KLA threaten fresh fighting in Kosovo

PRISTINA Veterans of Kosovo’s 1998-99 guerrilla war said they were prepared to take up arms again if deadlock between the West and Russia continued to block the province’s independence from Serbia.

The ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army veterans warned the international bodies running the territory, primarily the United Nations, not to block the process. A statement said that if their demand for independence was not met they would be “forced to act as KLA soldiers to fulfill the oath of our national heroes”. Talks between Serbs and Albanians ended in stalemate in March. (Reuters)

Kasparov urges unity

MOSCOW Garry Kasparov, the anti-Putin campaigner, called on the Other Russia opposition group to unite behind a single candidate for next year’s presidential elections. He called for those who opposed the “corrupt, cowardly regime” to join forces. Last week Mikhail Kasyanov, co-leader of the coalition with Kasparov, left the group after declaring himself a presidential candidate. (AFP)

Drugs minister quits

KABUL Afghanistan’s anti-drugs minister has resigned after his country’s farmers cultivated an opium poppy crop expected to equal or exceed last year’s record harvest. Habibullah Qaderi had headed the ministry since December 2004 but poppy cultivation ballooned under his term in office. Last year’s crop accounted for more than 90 per cent of the world’s heroin supply. (AP)

Bear gets bigger

BERLIN Knut, the polar bear cub, and Thomas Doerflein, the zoo keeper who raised him, are to give up the twice-daily appearances that turned them into international celebrities since the animal is now big enough to be dangerous. Their regular morning and afternoon appearances will have to stop now that seven-month-old Knut had grown to 50 kilos (Reuters)

Pupils die on volcano

JAKARTA Poisonous fumes were believed to have killed six youngsters who were among about 50 students camping on an Indonesian volcano. Several others suffered sickness. The children died on Saturday, close to one of the two craters on Salak Volcano, south of Jakarta. A doctor said that the victims, aged between 14 and 16, were found with blood and foam on their mouths and noses. (AP)

Children find head

PRAGUE Czech police appealed for help in identifying a young woman after children playing behind a school found her head in a plastic bag. One of the children, a 12-year-old girl, telephoned police in the northern city of Ústi Nad Labem. The victim was said to be aged between 17 and 20. Police believe that she was killed two to three weeks ago. (AFP)

Pardons dropped

PARIS President Sarkozy disappointed thousands of prisoners by renouncing his right to free them in a traditional Bastille Day pardon. His predecessor, Jacques Chirac, regularly ordered the mass release of prisoners to coincide with the July 14 French national holiday. Last year about 3,500 were freed. Prison officers said that they feared a backlash from inmates. (Reuters)

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