will start on ...

Despite unresolved status, Kosovo makes strides towards integration
Southeast European Times - 1 hour ago
Since June 1999, the EU has earmarked over 1.6 billion euros for Kosovo. Now the Union is preparing to establish a mission to assist the province in dealing with organised crime, corruption and interethnic incidents.

Lieberman leads delegation of US lawmakers visiting Kosovo
WTNH - 45 minutes ago
(Pristina, Serbia-AP) _ Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman is leading a Congressional delegation today on a fact-finding mission in Kosovo. Eight US senators and representatives are visiting that Serbian province. The trip comes amid regional tensions ...


Romania, Croatia to sign oil pipeline Memorandum
HotNews.co - 5 hours ago
Romania and Croatia may sign this year a Memorandum for the Constanta - Trieste oil pipeline development, prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, after meeting the Croatian homologue, Ivo Sanader.

EU warns Macedonia over entry
BBC News - 6 hours ago
One of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, he returned to his native Macedonia to lead ethnic Albanians in the 2001 revolt against government forces that took the country to the brink of civil war.
Albanians in Macedonia: “Rights Ignored” UNPO
EU urges Macedonia to step up reform People's Daily Online

EU ministers debate Serbia on Monday
B92 - 3 hours ago
Sources from the German EU presidency told reporters today that the Council of Ministers will consider the future of the EU relations with Serbia “in light of the fact reform-oriented forces won a clear majority in the recent elections”.

Romania's trade deficit widens by 44 percent in 2006 on higher imports
International Herald Tribune - 2 hours ago
BUCHAREST, Romania: Romania's trade deficit widened by over 44 percent in 2006 compared to last year to reach about €15 billion (US$20 billion), the country's National Statistics Institute said Friday.

U.S. assures Russia on backing of Kosovo

Solana visits Pristina and Belgrade, says short delay in Kosovo ...
Southeast European Times - 51 minutes ago
A brief delay in the final round of UN-mediated talks on Kosovo's status would be acceptable to the EU, the bloc's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said on Wednesday (February 7th) in Pristina.

Kosovo: € 81 million for mobile license
ECIKS.org - 1 hour ago
This is the second time a second mobile phone operator is being announced in Kosovo. The first time the tender was annulled after interference by the head of UN Mission in Kosovo due to irregularities in the selection of the operator.

Draft-bill on backing Macedonia's, Albania's, Croatia's and ...
MRT online - 5 hours ago
A draft-bill backing Macedonia's, Albania's, Croatia's and Georgia's accepting into NATO, proposed by the Former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar has been presented at US Senate.

University students hold mass rallies across Greece
Monsters and Critics.com - 1 hour ago
Private tertiary education institutions are banned from operating in Greece and the conservative government believes the new law, allowing for the operation of private universities, would lead to greater competitiveness and higher educational standards ...

Macedonia and Bulgaria noted as participants in child pornography ...
Focus News - 30 minutes ago
The BETA agency cites information of the Austrian investigation authorities, according to which video recordings of children subjected to sexual harassment were confiscated from several countries including Macedonia. Other countries include Serbia, ...

Krivokapic says Montenegro lags behind because of Serbia
Makfax - 2 hours ago
"In the past 15 years, while being a part of a state union with Serbia, Montenegro had the worst period in its history - in terms of economy, politics and what is more important Montenegro was crippled as a state and as a society," Krivokapic said in ...

U.S. assures Russia on backing of Kosovo

By Nicholas Kralev
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 8, 2007

The United States has assured Russia that Washington's support for Kosovo's eventual independence from Serbia does not mean it will back the breakaway aspirations of Russian autonomous regions in the Caucasus, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday.
Moscow, in sympathy with Belgrade, has been reluctant to join American and European endorsements of a plan proposed by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari that would lead to independence for Kosovo in all but name.
"I have talked very often to the Russians, first of all, that Kosovo is a precedent for nothing, which is a very important point to make," Miss Rice told the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in reference to Moscow's fear that Kosovo's independence might encourage separatist forces in Russian regions such as Chechnya and North Ossetia.
"We need to recognize that the longer this drags out, the more likely we are to have a breakdown in order in Kosovo itself," the secretary said during testimony on President Bush's fiscal 2008 foreign affairs budget proposal. "We believe that the Ahtisaari plan deserves support."
Kosovo has been a U.N. protectorate since the 1999 NATO war with Serbia over President Slobodan Milosevic's policies in the province, which led to "ethnic cleansing" targeting Kosovo's majority Albanian population.
Mr. Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, heads a yearlong process whose last phase is a round of talks with Serbs and Kosovo's leaders. He has invited both sides to meet in Vienna, Austria, next week.
But Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica asked yesterday for a 10-day delay to convene the country's new parliament elected last month. He said the legislature must choose a new Kosovo negotiating team to guarantee its credibility.
Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, met with Mr. Kostunica in Belgrade yesterday and said a brief delay would be acceptable.
Nevertheless, Mr. Kostunica indicated that Serbia will not agree to independence for Kosovo.
"Serbia will be constructive, but it will also be unbending in its efforts to ensure respect ... for its territorial integrity," he said at a press conference.
Russia, a traditional Serbian ally whose position is that a solution should not be imposed on Serbia, has said that Belgrade should be "constructive."
Miss Rice noted NATO's inclusion of Serbia in its Partnership for Peace program, which could lead to eventual membership in the alliance.
"We don't want a revanchist and angry Serbia," she said. "So we are working with our European allies to make sure that Serbia understands that it belongs in Europe."
But Kosovar Albanians have warned that their patience is running out. They blame the eight-year political limbo for a stagnant economy and an unemployment rate of 50 percent.
Both Miss Rice and Mr. Solana urged Kosovo to step up to the task of building democratic institutions.
"The Kosovars have a responsibility, too, to protect minority rights, to make certain that Serbs feel that they can really live there," Miss Rice said. "We are having equally difficult and tough, sometimes, discussions with the Kosovo Albanians about their responsibilities."

U.S. assures Russia on backing of Kosovo - World - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

1244 +

A Kosovo Albanian woman passes a garbage container sprayed with the number 1244, denoting the U.N. Security Council resolution that has governed Kosovo since the end of the 1998-99 war, in the Kosovo capital Pristina, Febuary 1, 2007. U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari will hand over his plan for the future of the breakaway Serbian province on Friday in Belgrade and Pristina. REUTERS/Hazir Reka (SERBIA)

Ahtisaari To Unveil Kosovo Plan To Belgrade And Pristina
Playfuls.com - 3 hours ago
During the Vienna talks, Serbia adamantly insisted on sovereignty over Kosovo, a territory dominated by an Albanian majority that has been intolerably hostile to Belgrade after its its heavy-handed rule.
US slams Serb leader's hard line on Kosovo Washington Post

Kosovo Railways can reach EU standards
ECIKS.org - 2 hours ago
Expert on railways, Bernard O’Donell, said that during his stay in Kosovo he saw that the railway infrastructure in Kosovo is in a very good state, but there are problems with financial means, maintenance and the lack of staff.

Kosovo government is disturbed by Vojislav Kostunica’s
Focus News - 3 hours ago
Kosovo’s government is disturbed by the statements coming from some parts of the Serbian political spectrum, which claim they are part of the democratic and reforming parties, the spokeswoman of the Cabinet in Pristina Ulpiana Lama said, cited by Radio ...

Kosovo ready to pay back foreign debts
ECIKS.org - 2 hours ago
It is estimated that Kosovo’s foreign debts are around €850 million. Officials of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce (KCC) and also economic experts said Kosovo should not pay these debts as long as it is not considered an equal member when it comes to ...

16000 returnees to Kosovo since 1999
B92 - 6 hours ago
More than 16100 displaced persons of ethnic minority communities have gradually returned since 1999 to villages and towns within Kosovo, either spontaneously or facilitated by UNMIK, UNHCR and other international and local institutions.

Albania and the EU: strong support, little understanding
Portalino - 8 hours ago
The results, it said, show confusion about where Albania stands in terms of its EU bid. While 49% believe Albania is ready to join, 24% think the country will be invited even if it is not fully ready.

Turkish FM to visit Albania on further development of bilateral ...
People's Daily Online - 17 hours ago
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will pay an official visit to Albania on Thursday for talks on further development of bilateral relations, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday.

Playfuls.com

Croatia Beat Spain To Qualify For Match For Fifth Place At Worlds
Playfuls.com - 1 hour ago
Inspired by their superstar Ivano Balic, Croatia overcame an early 7-5 deficit and paved the way to victory with a 16-12 halftime lead in Cologne.

Five French citizens arrested over card skimming scam in Greece
International Herald Tribune - 4 hours ago
THESSALONIKI, Greece: Five French citizens were arrested in northern Greece Thursday, accused of using stolen bank account data to withdraw more than €100000 (US$129500) in Greece, police sad. The five suspects and an unidentified accomplice, ...

Romano Vod'i

Public hearing for the condition of the Roma in Macedonia
Romano Vod'i - 3 hours ago
The Roma issue in Macedonia - lack of knowledge or lack of political will is a subject on the today’s public hearing which is held in the Assembly of Republic of Macedonia. According to the report of the European Roma Rights Centre and the National ...

Visit Montenegro

Montenegro leases Sveti Stefan
B92 - 4 hours ago
"The objective is to bring Sveti Stefan back to its former glory and pre-eminent position in the tourism industry in the Mediterranean," said Adrian Zecha of Amanresorts, who signed the deal with Montenegro's tourism and ecology minister, ...

US criticizes Serbia's threats to cut diplomatic ties in case of ...
International Herald Tribune - 4 hours ago
As its condition for joining Serbia's next government, the conservative Popular Coalition has demanded that the future Cabinet must reject Kosovo's independence and cut all ties with countries that recognize it as a separate country.

Aljazeera.net

War Crimes Court Prosecutor Urges EU to Keep Pressure on Serbia
Men's News Daily - 12 hours ago
Swiss lawyer Carla del Ponte, who is chief prosecutor of the UN war crimes tribunal, said Wednesday she is concerned the European Union might resume talks with Serbia before the leading fugitives from the Balkan wars have been arrested.
Del Ponte against EU Serbia talks MWC News

Come to Serbia - home to few people and Kazakh music
Reuters.uk - 32 minutes ago
The "Serbia - Moments to Remember" commercial was widely pilloried at home as being boring and misleading for showing Serbia as a land of rolling hills, churches and nature reserves full of wildlife, but apparently devoid of people.

Washington Post

Gates opens Microsoft support centre in Romania
Ireland Online - 38 minutes ago
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates inaugurated a technical support centre in Bucharest today, saying he was confident that Romania’s recent accession to the European Union would boost foreign investment and the country’s IT industry.
Piracy worked for us, Romania president tells Gates Washington Post

Kosovo welcomes the future

An ethnic Albanian worker puts up a billboard in Pristina reading in Albanian "12:45 Kosovo welcomes the future" on Tuesday, Jan.

"Secret" U.N. Kosovo plan surfaces ahead of schedule

Reuters via Yahoo! News - 1 hour, 44 minutes ago

The Kosovo daily Lajm left four pages of its morning edition blank on Wednesday, saying it was told not to publish the text of a confidential United Nations plan for Serbia's breakaway province.

Serbian PM threatens EU, NATO over Kosovo

UPI - 2 hours, 1 minute ago

BELGRADE, Serbia, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Serbia's outgoing prime minister is threatening to sever ties with countries that would recognize independence of the mainly ethnic-Albanian Kosovo

province.

B92

SERBIA: KOSOVO STATUS SNARES TALKS ON NEW GOVERNMENT
AKI - 33 minutes ago
(AKI) - The status of Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province, has become a key issue in the inter-party negotiations that are underway over the formation of new government after the 21 January general election in which no party won an absolute majority of ...

Kosovo: Facilitating sustainable return
ReliefWeb (press release) - 51 minutes ago
PRISTINA - More than 16100 displaced persons of ethnic minority communities have gradually returned since 1999 to villages and towns within Kosovo, either spontaneously or facilitated by UNMIK, UNHCR and other international and local institutions.

Playfuls.com

Serbian PM Threatens EU, NATO Over Kosovo
Playfuls.com - 9 minutes ago
Kostunica's party said a new coalition government should declare null and void a decision by any state or international organization, which recognizes the province of Kosovo independent of Belgrade. The recognition of Kosovo's independence by any NATO ...

B92

Kosovo awaits Ahtisaari
B92 - 7 hours ago
KFOR Commander Roland Kather and Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku appealed to the heads of Kosovo municipalities to communicate to their citizens the necessity of preserving peace in Kosovo, and to advise them to refrain from any form of violence as ...

Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania Ink Convention on Trans-Balkan Oil ...
Sofia News Agency - 6 hours ago
This is the beginning of the project's realization for the construction of an oil pipeline from Bulgaria's seaside city Burgas and Albania's city Vlora. The pipeline will transport the Caspian oil to West Europe and the US.

Croatia, Montenegro seek to boost ties
Southeast European Times - 1 hour ago
"Though Croatia successfully defended its territory, it is also well known that a great majority of Montenegrins criticised the aggression of Montenegrin soldiers in Croatia in the 1990s," he said. "Moreover, the Croatian government is fully prepared ...

Greece, Italy Sign Gas Pipeline Deal
Forbes - 11 minutes ago
The completed project would connect with a Turkish-Greek pipeline now being built between Karacabey, Turkey and Komotini in Greece, which should be operational by June 2007, Sioufas said. Officials hope the completed Turkey-Greece-Italy link - the ...

Pravda

Brussels Leaves Macedonia In The Dark On EU Entry Talks
Mediafax - 49 minutes ago
The European Commission says it is too early to set a start date for Macedonia''s EU entry talks, despite Slovenia dropping hints that its EU presidency - in the first half of 2008 - could see Skopje get a firm timetable for negotiations, ...

AKI

Del Ponte urges EU to stick to tough conditions over Serbia talks
International Herald Tribune - 3 hours ago
BRUSSELS, Belgium: The chief prosecutor of the UN war crimes tribunal, Carla Del Ponte, said Wednesday she was worried the European Union might resume talks on a pre-membership agreement with Serbia before a fugitive leader from the Bosnian war is ...

Alarab online

Turkey charges seventh man over Dink murder
Washington Post - 1 hour ago
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey charged a seventh man over the murder of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink on Wednesday, a court official said.

Reality Dawns

In this succinct piece, Tihomir Loza of Transitions Online, argues that the threats of Kosovo's independence are exaggerated. His predictions on what might happen are not much different from what I wrote down a few days ago at A Fistful of Euros and here.

by Tihomir Loza
29 January 2007

Suggestions that the independence offer to Kosovo will destabilize the region are greatly exaggerated.

...

An important element in the Serbian rejection of Kosovo’s independence will be the popular lack of respect for Albanians among the Serbs. Ethnic Albanians were close to the bottom of an unspoken yet omnipresent food-chain among the former Yugoslavia’s ethnic groups, a rating list whose top was occupied by often antagonistic but largely mutually respecting – if not always respectful – Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. To reward the Albanians, who are still often disdained and ridiculed as backward by the region’s nationalists, with something as shiny as an independent new state, on top of the one that they already have in Albania, just doesn’t and will not soon make any sense to ordinary Serbs.
...

Transitions Online: Reality Dawns

Kosovo's president predicts decision on province's final status ...
International Herald Tribune - 8 hours ago
AP. PRISTINA, Serbia: Kosovo's president said Wednesday that he expects a decision on Kosovo's final status within months.

BOSNIA: SERB LEADER BLASTS MEP BALKANS DELEGATION HEAD
AKI - 8 hours ago
Sarajevo, 27 Dec. (AKI) - Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has accused Euro-MP and chair of the European Parliament's Delegation for South-East Europe, Doris Pack, of being a "liar" and a "Serb hater," saying he doesn’t ever want to meet her.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia Sign Agreement on
Focus News - 7 hours ago
Sarajevo. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia have signed today an agreement on military cooperation, a month after Bosnia and Herzegovina signed a similar agreement with Serbia, AFP reported citing the country’s Ministry of Defense.

Playfuls.com

Macedonia Police Intercept Explosives
Playfuls.com - 7 hours ago
by News Staff. Macedonian police confiscated more than a pound of C-4 high explosives from a furloughed convict who was allegedly trying to take it into Greece.

SERBIA: KOSOVO AND EARLY ELECTIONS SEEN AS KEY TO COUNTRY'S FUTURE
AKI - 8 hours ago
Belgrade, 27 Dec. (AKI) - During the government of prime minister Vojislav Kostunica Serbia has for the past three years experienced a period of relative political stability and modest economic recovery.

With EU membership approaching, Romania enjoys an economic boom
Southeast European Times - 5 hours ago
Romania's national currency exceeded a six-year high this year, and the economy continues to expand at a robust rate. By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest - 27/12/06.

Slovenia Opens Labour Market for Bulgarians, Romanians
Sofia News Agency - 6 hours ago
Bulgaria: The Slovenian government decided to leave its labour market open for newcomers Bulgaria and Romania joining the EU next January.

Gerald Ford Dies at 93
KVBC - 49 minutes ago
Nevada leaders are remembering the legacy, and mourning the loss, of President Gerald Ford. They are calling him a devoted leader who led the country with dignity through one of its most turbulent times.
President Gerald Ford Dies at 93 Salem-News.Com
Gerald R. Ford: A Healer of Wounds Washington Post

What's next for Kosovo?

I hope you had a good Christmass. This article on Kosovo seems pretty good. Further we have some interesting news from the region. Plus, we have a new war in Africa.

What's next for Kosovo?

25/12/2006

With Belgrade and Pristina unable to bridge their differences over Kosovo's future, a decision on status is now up to the international community. That poses its own set of challenges.

By Robert C. Austin for Southeast European Times – 26/12/06

Regional stability in Southeast Europe depends ultimately on the resolution of Kosovo's status, a process which the UN Security Council formally launched in late 2005. Several rounds of talks under UN auspices were then held between Kosovo Albanian and Serbian representatives, in the hope that a solution acceptable to both sides could be reached. That hope has not borne fruit. The Kosovo Albanians want nothing less than statehood. The Serbian side, meanwhile, has stuck to its refrain of "more than autonomy but less than independence", though it remains unclear what this would amount to in practice. In October, Serbian voters approved a constitution which describes Kosovo as an integral part of the country. more

Playfuls.com

UN To End Kosovo Talks
Playfuls.com - 8 hours ago
by News Staff. There will be no further talks once a UN envoy announces his proposal for Serbia's mainly ethnic-Albanian Kosovo province, a media report said Tuesday.
What's next for Kosovo?Southeast European Times

Serb jailed 20 years for Kosovo war crimes
Earthtimes.org - Dec 25, 2006
BELGRADE, Serbia, Dec. 25 Serbia's high court upheld a 20-year jail sentence for a former Serbian police convicted of 1999 war crimes in Serbia's Kosovo province.

Vjesti: Joining the Western Balkans to the EU Will be Priority of ...
Focus News - Dec 24, 2006
Slovenia. Slovenia expects that Montenegro will receive a mandate for talks for EU membership at the beginning of the Slovenian EU Presidency in the first half of 2008, Rano Genorio, high-standing Slovenian ...

Albania hosts inter-border co-operation conference
Southeast European Times - 7 hours ago
The closer the ties with neighbouring countries, the shorter Albania's path to the EU will be, says Integration Minister Arenca Trashani.

OVERVIEW OF EU-CROATIA MEMBERSHIP TALKS IN 2006
Journal of Turkish Weekly - 16 hours ago
The most important event in the year 2006 regarding the relations between Croatia and the European Union was Brussels' decision to separate Croatia's membership talks from the process of Turkey's negotiations.

Playfuls.com

Christmas Eve Shooting In Croatia Leaves Four Dead
Playfuls.com - Dec 25, 2006
by News Staff. A Croatian man shot an killed three people on Sunday night and later took his own life in a town some 30 kilometres west of the capital of Zagreb.

FEATURE-Sex slavery plagues Romania and Bulgaria
Reuters AlertNet - 1 hour ago
(This is part of a package of stories ahead of Romania and Bulgaria's entry into the European Union on Jan. 1). By Justyna Pawlak.

Montenegro to introduce two official languages
Makfax - 16 hours ago
Montenegro's authorities are set to introduce changes to the Constitution, including official use of both Montenegrin and Serbian languages and refraining from treating the Church in the supreme state law.

Serbia drug seizures sparks killings
Earthtimes.org - 6 hours ago
NIS, Serbia, Dec. 26 Police said gang fighting is under way to control the drug market in the southern Serbian city of Nis, following seizures of 90 pounds of heroin this year.

50 euros for passing through Serbia
B92 - 9 hours ago
SOFIA -- Bulgaria's citizens will have to pay a fee of 5- euros when passing through Serbia, starting in January 1. Orlin Nikolov of the border police has told Bulgarian BNR radio that the Kalotina Border ...

Slovenia takes cautious approach in giant step to euro
Monsters and Critics.com - Dec 23, 2006
By Andrew McCathie Dec 24, 2006, 3:34 GMT. Berlin - The small ex-Yugoslavian republic of Slovenia is leaving nothing to chance as it prepares to become the first of the new European Union member states to join the euro on January 1.

Zaman Online

Finland to Open 'New Window' for Turkey's EU Bid
Zaman Online - 10 hours ago
By Cihan News Agency. Countries supporting Turkey in the European Union (EU) and the EU Commission have started an initiative to 'immediately open' eight suspended chapters in Turkey's EU talks if one of the ...
Turkey announces new EU accession strategy Southeast European Times

CBC News

War Returns to Horn of Africa
Zaman Online - 7 hours ago
By Foreign News Desk. Ethiopia’s war against the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) is a new chapter of violence and uncertainty in war-torn Somalia’s history.
1,000 dead in Somalia clashes RTE.ie
US signals support for Ethiopian attacks on Somali Islamists International Herald Tribune
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