Free Republic

12 March 2008 Pristina _ Kosovo will prove to the countries of the Islamic Conference that its independence does not set any precedent for other regions in the world, a Kosovar delegation said before leaving for the summit on Wednesday. Enver Hoxhaj, the Minister of Education and Bekim Collaku, a senior advisor to Kosovo’s Prime Minister headed on Wednesday to Dakar, the capital of Senegal, where they have been invited by Secretary General of the Islamic Conference organisation, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. Before leaving for Dakar, Hoxhaj told media that “This summit provides a good opportunity for Kosovo to present itself on...

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI met Saturday with Kosovo's president, but the Vatican stressed that the audience did not signal any change in its position concerning the ultimate status of the Serbian province. The meeting took place as ethnic Albanian leaders in Kosovo prepare to declare it independent from Serbia, counting on support from Western countries. Benedict received President Fatmir Sejdiu in a private audience and got a firsthand readout of the situation on the ground, a Vatican statement said. It stressed that the audience with Kosovo's senior leader "does not represent any change in the position of the Holy...

BEIRUT, Lebanon — U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that an Israeli commando raid deep in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Saturday violated the U.N. brokered cease-fire deal, putting the six-day cease-fire with Hezbollah guerrillas to a critical test. Israel said the raid was launched to stop arms smuggling to the militant Shiite fighters, but Lebanon said the operation violated the U.N. truce agreement. One Israeli officer was killed fighting Hezbollah guerrillas, and two were wounded, one seriously. "All such violations of Security Council resolution 1701 endanger the fragile calm that was reached after much negotiation and undermine the authority of the...

ST. PETERSBURG, January 25 (RIA Novosti) - Global infrastructure should be established to give all interested countries access to nuclear energy with reliable guarantees that the nuclear non-proliferation regime will be observed, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday. Putin said Russia was ready to build an international center "to offer nuclear fuel cycle services, including [uranium] enrichment under the control of the IAEA". The Russian leader said the center under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog, would be open to every nation.

It has now been confirmed that our dear brother, Dr. John Garang, 1st Vice President of Sudan and President of Southern Sudan, with others, died in a helicopter crash, South East of New Cush on the Sudan- Uganda border slightly beyond Kidepo National Park. Dr. Garang's party comprising of 5 other Sudanese and a number of Ugandans were flying to a place known as New Site, one of his Headquarters in Southern Sudan. He was returning from a two days consultation with me at Rwakitura.