SKOPJE (AP) - The Orthodox Church of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) yesterday took the unusual step of commenting on political issues, warning the government it will oppose any compromise in a longstanding dispute over the country's name with neighbor Greece. «The Macedonian Orthodox Church will not agree, under any circumstances, to any other name but the constitutional one,» a statement said.

ISTANBUL (AFP) - Turkish police were yesterday investigating whether armed Kurdish rebels were behind a bomb blast in Istanbul that killed one suspected bomber and injured a second along with six other people, the Anatolia news agency reported. Police have already made arrests in connection with the explosion that ripped through a sports shoe shop overnight as the suspects were manufacturing the bomb, Anatolia said. Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah confirmed that the blast occurred while the bomb was being made.

The EU should consider taking over law enforcement in Kosovo from the UN as part of a more active engagement in the Balkans, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said yesterday. Solana told a European Parliament hearing in Brussels that the EU had taken over security duties from NATO in Bosnia last year and said «something very similar will have to happen eventually with our relationship with Kosovo.» (Reuters)

Italy said yesterday it had launched a project to help countries in southern and eastern Europe fight widespread human trafficking. In cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IMO), Italy wants to help Croatia, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Hungary to prevent a trade whose victims are often pressed into prostitution or forced labor. The project, financed by the Italian Interior Ministry, seeks to support institutions dealing with trafficking in the four countries. (Reuters)

The European Union's top enlargement official will visit Bulgaria next week to inspect the Balkan country's progress in meeting EU entry requirements, an official said yesterday. Olli Rehn, the EU enlargement commissioner, will hold final talks with Bulgarian officials on October 14, just days before the planned release of a report on Bulgaria's preparedness to join the union in 2007, Foreign Ministry spokesman Dimitar Tsanchev said. (AP)

Turkey resumed the flow of natural gas from Iran yesterday after a 48-hour cut caused by a pipeline explosion, the state-run oil and gas company BOTAS said. «The breakdown in the pipeline was repaired in... 48 hours and the purchase of gas from Iran, which was temporarily cut off, was resumed,» the Turkish firm said. (AFP)