PRISTINA (Reuters) – Albania yesterday urged swift recognition of Kosovo, saying further delay to the Albanian majority’s bid for independence from Serbia risked destabilizing the region. “After many attempts, much suffering, tears and the shedding of blood, the process of determining Kosovo’s final status has reached its destination,” President Bamir Topi said in a speech to parliament in the breakaway Serbian province. “Delay cannot be good for the future,” he said. “Further delay will endanger peace and security not only in Kosovo, but in the entire region.”

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is considering signing an interim pact on trade and cooperation with Serbia before a February 3 presidential election to try to boost the pro-European incumbent, diplomats said yesterday. The interim agreement would normally enter into force only when the EU signs a Stabilization and Association Agreement with Belgrade and pending its ratification, but the Netherlands and Belgium have so far blocked that signature to demand the arrest of a key fugitive war crimes suspect. “The idea is that the European Commission could be given the green light by foreign ministers next Monday to sign the interim agreement to give the Serbs some positive gesture,” a senior EU diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

The Bosnian Serb government said yesterday it has sold its 49 percent stake in Glas Srpske newspaper for 1.94 million euros (2.85 million dollars). The daily was bought by a local consortium of the private Nezavisne Novine newspaper and Integral Inzinjering. (AFP)

A former Bosnian Serb army commander convicted of murder and persecution for his role in the Srebrenica massacre was transferred to Norway yesterday to serve the rest of his 15-year sentence, the Hague tribunal said. The UN court cleared Vidoje Blagojevic of complicity in genocide on appeal last year but upheld other charges against him and so reduced his original prison sentence of 18 years by only three. (Reuters)

A UN court yesterday sentenced five Kosovo Albanians to jail terms of up to eight years over anti-Serb riots four years ago, a rights group said. A panel of international judges found the five guilty of destroying property in the Serb enclave of Kosovo Polje, some 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Pristina, said the Humanitarian Law Center. They were convicted of having looted and set fire to buildings, houses and vehicles after a trial that lasted three months, said the Belgrade-based human rights monitor. (AFP)