Independence for Kosovo backed

LJUBLJANA -- The United Nations envoy to talks on the future of Kosovo, going beyond past statements, has recommended that the region be granted "independence" from Serbia. It is "the only option for a politically stable and economically viable Kosovo," the diplomat, Martti Ahtisaari, wrote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. In the past he studiously avoided the word "independence," which UN officials considered too inflammatory for Serbia and its allies to be raised in the negotiation process. Ahtisaari's letter is likely to add more heat to the debate in the UN Security Council, which is expected to start discussing details of the proposal Monday. (New York Times)

united states

WASHINGTON -- The US Coast Guard has seized 43,000 pounds of cocaine hidden in two containers aboard a ship off the coast of Panama, the largest American seizure of the drug at sea, officials said yesterday. The Coast Guard cutters Hamilton and Sherman intercepted the Panamanian-flagged Gatun Sunday about 20 miles southwest of Isla de Coiba after a patrol aircraft spotted the vessel the previous day, the Coast Guard said. Fourteen Panamanian and Mexican crew members were arrested and will be charged by US and Panamanian authorities, officials said. (Washington Post)

britain

LONDON -- An air purification system malfunctioned yesterday on a nuclear-powered British submarine during an exercise in the Arctic, killing two sailors and injuring a third, officials said. The HMS Tireless was submerged under an ice cap in a joint exercise with the United States when the malfunction occurred, officials said. . HMS Tireless is a hunter-killer submarine and does not carry nuclear missiles, officials said. The injured sailor, whose injuries were described as non-life-threatening, was airlifted to a US military hospital. (AP)