HARADINAJ ACQUITTAL
Former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj could face a re-trial after chief UN war crimes prosecutor Serge Brammertz lodged an appeal against his acquittal, the Associated Press reported on May 2. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) acquitted Haradinaj, a former leader of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), of ethnic cleansing charges. One of his co-defendants, Idriz Balaj, was cleared of all charges, while another, Lahi Brahimaj, was sentenced to six years in jail. All were accused of torturing, raping and murdering Serbs residing in Kosovo in 1998/99. The chief justice recognised that the trial, which saw Haradinaj at large, may have been skewed because witnesses did not feel secure enough to speak freely. Out of 81 witnesses, 34 had to be given special protection, Agence France Press said.

ROMANIA ELECTIONS
The local elections campaign in Romania was officially launched on May 2, although a large number of candidates had started even earlier. Some candidates wooed voters with handouts of food before the Orthodox Christian Easter on April 27, while others went for Labour Day open-air parties with free mici (a traditional Romanian grilled meat roll) and beer, local media reported. Voting turnout is expected to be low for the polls, which are seen as the starting point for the parliamentary elections, held later this year.

TURKISH AIR STRIKES
Turkish jet fighters carried out a fresh round of attacks on cells of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Turkish newspaper Anatolia reported on May 2, quoting northern Iraqi security officials speaking on condition of anonymity. The attack took place on May 1 in Qandil region, near the Iraq-Iran border, which is believed to be the hiding place of PKK leaders. According to a pro-Kurdish news agency Firat, the attack lasted three hours.

KOSOVO PASSPORTS
Kosovo announced it would issue new passports and other personal documents to replace those issued by UNMIK in the past nine years, New Kosova Report news agency said on May 1. Printing of the new documents was said to start as early as July 2008. The documents would have the highest security standards in the region, New Kosova Report quoted Kosovo interior minister Zenun Payaziti as saying in a BBC interview.