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Letter to the editor

Kosovo cheers in anticipation of independence

By Times Wires
Published December 11, 2007

Serbia

Thousands of wildly cheering pro-independence demonstrators marched through Kosovo's capital, Pristina, Monday as a sense of euphoria swept the breakaway province preparing to gain statehood early next year. Kosovars, assured of staunch U.S. support and a promise of recognition from all but one European Union country, reveled in hopes that a decades-old dream may be within reach despite fierce opposition by Serbia and Russia. International mediators failed to negotiate a compromise on Kosovo's future by Monday's U.N. deadline, and the next government in Kosovo is expected to declare independence next year.

Taiwan

President says no on independence

Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian pledged Monday that before he steps down in May he will not declare formal independence - a move China has said would require it to retake the island by force. Chen's comments on the issue were his most explicit to date. They appeared to be aimed at reassuring Washington, the island's most important foreign partner.

Israel

U.S. military chief holds talks on Iran

The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff attempted to reassure Israeli defense leaders Monday that the United States still views Iran as a serious threat to the Jewish state, even as the Israelis disagree with an American intelligence finding that Iran ceased its nuclear weapons program in 2003. Adm. Michael Mullen discussed the National Intelligence Estimate of Iran's nuclear program with the head of Israel's military and Defense Minister Ehud Barak in back-to-back meetings in Tel Aviv, where the report has provoked widespread debate over U.S. intentions.

Bahamas

Findings confirmed in Smith's death

The late son of reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith was killed by a combination of methadone and the antidepressants Zoloft and Lexapro - a cocktail that would have turned lethal after about five hours - a pathologist testified Monday during an inquest into the death. The conclusion by Dr. Govinda Raju, who performed the official autopsy on Daniel Smith, confirms the findings of a private doctor who examined the 20-year-old's body after he died Sept. 10, 2006, in the Bahamas. Anna Nicole Smith died Feb. 8 in Florida from an overdose of drugs.

Elsewhere

England: Police filed charges Monday against the wife of a former British prison officer accused of faking his death in an insurance scam, alleging she illegally obtained $330,000 after he was declared dead. Anne Darwin, 55, was scheduled to appear in court today. Her husband, John Darwin, 57, also has been charged.

Times wires

[Last modified December 11, 2007, 02:01:47]