Serbia seeks extradition from France of Kosovo ex-premierBelgrade, 10 January 2017 (MIA) - Serbia has formally requested the extradition of a former Kosovo prime minister from France to face war crimes charges after his arrest there on a Belgrade warrant, AP reports.
Ramush Haradinaj, a former guerrilla fighter in Kosovo's 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia, was detained Wednesday at Basel Mulhouse Freiburg airport.
A French court has ruled that Haradinaj should stay in custody until it decides whether to turn him over to Serbian officials.
Haradinaj was cleared of war crimes charges in two trials by a UN war crimes tribunal. But Serbia accuses him of committing war crimes including kidnappings, torture and killings against Serb civilians when he was a senior rebel commander in western Kosovo.
Tensions between Serbia and its former province of Kosovo have soared since the arrest. lk/15:37
###
Three killed, 10 wounded as tent roof collapses in mosque in Istanbul
Istanbul, 10 January 2017 (MIA) - Three people were killed and more than 10 were wounded on Tuesday after the roof of a tent collapsed on to a mass attending a funeral ceremony at a mosque in Istanbul’s Bakirkoy district, Hurriyet Daily News reports.
A group of people were in a funeral prayer in the quad of the 5 Kısım Mosque in the Atakoy neighborhood when the tent’s roof collapsed after being pressured by thick snow and striking storm.
The wounded were immediately taken to nearby hospitals while firefighters and rescue teams rushed to the scene to rescue those trapped under the roof.
A witness told Dogan News Agency that they had been warned of a possible collapse. He said the roof collapsed in an instant and created panic among the people.
Another witness said he survived the collapse within seconds after stepping out of the area, adding that the collapse created a huge noise.
Bulent Kerimoglu, the mayor of Bakirkoy, has also said municipality teams had arrived at the mosque earlier during the day and warned of a potential collapse after observing that the roof of the tent was overfilled with snow.
Over the past four days, Istanbul was on hold amid heavy snowfall in what Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas described as the heaviest since 2009. ik/15:47
###
No breakthrough in sight at Cyprus talks
Vienna, 10 January 2017 (MIA) - Negotiators have not been able to move closer to a final deal that would end the separation of Cyprus into a Greek and a Turkish side after 40 years, the Greek Cypriot side said on the second day of talks in Geneva.
"We are as far removed from a solution as we are from a non-solution. Difficult topics are being discussed," said Nikos Christodoulides, government spokesman for the Greek side of the Mediterranean island.
The Greek and Turkish leaders of Cyprus - Nicos Anastasiades and Mustafa Akinci - discussed the economic costs of a reunification and how a future federal Cyprus will be governed.
However, Greek and Turkish Cypriot media reported that both leaders remain apart on the issue of the presidency of the reunited country.
In addition, the presence of troops from neighbouring Turkey on the island is also unresolved.
Greek Cypriots want these troops to leave, while the Turkish community wants Ankara to remain their protector, with a military presence on Cyprus.
A breakthrough on this issue was "not in sight" at the moment, a Cypriot diplomat told dpa.
Both sides have been conducting talks for 19 months.
Anastasiades and Akinci are scheduled to hold bilateral meetings until Wednesday. On Thursday, Greece, Turkey and Britain - Cyprus‘ former colonial power - are set to join them to negotiate the external security of Cyprus. lk/18:31
###
Public gatherings banned in Ankara amid debate over constitution
Ankara, 10 January 2017 (MIA) - Authorities in the Turkish capital Ankara have banned demonstrations and public gatherings for the next 30 days, as parliament debates a controversial overhaul of the country‘s leadership structure, dpa reports.
A warning from the intelligence services over a planned terrorist attack on such gatherings was the reason for the measure, which covers the whole province of Ankara, the provincial governor said.
Parliament this week began considering the reform of Turkey‘s presidential system, which would give the president - currently just head of state on paper - the power to run the government.
The reform bill passed its first hurdle overnight, with a majority agreeing to debate the constitutional reform.
The debate was preceded by demonstrations outside the parliament building against the new system. Police used tear gas and water cannons to break up the protests.
The pro-Kurdish HDP is refusing to take part in the debate in protest over the arrest of 12 its lawmakers, German-Turkish representative Ziya Pir told dpa on Tuesday.
The HDP, along with the biggest opposition party CHP, say they are concerned the new presidential system could create a dictatorship in Turkey.
In imposing the ban on gatherings, Ankara‘s provincial governor invoked the state of emergency in place across the country since an attempted coup in mid-July. lk/19:14
###
Montenegro says border demarcation is an internal problem for Kosovo
Tirana, 11 January 2017 (MIA) - Montenegrin Foreign Minister Srgjan Darmanovic said that the unresolved border demarcation with Kosovo is an internal matter for the Kosovans to settle. Darmanovic was speaking during his visit to Albania, where he said that Montenegro overall good relations with Kosovo.
"The issue of border demarcation is not a problem for us. It is an issue that is up to political forces in Kosovo to resolve. It's their internal problem", Darmanovic said at a joint press conference with Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati.
Montenegro and Kosovo reached an agreement on border demarcation, but Kosovan opposition parties protested it, saying that it cedes land to Montenegro. Violent protests erupted around and inside the Kosovo Parliament to block the ratification of the treaty. This has affected the planned membership in NATO for Montenegro, which was approved by all NATO countries but is still being ratified.cc/08:48
###
New evidence against Haradinaj, indictment expanded
Belgrade, 11 January 2017 (MIA) - The Serbian War Crimes Prosecution has decided to expand the indictment against former KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) leader Ramush Haradinaj.
The decision was made because the Prosecution has new evidence, N1 broadcaster has reported.
The evidence concerns Haradninaj's responsibility for war crimes committed in Kosovo that were not previously considered by the Hague Tribunal, and represent an addition to the evidence already submitted to France.
Serbia is seeking Haradinaj's extradition from France, where he was arrested last week.
The new evidence will be sent to the French court dealing with the case as soon as it has been translated into French - which is expected to happen before the end of this week.
|