PRISTINA (AP) – The lack of a strong justice system in Kosovo means that war crimes and crimes against humanity may go unpunished, an international rights group said yesterday in a report criticizing the United Nations. Amnesty International urged the UN not to undertake a similar “failed experiment” in international justice before addressing flaws in the system it set up in Kosovo. In the report titled “Lessons to be learned,” the London-based rights group said the effort to bring international judges and prosecutors to deal with war crimes and serious crimes has failed because of “flaws in the concept, limited resources and the low priority that international justice has been given.” The report accuses the UN of failing to comply with international law and standards concerning the right to a fair trial and said the organization has failed to create a legacy of experienced and trained judges, defense lawyers and prosecutors. The UN mission in Kosovo declined comment.

BELGRADE (AP) – The European Union launched talks yesterday on visa-free travel by Serbs to the 27-nation union – an effort to boost the pro-Western incumbent in the runup to the Serbian presidential election. The talks in Belgrade, conducted by European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini, follow an offer by EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday to open up trade and end visa restrictions on Serbs. Frattini said this means “the future of Serbia is within the European Union. I came today personally to convey this message, not only to the president, but to you, the people of Serbia,” Frattini said.

A car bomb explosion in a small town northeast of Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo killed two people and seriously injured another yesterday morning, police said. The device was most likely placed beneath a vehicle parked in front of a cafe called Omerta in the town of Pale, police spokeswoman Danka Tesic said. Tesic said one of the victims was the cafe’s owner, Vlatko Macar, while the other had not been identified. The injured person was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Local media suggested that the bombing was related to organized crime. (AP)

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov’s plane made an emergency landing on one of the Azores islands in the Atlantic Ocean after a technical problem yesterday, his office said. Parvanov was on his way to an official visit to Mexico when his Russian-made TU-154 had a technical problem. Parvanov canceled the visit and returned to Sofia. (Reuters)

One of Bulgaria’s most notorious crime bosses, nicknamed “The Eyes,” was jailed for four-and-a-half years yesterday for drug trafficking. A court in the Black Sea city of Burgas convicted Dimitar Zheliazkov and 11 members of his gang after they pleaded guilty to charges of founding an organized armed group for drug trafficking. (Reuters)