Afghanistan’s Taliban was holding out for a neutral venue for talks with South Korea over the fate of 21 hostages they are threatening to kill.

SEOUL (Reuters) – The South Korean government has told Taliban insurgents holding 21 Koreans there is a limit to what it can do to resolve the hostage standoff that has stretched into a third week, an official said on Friday.

GHAZNI, Afghanistan – The Taliban sought guarantees of safety from the U.N. mission in Afghanistan for possible hostage talks with South Korean officials in government-controlled territory, a purported spokesman for the militants said Friday.

Retired Bosnian Serb General Zdravko Tolimir, who was recently captured and sent to The Hague war crimes tribunal for alleged involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, refused to attend a court session Wednesday (August 1st) regarding his health, claiming he was “in excellent condition”.

Former chief of the Turkish General Staff General Hilmi Ozkok said on Wednesday (August 1st) that any decision on launching military operations in northern Iraq depends on the government.

A monument to assassinated Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was unveiled in Prokuplje on Wednesday (August 1st) with his mother and sister on hand. The ceremony, which coincided with Djindjic’s birthday, was also attended by Serbian President Boris Tadic, Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, Parliament Speaker Oliver Dulic and other …

Travellers can expect visa relief after they receive new passports scheduled for the spring of 2008, Foreign Minister Milan Rocen said on Wednesday (August 1st). During a working breakfast with journalists, the first since the formation of the new government, Rocen announced that a unified EU visa application centre would …

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced hope Wednesday (August 1st) that Contact Group representatives will help forge a deal that will end the current political deadlock over Kosovo status.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Parliament adopted a law on higher education Monday (July 30th), addressing a key source of contention with the international community and opening up new opportunities for students.

Mortars slammed into a residential area of the Somali capital overnight, killing eight people — including a pregnant woman — and wounding more than 20, witnesses said Thursday.