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The seat of government in the capital, Pristina, briefly caught fire after it came under a hail of petrol bombs. Firefighters quickly doused the flames and police used tear gas to drive back several thousand opposition demonstrators. They were protesting against a European Union-brokered deal to give Kosovo's ethnic Serb minority greater local government powers and the possibility of financing from Belgrade. Opposition leaders say the government should resign over the accord and call an early election. ... Kosovo's government has accused opposition party leaders of organizing the violence and attempting to drag the country into "crime and anarchy." "The...

Tuesday at a news conference in Kosovo’s capital city Priština, King Abdullah of Jordan declared the planet was in the midst of a Third World War.

Inevitably, some extraordinary security measures were taken in Kosovo's capital in connection with William Jefferson Clinton's recent visit. The former president of the United States undertook a long journey to the middle of the Balkans in order to take a look at his own figure standing twelve feet above the rest of humanity. There could be little doubt that those extraordinary measures added additional tension in the life of the current and former residents of the area. Let's clear up a possible confusion: many of the current Albanian residents of Pristina live in the houses of the former Serbian owners...

BERLIN (AFP)--Germany had to press Kosovo to win the release of three of its nationals held as part of a probe into a bomb attack in Pristina, and is now considering cutting aid, a source told AFP Sunday. "Nothing has been decided but it is accurate that a certain amount of pressure was exercised and that these considerations are taking place," the source with knowledge of bilateral ties said, confirming a report in the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The newspaper reported Sunday that Berlin had brought "massive pressure" to bear on the Kosovan authorities to have the three men,...

via translation - ALERT - Kosovo: Thaçi confirms a proclamation of independence Sunday PRISTINA (Serbia) - Prime Minister of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi confirmed Saturday that the independence of the province in southern Serbia was proclaimed Sunday, when he said "the will of the citizens of Kosovo" will be executed.

First off, lets remember who greeted us with flowers during their liberation and who didn't.

PRISTINA, Serbia-The U.N. mission in Kosovo will allow Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica to visit the disputed province, a U.N. official said Monday. Kostunica will participate Wednesday in ceremonies marking Vidovdan, or St. Vitus Day, which marks the day that Ottoman forces defeated a Christian army led by Serbian Prince Lazar in 1389, a U.N. official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. Kosovo has been administered by the U.N. since mid-1999, when a NATO air war halted a crackdown by Serb forces on ethnic Albanians seeking independence. Kostunica had asked U.N....

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, who had been suffering from lung cancer, died on Saturday, Kosovo officials close to the president said. He was 62. A Western official in the provincial capital of Pristina confirmed that Rugova had died. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make a public announcement on the president's death. Rugova, who came to embody ethnic Albanians' struggle for independence from Serbia, was officially diagnosed with lung cancer last September.

Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, a central figure in the province's political life for the past 15 years, has announced he has lung cancer. In a TV address Monday, he said he would "overcome this battle" and stay on in office. Addressing the people of Kosovo in a TV address on Monday (5 September), President Ibrahim Kosovo said he has been diagnosed with lung cancer and would now undergo intensive treatment in order to "overcome this battle". He also said he has no plans to step down. Rugova returned to Kosovo's capital, Pristina, on Saturday after a week of treatment...

KOSOVO and Albania’s centuries-old code of honour has been modernised to try to reduce the number of men killed or forced into hiding by blood feuds and vendettas. About 5,000 people met this month at a clan gathering in northern Albania where they decided that in a case of murder, only the actual killer, rather than his extended family, can be targeted in a revenge blood feud. The traditional Albanian code of honour is known as the "Kanun of Leke Dukagjini", after a 15th-century guide to social behaviour written by a medieval leader. The Kanun, or code, essentially demands blood...

Ethnic cleansing of Serbs in Pristina, March 17-18 The first three photos in the upper row show the damaged block of apartments known as YU building in which some 100 Serbs lived since 1999. Once a city of 40.000 Serbs Pristina is now ethnically cleansed city. Kosovo Albanian mob rampaged through the Serb flats looting them and setting them on fire. Many Serb cars were destroyed too. The building was unprotected. The lower row photos show the burned church of St. Nicholas in Pristina. The church was built in the 19th century and possessed a valuable Altar screen with...

Refugees return to Kosovo capital From correspondents in Pristina, Serbia-Montenegro February 5, 2004 THE organised return of Serbs driven out of the Kosovo capital in 1999 began today with the arrival of four people. The family of three returned to their Pristina home with the assistance of the United Nations and the Danish Refugee Council, and temporarily took in another Serb woman until she can resettle in her house. It is estimated that some 220,000 Serbs fled the province, which has a predominantly Albanian population, after a NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia forced Belgrade to withdraw its security forces which...

I just met Wes clark, about 15 minutes ago at the Gerrish Community Center hear in Derry, NH. He didn't call on me during the town hall meeting so I approched him afterwards. I asked about General Sir Micheal Jacksons comment about not wanting to start WW3 for Clark when Clark ordered troops to prevent Russians from taking Kosovos Pristina Airport near the end of the war. Clark told me that Jackson was exhausted and hystserical when he said that." implying that he didn't really mean that. "Would you do the same thing again ?" I asked. He said "yes"....

PRISTINA -- Tuesday – A loud explosion was reported in southern Pristina just after 10.00 last night. Beta news agency said the blast outside the former university campus could be heard across Kosovo’s capital city. Two UN vehicles parked nearby were also destroyed. There are no details of casualties or who might have been responsible.

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Monday, July 21, 2003 Two explosions rock Kosovo's capital PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - Two separate explosions ripped through Kosovo's capital on Sunday evening, targeting a police station and the vicinity of the district court. No one was reported injured. The blasts occurred just a few minutes after 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) in the province's capital, Pristina. The first explosion went off near the city's district courthouse, said Barry Fletcher, a U.N. police spokesman. Less then a minute later, what appeared to be a hand grenade exploded at a police station, damaging a U.N. vehicle in the parking lot. The station...

Few events in recent history brought the Russians so much false pride and celebration as the dash to Pristina airport and its occupation in the aftermath of the Kosovo war. Russian forces moved into the airport during the night without notifying anyone, a few hours ahead of the scheduled NATO deployment of troops. This, after staunch opposition to the war that almost ruined Russia-U.S. relations. It was a colorful stunt, but Russia gained little from it besides alienating much of Western opinion. In fact, it could have led to a Russia-U.S. shooting match. For months thereafter, Russian generals were given...

Consular offices in Pristina may close | 21:17 | Tanjug PRISTINA -- Saturday – Officials are considering closing the US and British representative offices in Pristina, because of the possibility of terrorist attacks, Tanjug reports today. Sources within the offices say the only alternative to closing the offices is the suspension of public services and additional protection by US and British KFOR troops. An Islamic terrorist group is presumed to be behind the bombing of two international police stations in Kosovo overnight as well as a false bomb alert outside university buildings in Pristina. The group had earlier warned...