Parliament dissolved as Serbian rift grows

BELGRADE President Tadic of Serbia has dissolved parliament and called early elections for May 11 after the ruling coalition collapsed in a rift over ties with the EU and Kosovo’s new independence. “The elections are a democratic way for citizens to say how Serbia should develop in years to come,” Mr Tadic said in a statement.

The Government’s collapse comes less than a month after Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia. The dissolution was requested by the Government of the nationalist Prime Minister, Vojislav Kostunica, which had vowed to stop Serbia’s EU integration unless the Union acknowledged Kosovo as part of Serbia. (AFP)

Sudan is blamed for rebel column

NDJAMENA Chad accused Sudan of sending heavily armed rebels across its border.

A government statement read on Chad’s national radio said that columns of “mercenaries” had crossed near Moudenia, north of the border town of Ade.

The main rebel leader denied this, but an observer in eastern Chad said he had seen at least 25 pickup trucks carrying fighters heading for Moudeina. (AFP)

Ultimatum on hostage swap

DUBAI The North African wing of al-Qaeda gave Austria three days to secure the release of some of its members held in Algeria and Tunisia in return for two Austrian hostages that it is holding. In a statement posted on an Islamist website, al-Qaeda said that it had informed the Austrian Government of the ultimatum. Wolfgang Ebner, 51, and Andrea Kloiber, 43, went missing during a trip to Tunisia on February 22. (Reuters)

More Somalis flee violence

NAIROBI Nearly 20,000 civilians flee violence in Mogadishu every month, according to the UN refugee agency chief for Somalia. Guillermo Bettocchi said: “The situation is deteriorating. We don’t see any improvement.” (Reuters)

Government teeters

SKOPJE The Macedonian coalition Government was facing collapse after the main ethnic Albanian party threatened to pull out over minority rights. The Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, has a slim majority. Macedonia borders Kosovo. (Reuters)

Sentence delay for Britons

NICOSIA The Cypriot Supreme Court adjourned until April 4 sentencing Michael Binnington, 21, and Luke Atkinson, 22, Britons convicted of the 2006 manslaughter of a Cypriot teenager, to give the defence more time to present evidence. (AFP)

Tourists saved from ship

POROS A Greek tourist boat with more than 300 people on board was evacuated after it ran aground off Poros, an island near Athens. No injuries were reported.

The 278 passengers of the Giorgis, mainly Japanese, American and Russian, were evacuated by boat. There were 35 crew members on board. Three helicopters and a military transport plane, coastguard vessels and at least 12 other boats helped in the rescue. (AP)

Brother's incest plea

KARLSRUHE A German who fathered four children with his mentally disabled sister lost a court attempt to scrap the country’s incest law. Patrick S. has spent two years in jail for the relationship, which began after they first met as adults. (AFP)

Brotherhood in poll protest

EGYPT Thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members demonstrated in Egypt, saying that more than 90 per cent of their candidates had been barred from April’s local elections. Police arrested hundreds more likely candidates. (Reuters)

Ivy League hit by hacker

CAMBRIDGE, MA Harvard University is notifying 10,000 graduate students and applicants that their personal information may have been exposed when a computer hacker gained entry to its server last month. (AP)

Bear faced court

SKOPJE A Macedonian court convicted a bear of the theft of honey from a beekeeper. Because the bear has no owner, and is a protected species, the State was ordered to pay 140,000 denar(£1,740) for the damage caused to hives. (Reuters)

Space shuttle on station

HOUSTON The space shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station 200 miles above Singapore at the beginning of a joint 12-day mission to install a Japanese laboratory and Canadian robotic system. (Reuters)

Killer hurled cat from fifth floor

BERLIN A plumber who killed his ex-girlfriend’s cat by hurling it from a fifth-floor balcony was sentenced to seven months in jail. The 37-year-old man, Torsten F, said he lost his temper when the pet soiled the apartment. (AFP)

Prisoners in jail bake

COPENHAGEN Four Danish prison guards were treated for poisoning after eating a cake that was baked by inmates and laced with a narcotic. The guards, from a jail in Nyborg, on the eastern island of Fionie, reported stomach pains. (AFP)

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