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BELGRADE, Serbia - A handful of protesters broke into the U.S. embassy in Belgrade on Thursday, cheered on by crowds outside, in a protest at U.S. support for Kosovo's independence.

SEVERAL hundred protesters threw stones and flares at riot police protecting the US embassy in Belgrade today after Kosovo's declaration of independence, witnesses said. One policeman was injured during scuffles as riot police fought to keep the protesters, mainly hardline football fans, away from the embassy building, the witnesses said. One embassy window was smashed. The protesters marched through the middle of the capital towards the US embassy chanting "Kosovo is Serbia" and anti-American slogans. They waved Serbian flags and vowed to protest "until Kosovo is returned to Serbia". After the scuffles, protesters dispersed in nearby streets, while the police...

BRUSSELS, KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- Beta says an analysis shows Kosovo's unilateral declaration will first be recognized by some Islamic countries. The news agency has had insight into the document, put together "by some EU countries", that says the province's independence declaration, rejected by Serbia, will be recognized in "three waves". Albania, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and some other Muslim countries will lead the way, the report says. This will be followed by Austria, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and, the document speculates, France, Great Britain, Germany and Italy. The United States is also likely to recognize Kosovo very soon. The "second wave"...

The Kosovo War isn't over. At the moment, Serbian ballots take precedence over bullets; democratic electoral politics are a blessing in Serbia and Kosovo, just like they are in Iraq. But make no mistake: Sunday's first-round 2008 presidential vote in Serbia was another battle in the Kosovo War, and it will not be the last. Tomislav Nikolic, a radical Serbian nationalist and "Euro-sceptic," finished ahead of current President Boris Tadic. Tadic is a Serb nationalist but prefers regional political moderation and (despite occasionally rabid campaign rhetoric) favors EU membership. The runoff is scheduled for Feb. 3. Nikolic is the protege...

Introduction: The Missing Link Why did the US support the separatist and terrorist so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA, or UCK in Shqip), which sought to create an ethnically pure Albanian Kosovo based on ethnicity? Why did the US sponsor a criminal and illegal separatist movement that sought to ethnically cleanse non-Albanians and create an independent state of Kosova? Why was the US supporting and sponsoring the re-establishment of a fascist-Nazi Greater Albania that Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini had initially created? ... The recruitment of the former Nazi-fascist members of the Balli Kombetar by the CIA and MI6 in 1948...

The writer is ambassador of Serbia in Israel. If I were to say that Israel deserved to qualify for the European championship, most local football fans might agree. Israel played really well - the best ever. However, England deserved to qualify too - especially if you look back in history: They invented the game, after all. Nevertheless, neither of them will be heading to the championship because there are certain rules and conditions which preclude that from happening. If someone came along insisting that Israel and England take part in the finals anyway and made room for them by excluding...

Kosovo Albanians refused to give up the dream of independence Wednesday during the final round of talks on the future status of the province. Serbia, however, is refusing to grant anything more than autonomy. German papers fear the consequences for the region and the EU. Last-ditch efforts to find a solution to the problem of Kosovo failed on Wednesday -- as expected. Three days of talks involving Serbia, the Kosovo-Albanians and envoys from the European Union, the United States and Russia had failed to produce an agreement for the future status of Kosovo that would be palatable to both sides....

ANALYSIS: Tensions Rise in Balkans By DUSAN STOJANOVIC BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Facing a possible loss of Kosovo, Serbian nationalists are re-igniting tensions in the Balkans, a region still reeling from brutal civil wars in the 1990s. They're sending out dark hints about coming to the aid of their Serb brethren in neighboring Bosnia — a prospect that could unleash a new wave of ethnic violence. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and his nationalist followers have launched a campaign against the international administrator for Bosnia, accusing him of seeking to dissolve the Serb mini-state carved out in a 1995 peace...

KIEV, Ukraine, Oct. 22, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today thanked fellow participants in the Southeast Europe Defense Ministerial conference for their support in Iraq and Afghanistan and told the group he plans to press NATO to live up to its commitments in Afghanistan. Gates, speaking with SEDM members at their 12th conference, expressed frustration that some NATO countries still haven’t followed through with troop commitments made at the 2006 NATO session in Riga, Latvia. “I am not satisfied that an alliance whose members have over 2 million soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen can’t find the modest...

Immigration authorities are asking a court to let them sedate an Albanian restaurant owner before putting him on an airplane for deportation because they believe he will again fight attempts to remove him. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked a federal judge to give them permission to medicate Rrustem Neza of Lufkin, a 32-year-old asylum seeker agents couldn't deport in August because he was terrified and did not calm down. A physician from the U.S. Public Health Service would administer the sedative and a medical worker would accompany Neza during the flight. "Unless this Court enjoins Neza from any further...

While vacationing in Kos, Nick Kolyohin from Tel Aviv was cornered in alley and beat up by a group of youths yelling anti-Semitic epithets. Kolyohin stuck in Greece without his passport after attackers snatched his bag Ronny Gal Published: 10.05.07, 05:48 / Israel News While vacationing in Greece, Nick Kolyohin, 24 from Tel Aviv, was beat up by a group of youths, apparently from Albania, in a violent anti-Semitic attack. Kolyohin, who was visiting Greece with four friends aged 22-24, found himself hospitalized and fearing for his life, without his passport or any way to get home to Israel until...

This is a bit dated, but then, I had no idea... Did you realize that Albania is the first country to destroy its entire chemical weapons stockpile (18 tons!)?

In coming weeks, an international confrontation is likely to occur among the United States, the European Union, and Russia over an issue most Americans have long since forgotten: Kosovo, where a few hundred Americans remain deployed as part of a NATO force protecting a shaky interim peace that ended the 1999 U.S.-led intervention. For most Americans this obscure Serbian province, with its mainly Albanian Muslim population and its hundreds of Serbian Christian churches and monasteries, may be a little-remembered footnote to the breakup of Yugoslavia. However, now is the time for clear thinking about next steps if Kosovo is to...

The younger brother of the slain 11-year-old Pantelija Dakic was carrying the cross to mark his brother’s grave at the funeral. August 13, 2003, Gorazdevac, Kosovo-Metohija, Serbia.Four Years Later: Massacre of Serbian Children Unpunished Monday August 13 marks the four year anniversary since the brutal massacre of two Serbian children and wounding of four more in the Bistrica River, in the village of Gorazdevac, close to Pec in Kosovo province. The memorial service held each year for the slain boys was held today in the Church of the Most Holy Mother of God in Gorazdevac. Out of six Serbian boys...

Is the United States out of the intervention business for a while? With two difficult wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a divided public, the conventional answer is that it will be a long time before any American president, Democrat or Republican, again dispatches troops into conflict overseas. As usual, though, the conventional wisdom is almost certainly wrong. Throughout its history, America has frequently used force on behalf of principles and tangible interests, and that is not likely to change. Despite the problems and setbacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, America remains the world's dominant military power, spends half a trillion...

1 August 2007 AMSTERDAM – The police in Zuid-Limburg have arrested a gang of Albanian human traffickers. The three men are suspected of human trafficking, hostage taking, abuse and rape. One victim, a 36-year-old woman of Yugoslavian descent, was rescued by police. She had gone into hiding months ago in Limburg with the help of police because she had been forced into prostitution by the gang. But the gang managed to find her and took her into their control once again. It was five months before she was able to alert her contact person with the police by sms text...

So, the secret is out. The “premier” of the Kosovo government, the former ringleader of the terrorist “Kosovo Liberation Army” Agim Ceku has named the date, to which the Albanian leaders of the province would time their declaration of independence. That is slated for November 28,2007, when the neighbouring Albania will celebrate its principal state holiday - Day of the Flag. But the holiday has to do with Albania but indirectly. It has long been viewed by the Albanian diaspora scattered all over the world as Day of All Albanians. To understand what Kosovo separatists mean by selecting this particular...

The brotherhood of Zociste Monastery in Metohija has declined to remove the Serbian flag from their belltower after being asked to do so yesterday by international forces in Kosovo and Metohija. The request to remove the flag was made after Albanian threats that if the monks did not do this, the monastery would be attacked. Bishop Artemije of Raska and Prizren said that "if someone is bothered by the flag, then they should intervene" but that the monks would not remove the flag. Members of Austrian KFOR which secures the monastery advised the monks early yesterday morning that the Albanians...

Italy’s political forces of all color and hue are alarmed by the possibility of Kosovo’s proposed independence even though some prefer to pretend otherwise, Alleanza Nazionale Senator Alfredo Mantica, deputy chairman of the Commission on Foreign Affairs, told me in Rome earlier this month. Mantica, a veteran politician who was Italy’s deputy foreign minister in Berlusconi’s coalition government, favors a pause of several months “to reflect on this issue, and to consider the consequences of opening what may well prove to be Pandora’s box.” Mantica has no doubt that Kosovo’s independence would establish an important precedent, regardless of various assurances...

They have bought the fireworks to celebrate their first Independence Day, but Kosovar Albanians' dreams are once again being deferred. Repeated attempts to persuade Serbia, and its key ally Russia, to agree to a U.N. sponsored independence plan for the Balkan province have failed. Now, despite promises this spring that the plan would be approved in May, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Dan Fried has told Kosovar leaders that they may now have to wait until 2008 before their dream is fulfilled. Nor is that a sure thing. Kosovo's Prime Minister and former rebel commander Agim Ceku...

Richard Hodges, Professor of World Archaeology at the University of East Anglia, directed the first excavations in 1994... Thirteen years on, the English lords still support the work at Butrint, along with another multi-millionaire, David Packard of the Hewlett Packard computer fortune. Between them about £500,000 is being spent on Butrint every year... At the foot of the acropolis there is a well-preserved Greek temple with Roman additions. And alongside the massive walls of an early Christian church, I could make out the double circle of pillars of a Baptistery in the centre of a perfectly preserved intricate mosaic floor....

Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht is quoted in the paper as saying that many members of the Security Council and of the EU think that unconditional negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade should begin. This, says the paper, means dropping a clause in the draft resolution for Kosovo which specifies automatic approval of the Ahtisaari's package after 120 days of negotiations. The move is categorized by the paper as another concession to Russia which is much greater than before. "It is such a great concession that it is not known how the Unity Team and the Kosovo citizens will receive...

Here is a link for a video that appears to show Bush's watch disappearing, while he is shaking hands in the crowd. Its a foreign site. http://www.nos.nl/nosjournaal/artikelen/2007/6/12/120607_bush_horloge.html

George W. Bush, Hero of Albania! At least there's one place in the world where they show the Decider some love. That was a wonderful reverse-Borat moment Sunday, with the joyous townspeople of Fushe Kruje yelling "Bushie! Bushie!" and Albania's prime minister gushing over the "greatest and most distinguished guest we have ever had in all times." The crowd pressed in for autographs, photographs, a presidential peck on the cheek. Years from now, in his dotage, Bushie will feel warm all over when he recalls those magical hours in Albania. How they adored him! Outside of greater Tirana, however, the...

And while the merry Serbs are reveling in their “Prayer” sweeping the Eurovision Song Contest and busy themselves with cheering their young tennis stars making a grand entrance on the international tennis scene, Albanian Muslims from Kosovo province prefer obsessing with imaginary corpses. Kosovo Albanian separatists, famous for their engaging Nosferatu personalities, seem determined…to invent mass graves throughout Serbia, at the very start of a tourist season, where they can allege the remains of their dear KLA-terrorist fathers and sons are buried by the Serbs. … Alas, four full days of digging under the watchful eye of NATO/Albanian/Soros necromancers have...

For a single day, George W. Bush knew what it felt like to be Bill Clinton. In Albania on Sunday, Bush for the first time got the Clinton treatment—being adored, cheered, hugged, reached for, applauded. And little wonder: Bush reiterated American support for Kosovo independence, gratifying the jihad-enabling Albanian goal for a “Greater Albania.” His reception in Tirana is the kind of instant gratification you get when you pursue fluffy, Clinton-like policies, in this case an actual Clinton policy—instead of sticking to your guns and doing the harder thing, the right thing. Bush is experiencing the adulation that comes with...

Feedback Email this page Print Version Albania, Israel to boost relations 28/03/2006 Prospects for greater co-operation were highlighted during a recent visit by an Israeli Foreign Ministry delegation, led by the ministry's deputy director, Ambassador Mark Sofer. By Erlis Selimaj for Southeast European Times in Tirana – 28/03/06 “We are looking forward to boost relations in the marketing field, health and agriculture. These fields are identified as of interest for both countries”, said Israeli diplomat Mark Sofer. [File] Albania and Israel are seeking to boost their political and economic ties, with Israeli firms considering investment in a number of sectors,...

Bush’s wristwatch disappeared while he shakes hands with Albanian citizen 11 June 2007 | 19:22 | FOCUS News Agency Tirana. US President George Bush lost his wristwatch while he was shaking hands with Albanian citizen yesterday on his visit to Albania, Spanish agency EFE informed according to local TV channels information. Televisions broadcast a video that shows that while Bush greeting Albanian citizens, his watch disappears. Although the White House denies information that US President has lost his watch.

TIRANA, Albania (AP) - President Bush, enthusiastically welcomed as the first U.S. president in this former communist nation, served notice Sunday he is running out of patience with Russia's objections to independence for neighboring Kosovo. "Sooner rather than later you've got to say 'Enough's enough - Kosovo is independent,'" Bush said, telling Albanians what they wanted to hear. He said independence was a certainty. Nearing the end of an eight-day trip, Bush got a hero's reception in this desperately poor country, still struggling to recover from being cut off from the rest of the world for four decades under the...

U.S. President George Bush greets crowds of Albanians in Fushe Kruje, Albania, Sunday, June 10, 2007.

Can you remember the last time you heard "Today" or other MSM outlets describe in terms such as "over the top" rabid anti-Bush protests by the likes of the Cindy Sheehan crowd, the Code Pink girls, or the kind of folks pictured below? Neither can I. But let President Bush receive a warm welcome from Eastern European crowds who appreciate his leadership on behalf of their freedom, and "Today" just can't take it. On this morning's "Today" at 7:04 am EDT, NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reported from Bulgaria on the president's European trip, in which crowds in Bulgaria and notably in...

First it came loudly and clearly through the State Department when on May 15 in Moscow, after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "Kosovo will never again be a part of Serbia." Then, in late May, George Bush himself came out in favor of the so-called Ahtisaari Plan for the Serbian province of Kosovo, named after its creator, Martti Ahtisaari, the former president of Finland, by which that province is to gain independence under "international supervision," a view he has now restated at the G-8 Summit of the world's leading industrial states in Germany....

Today the President continued his european trip with visits to Albania being the first US President to visit the country. He arrived in Bulgaria this evening on the final leg of the tour. After his visit to Bulgaria tomorrow he is scheduled to fly home to Washington DC. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

President Bush, enthusiastically welcomed as the first U.S. president in this former communist nation, served notice Sunday he is running out of patience with Russia's objections to independence for neighboring Kosovo. "Sooner rather than later you've got to say 'Enough's enough - Kosovo is independent,'" Bush said, telling Albanians what they wanted to hear. He said independence was a certainty. Nearing the end of an eight-day trip, Bush got a hero's reception in this desperately poor country, still struggling to recover from being cut off from the rest of the world for four decades under the harsh rule of dictator...

US President George W. Bush, leaving behind thousands of anti-Bush protesters in Rome, got a hero's welcome in Albania on Sunday as he became the first American president to visit this tiny impoverished nation. When Mr. Bush arrived on his brief stop in Tirana, the hills overlooking the capital boomed as military cannons fired a 21-gun salute to the president. Thousands of people gathered in the downtown square on a brilliantly sunny day to see the president and first lady Laura Bush

..... a robust greeting in the predominantly Muslim country. Huge banners proclaimed "Proud to be Partners," and billboards read "President Bush in Albania Making History." Red-white-and-blue paper top hats with stars on top were passed out to well-wishers in this Balkan nation. Albania has such an affinity for America that it issued three postage stamps with Bush's picture and the Statue of Liberty and renamed a street in front of parliament in his honor. "I love to come to countries that are working hard to establish institutions necessary for democracies to survive," Bush said.

<p>Bush said a proposal floated at last week's Group of Eight summit in Germany by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who suggested a six-month delay to try to ease Russian objections to independence, would work only if statehood was the ultimate objective.</p>

via translation - Arrival of George W. Bush with Tirana TIRANA - American president George W. Bush arrived Sunday at the airport of Tirana-Rinas for a visit of a few hours, the first of a president of the United States to Albania, noted a journalist of AFP. Mr. Bush, accompanied by his Laura wife, must meet president Alfred Moisiu, the Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the Prime Ministers Croatian and Macedonian, respectively Ivo Sanader and Nikola Gruevski. The arrival of One Air Force in Tirana was retransmitted on line by Albanian national television, sign of the importance that Albania, a...

TIRANA, Albania, — The highlight of President Bush’s European tour may well be his visit on Sunday to this tiny country, one of the few places left where he can bask in unabashed pro-American sentiment without a protester in sight. Americans here are greeted with a refreshing adoration that feels as though it comes from another time. “Albania is for sure the most pro-American country in Europe, maybe even in the world,” said Edi Rama, Tirana’s mayor and leader of the opposition Socialists. “Nowhere else can you find such respect and hospitality for the president of the United States. Even...

Albania prepares to welcome U.S. president 8 June 2007 | 11:02 | Source: Southeast European Times TIRANA -- Albania is preparing for the upcoming visit by U.S. President George W. Bush, scheduled for Sunday, June 10th. Lawmakers have approved legislation to boost cooperation and security, leading up to the visit. Prime Minister Sali Berisha's administration is spending approximately EUR 1mn to refurbish government buildings, including the Foreign Ministry and other institutions that Bush will visit. Tirana is being decorated with Albanian and U.S. flags to mark the occasion. Bush will be the first U.S. president to visit Albania, a trip...

05 06 2007 In contrast to many countries, where presidential visits are controversial, Albanians seem united in their desire to welcome the US leader, seeing him as their best ally in the world. By Besar Likmeta in Tirana Albania's capital, Tirana, is decked out in the stars and stripes of the American flag in preparation for the long-awaited visit of the US President George Bush, whom most Albanians consider their greatest friend in the world. The countdown for the June 10 visit has long started, with the government scrambling hard to complete the tight security measures needed to protect the...

TIRANA, May 31 (Reuters) - An Albanian government decree allowing U.S. Marines to be the only armed corps guarding President George W. Bush on a visit next week has been seen by some in Albania as an insult to their security forces. Albania has been looking forward to Bush's visit on June 10, the first by a U.S. president. He will be staying for seven hours as part of a regional tour. As part of preparations, parliament on Thursday approved an act that allows more than 500 combat-ready U.S. troops entry into the country, and sanctions their use of "force...

Stuck in their cottage outside the northern Albanian village of Mnela, 14-year-old Flori Bardoku and his younger sisters watch suspiciously whenever anybody makes the hour-long journey up the path to their home. The reason for their caution is understandable: while most of their trickle of visitors are villagers bearing food and gifts, they know that one day someone may come to kill them. The four siblings and their mother have lived in fear of their lives ever since their father, Martin, killed his cousin's wife in Mnela after discovering her in bed with another man. He is serving 10 years...

They were born women but chose to be men, guardians of property, wealth and family honour. The price of their power? Celibacy. Antonia Young on the virgins upholding an ancient Albanian tradition Saturday March 31, 2007 The Guardian In the rigidly patriarchal society of the remote mountain villages of northern Albania and beyond, they have a unique way of providing a head of the household when there is no male heir, or the men of the family have died in battle. A girl - or her parents - may declare that she has become a "male". From then on, she...

Kosovo Builds Statue To 'Saviour' Clinton Last Updated: 2:35am BST 24/05/2007 Kosovo Albanians plan to honour their “saviour” Bill Clinton by erecting a statue of the former United States president in the capital of Serbia’s breakaway province. Izeir Mustafa was thrilled to be asked to sculpt a statue of Bill Clinton The 10ft tall monument is still under construction in a studio in Podujevo, 40km north of Pristina. “He is our saviour. He saved us from extermination,” Izeir Mustafa, the sculptor, said. “I was thrilled by the work because I know what he did for us.” Kosovo has been under...

The "Pro-American" Terrorists By Julia Gorin FrontPageMagazine.com | May 22, 2007 On cue, within minutes of news that four Albanians were involved in a plot to attack American soldiers in New Jersey, we were treated to the familiar disclaimers of Albanian pro-Americanism, meant to keep us on program — lest the American people finally demand a reevaluation of our self-destructive 1990s alliances which still dictate current policy....

Gunmen hijack bus in northern Italy, 1 police officer reportedly injured Gunmen hijack bus in northern Italy, 1 police officer reportedly injured MILAN, Italy -- Three armed men hijacked a regional bus Tuesday in northern Italy and set it on fire after freeing the passengers, officials said. An off-duty police officer was injured and two of the three hijackers were apprehended. Read more

AP News Alert ROME (AP) -- Authorities say armed attackers have taken over a bus traveling in northern Italy

The three Kosovo-Albanian Duka brothers implicated in the plot to massacre American soldiers at Fort Dix were in the roofing business, and they lived in New Jersey, which is next-door to New York. New York is where the big dog in Albanian roofing lives. His name is Florin Krasniqi, and he was the subject of a 2005 documentary aired on PBS and titled “The Brooklyn Connection.” (Here’s the cast of colorful characters, and here are some clips on YouTube.) In addition to raising $30 million for the Kosovo jihad from the Albanian-American community, Krasniqi smuggled high-powered sniper rifles from the...

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- When hundreds of Muslims gather at the Albanian Islamic Center in Tompkinsville for the Jumu'ah -- the midday service on the holiest of Muslim days -- they expect the imam to teach them history or lessons from the Quran. But Imam Zurkani Vardari interrupted yesterday's afternoon sermon to address what has no doubt weighed heavily on many of their minds. "We are shocked and appalled to receive the news of the possible terror attack on Fort Dix military base in New Jersey," Vardari said during an emotional reading of a statement condemning the alleged plot. That...