THE HAGUE (AFP) - Serbia-Montenegro yesterday asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to help reconciliation in the Balkans and reject Bosnia’s claim that Belgrade committed genocide during the bloody 1992-95 Bosnian war. “If Serbia-Montenegro was found guilty of genocide the consequences would be disastrous... I ask the court to rule in favor of reconciliation not the continuation of conflict,” Serbia’s representative Radoslav Stojanovic said, recalling that Bosnia’s Serb entity did not support the ICJ case against Belgrade.

PRISTINA (AP) - The EU’s Kosovo envoy arrived in the disputed province yesterday for talks with officials focusing on the economy, an official said. Stefan Lehne, who represents the EU in the UN-mediated talks between Kosovo’s and Serbia’s officials taking place in Austria, will meet with the economic experts on the negotiating team, said Torbjorn Sohlstrom, an EU official. Lehne will also meet with the president, the prime minister and other officials during his visit, he said.

More than 14,000 union members marched yesterday on the streets of Bucharest to demand higher wages and pensions. “We want to be European citizens, not the paupers of Europe,” said Marius Petcu, a union leader. The Romanian unions demand a fivefold increase in the minimum wage to 500 euros a month by 2007 to help cope with rising costs of utilities. (AP)

Three people died and 111 were hospitalized in southern Turkey after eating poisoned food at a funeral banquet, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. One person hospitalized remained in serious condition, the agency said. (AFP)

Romanian President Traian Basescu is feeling well after undergoing back surgery in Vienna to fix a herniated disc yesterday, doctors and officials said. He was flown to a specialized hospital in Vienna late on Monday after doctors recommended an urgent operation. (Reuters)