BELGRADE (AP) - The alleged mastermind of the assassination of Serbia’s reformist prime minister refused to enter a plea yesterday, claiming what he has to tell the court could influence this weekend’s presidential elections. Milorad Lukovic, who is charged with orchestrating the March 2003 sniper attack on Zoran Djindjic, had first asked the three-judge panel for a recess, saying that “I do not want to influence in any way” Sunday’s presidential race in Serbia. Lukovic’s demand was formally rejected by the court, which declared itself independent from politics, but his subsequent refusal to enter a plea still led to the trial’s postponement until Monday.

PRISTINA (AP) - Kosovo’s outgoing UN chief administrator yesterday urged the international community to stay engaged in Kosovo or face terrorism and violence if they give up on efforts to stabilize the troubled province. In a farewell which coincided with the fifth anniversary since Kosovo was placed under UN administration, Harri Holkeri called on international officials to speed up the process of finding a solution for the province’s political status, which has been in limbo since the war ended in 1999. “If the international community gives up here, that would be a carte blanche for terrorism, for violence, all kind of actions against humanity,” he told reporters.

Albania must fight poverty, unemployment and corruption, improve the rule of law and protect the environment better to avoid instability, a UN report released yesterday said. Albania, with a population of 3.1 million, is one of Europe’s poorest countries, with an estimated 300,000 people classified as undernourished and nearly one in two people living on $2 or less a day. Unemployment is estimated at up to 30 percent, and the average monthly income is just 19,000 leks ($185). “The report identifies poverty and unemployment as the primary concerns for human security in Albania,” the UN Development Program report said. (AP)

Turkey’s Bosporus strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, will be closed during the June 28-29 NATO summit in Istanbul for security reasons, a Turkish political source said yesterday. (Reuters)

Bosnia’s top international official yesterday slammed the country’s administration for excessive spending. Paddy Ashdown, speaking a day after an audit report said the administration’s budget-busting spending harmed the country’s already shattered economy, told reporters that the spending amounted to “theft from the public purse.” “In any normal country what would follow now would be resignations,” he said. “Somebody has to take responsibility.” (AP)