New Kosova Report

Region

Region
Friday, 07 December 2007
Pristina _ Kosovo’s new government will most likely declare independence in May 2008, reads a report from the International Crisis Group, ICG, released on Thursday. The report by the influential think tank says that the western countries will have to work hard at the UN Security Council and “be prepared to accept some damage in their relations with Moscow – to ensure that the clear majority of the Security Council will lend support to such a course”. Read More Add Comment (0)

Albania Marks Army Anniversary

Region
Wednesday, 05 December 2007
Tirana, Albanian officials marked the 95th anniversary of the creation of the country’s armed forces with a military parade in the Albanian capital on Tuesday. The parade, held in the “Heroes of the Nation” boulevard, Tirana's main road, was attended by President Bamir Topi, Prime Minister Sali Berisha, opposition leader Edi Rama, and by foreign diplomats, including the US and Italian ambassadors accredited to Albania. Read More Add Comment (0)

NATO chief says troop boost possible in Kosovo to quell potential unrest

Region

Sunday, 02 December 2007

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

NATO will not tolerate any unrest in Kosovo and could increase troop levels if needed, the alliance's secretary general said Friday.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's comments follow deadlocked talks between rival leaders of Serbia and Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians on the future of the province's status.

"Violence is never an option. Violence does not bring a political solution, and violence will not be tolerated," de Hoop Scheffer said.

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New ICTY prosecutor approved

Region

Saturday, 01 December 2007

UN HQ

Belgian lawyer Serge Brammertz will succeed Carla Del Ponte as the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the UN Security Council unanimously decided on November 28. He will take up the post in January 2008, when Del Ponte becomes Switzerland's ambassador to Argentina. Del Ponte had originally planned to step down in September, but agreed to the UN's request to stay until the end of the year. That decision ensured that the end of her term coincided with the end of Brammertz's tenure as the head of a UN investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Brammertz, who has long been touted as Del Ponte's successor, was appointed for a four-year term, but the ICTY is due to close its doors in 2010, two years after accepting its last cases. The key challenge for Brammertz is to bring four remaining war crimes indictees to trial: the Bosnian Serbs' wartime leaders, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic; a Bosnian Serb police commander, Stojan Zupljanin; and a Croatian Serb wartime leader, Goran Hadzic. It will rest with the UN to decide whether to keep the tribunal's doors open should the four not be captured and brought to trial by the end of 2008. Brammertz will be the ICTY's fifth chief prosecutor since its establishment in 1993.

Source: RFE/RL

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Italian PM Prodi to Visit Albania

Region
Saturday, 01 December 2007
Prodi and Beridha Tirana _ Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi is to visit Tirana on Monday at the head of a delegation of Italian business executives who are interested in investing in Albania. He will be holding talks with Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, President Bamir Topi and the leader of the opposition Edi Rama, according to a press release from Berisha’s office. Read More Add Comment (0)