NICOSIA (AFP) - Rival Cypriot leaders are to hold a key meeting tomorrow to decide if enough progress has been made on the ground to warrant the launch of a new peace initiative to end decades of division. «This meeting is really important, because things have been difficult and we need to move up to the next stage,» an EU diplomat told AFP. «This is one of the most important meetings, because the three-month deadline since March has passed and we should be moving toward direct negotiations,» the diplomat added.

SARAJEVO (AFP) - Twelve southeastern European countries launch a new bloc tomorrow to speed up development and boost ties with the EU, but analysts warn political instability in the region may hamper its efforts. «Our main goal is to strengthen cooperation between the governments in the region, boost their links with the EU and monetary institutions with the aim to accelerate development,» the Regional Cooperation Council's (RCC) Secretary General, Hido Biscevic, told AFP. The RCC includes Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey and will start operating in full force on July 1.

Eighty-eight people have been arrested for trying to attack participants in Bulgaria's first-ever gay pride march, the Interior Ministry said yesterday. They include Nationalist Union leader Boyan Rasate, who faces legal proceedings for hooliganism, the ministry said, after he launched a campaign against Saturday's march and urged people to openly resist it. (AFP)