Serbian President Boris Tadic has been pressing for international talks this week on the status of Kosovo, claiming the province's ethnic Albanian leadership is threatening to "illegally" declare independence Feb. 17.
Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has not confirmed the date, but Friday he proclaimed that, having received the backing of about 100 nations, Kosovo's split from Serbia is "a done deal."

Asked about the turmoil in the region, the apostolic nuncio to Serbia, Archbishop Eugenio Sbarbaro, told Vatican Radio, "We are in the middle of a very difficult situation and we don't know what will happen. The great majority are not happy and the possibilities are there that could result in another Middle East; I hope not, but the premises are there."

Serbia remains strongly opposed to the secession of the province, which it considers to be the cradle of its statehood and religion. According to a 2002 census, Serbia's population -- excluding Kosovo -- is 85% Serbian Orthodox, 5.5% Catholic and 3.2% Muslim. While in Kosovo the population is 90% Albanian Muslims, 6% are Serbian Orthodox Christians and 4% are Albanian Catholics, Serbian Orthodox maintain close ties to historically and culturally important Orthodox monasteries in the region.

Britain experienced some pretty bleak years in the last century, years you'd want to forget. 1940, when - on the brink of defeat - we stood alone against Hitler. Or 1926, the year of the General Strike. But it's difficult to imagine a year more ludicrous, or more damaging to the country, in the long term, than 1968.

A YEAR CHOCK FULL OF DELUDED TEENAGERS, of fatuous slogans, of bombs and sit-ins and bad music and worse films. A year when everything the country believed in was turned on its head by extremely ill-kempt people who perhaps went a long time between baths. And even longer between shaves. People we should, by rights, have entirely ignored, or just smiled at indulgently. A YEAR OF DRUGS, VIOLENCE, "FREE SEX" and the lionising of congenital idiots like the Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing, the German social theorist Jurgen Habermas and a multitude of self- styled freedom fighters wearing frankly embarrassing headgear.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A YEAR WHEN THINGS FIRST STARTED TO GO BAD, WHEN THE LUNATICS AT LAST GOT THEIR GRUBBY PAWS ON THE CONTROLS OF THE ASYLUM, 1968 IS IT.

THE REMARKABLE THING IS THAT THE HALF-BAKED AND NARCISSISTIC IDEOLOGIES OF THAT DISMAL 12 MONTHS ARE STILL WITH US, in our schools, in our law courts, in our social services; they have permeated every facet of our lives. A DISRESPECT FOR AUTHORITY, CONTEMPT FOR THE FAMILY UNIT, MULTICULTURALISM, "YOOF CULCHA" AND AN EMPHASIS UPON RIGHTS RATHER THAN RESPONSIBILITIES.

A permissiveness and indulgence shown towards every anti-social phenomenon from the use of illegal narcotics to single mothers and suicide bombers ("We really need to understand them better") - all that stuff was forged in the rather tepid British spring and summer of 1968. And now, AS WE CELEBRATE THAT YEAR'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY, you can expect to see a parade of its noisome luminaries on your television screens - because 1968 is still a year dear to the hearts of many in the media and especially, I would reckon, the BBC.

In retrospect, it proved to be the first time anyone in power anywhere took the slightest notice of what teenagers had to say about anything - and BACK THEN IT SEEMED THAT TEENAGERS WERE ABOUT TO INHERIT THE WORLD. We are fighting to rid ourselves even now of most of the cultural nonsense imposed upon us by 1968 and those years immediately prior to it. THE BIZARRE EXCESSES OF MULTICULTURALISM, founded in a belief that the white establishment orthodoxy was an imperialistic construct, corrupt and useless, is only now being kicked into touch.

When the children are naughty they must never be struck; indeed they must hardly be gainsaid, still less chastised. Radical feminism - which in 1968 reached its apogee with the radical writer Valerie Solanas's shooting of the pop artist Andy Warhol - has won every battle it set out to fight. THAT WONDERFUL NEW SEXUAL LIBERATION HAS LEFT US WITH A COUNTRY FULL OF SINGLE MOTHERS ON BENEFIT, THE CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY, MILLIONS OF DIVORCEES AND SOME VERY RICH LAWYERS. The overthrowing of the art establishment has given us a Turner Prize winner in a bear suit and a soiled mattress or a stuffed shark sold for tens of thousands of pounds.

Similarly, firefighters are facing a torrent of abuse and mindless attacks from yobs as they attempt to save lives. In a "sad reflection of today's society" motorists refuse to stop for funeral processions and regularly cut up hearses.

The shocking reports from undertakers come as firemen reveal they regularly come under fire from yobs. Union chiefs are warning that firemen need more protection from violent thugs - with 40 crews a week facing serious attacks. Gangs of yobs are luring crews on to the streets with hoax calls or by setting fire to rubbish bins or cars.

The firemen are then surrounded and pelted with stones, bricks, bottles and even petrol bombs. There have also been stabbings, booby-trap explosions and crews shot with airguns, while verbal intimidation and abuse have become commonplace. Assaults leapt from 1,300 to 1,500 last year according to the Fire Brigades Union.

The boat had been captured in 2004 together with six Royal Marines and two sailors in the Shatt al Arab waterway that divides Iraq and Iran. To outrage in Britain, Tehran humiliated the servicemen by parading them blindfolded on TV and forcing two to read out apologies after alleging they had strayed into its territorial waters - claims categorically denied by Britain. Yesterday Iran sought to embarrass Britain once again, trundling the boat through the capital raised up on the back of a lorry.

Hundreds of thousands cheered as the boat, with messages extolling the glories of Iran's Revolutionary Guard tied to its side, passed by. The boat had once been part of the Navy's fast reaction combat patrols in the Shatt al Arab. It was one of three seized by the Iranians in 2004. Although the servicemen were released, the boats have never been returned to Britain.

Last March there was a similar incident in which 15 sailors and Marines were captured by Iranian troops, together with two boats, in the Gulf. Again, they were put on state TV before being released. Yesterday's parading of the boat through Tehran was part of celebrations to mark the 29th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran.

But they were also pioneers in the health arena - particularly in the area of eye care, with remedies for various eye conditions such as short-sightedness and conjunctivitis. Perhaps most surprisingly of all is that the Romans - and others from ancient times, including the Chinese, Indians and Greeks - were also able also to carry out cataract operations. The Romans were almost certainly the first to do this in Britain. Nowadays the procedure can be carried out with the help of ultrasound, but in Roman times technology was rather more basic - needles were inserted into the eye. The sharp end of the needle was used for surgery and the blunt end heated to cauterise the wound.

Dr Nick Summerton, GP and advisor to the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has written a book "Medicine and Health in Roman Britain". In it, he details how various medical instruments found in Britain indicate that the Romans carried out other advanced procedures, such as head surgery and induced abortions. "Archaeological finds of eye medicine stamps, representations of eyes together with a sickness report from the Roman fort at Vindolanda suggest that eye diseases were a particular concern within Roman Britain," said Dr Summerton.

"Interestingly the Roman author Celsus described cataract extraction surgery using a specially pointed needle - and possible cataract needles (specilla) have been found in Britain as well as elsewhere in the Roman Empire."

Counter-terrorism officials say "insiders" or their associates are almost certainly working "undetected" in sensitive posts and are actively supporting the activities of extremists. In some cases, lifelong relationships between friends or relatives are being exploited to obtain crucial information from those in sensitive posts. The development is detailed in intelligence reports circulated to the Home Office, police and Whitehall officials. The London Underground, Gatwick airport and BT are cited as examples of organisations which have been targeted by individuals linked to terrorists.

Officials say the idea of "penetrating the enemy is pervasive" for Islamic extremists. It is understood a number of suspected jihadists working in Government departments and the public services are being monitored by the security services. Details of the threat emerged months after the Daily Mail revealed fears that Scotland Yard has been infiltrated by individuals linked to extremist groups including Al Qaeda.

Fanatics who infiltrate the Government or the "Critical National Infrastructure" - vital utilities such as water, electricity, transport and communications - have a number of objectives. These include trying to gain information on what the law enforcement agencies know about the activities of fellow Islamist extremists and how to evade the attention of police and the security services. They may also try to obtain information or intelligence to help them to carry out acts of terrorism.

This involves getting access to premises or individuals "with the immediate purpose" of mounting an attack or obtaining sensitive information to facilitate a later atrocity. The extremists might also seek information which is of "indirect use" to the planning of a terrorist attack - such as getting access to banking information to raise money through fraud, gaining insider knowledge about airport security and surveillance measures on the London Underground.

The prices companies must pay for raw materials soared at an annual rate of 18.9 per cent in January, the highest since records began 22 years ago. Factory gate prices - charged by those same firms for their finished goods - rose by 5.7 per cent, the sharpest increase for some 16 years. The supermarket price of butter is up 62 per cent in a year, free-range eggs by 40 per cent, milk by 21 per cent, bread by almost 10 per cent and cheese by about 25 per cent. Only yesterday, the price of rice hit an all-time high on international markets. The bigger than expected increases in factory gate prices were described as "horrific" by City economist Alan Clarke of BNP Paribas, who warned of higher shopping bills.

Howard Archer, Global Insight's chief UK and European economist, said: "The January figures are really horrible and will likely send blood pressures higher at the Bank of England. The data reinforces concerns about inflation risks and further limits the scope of the Bank to cut interest rates aggressively to try and reduce the danger of a sharp economic downturn." The figures, published by the Office of National Statistics, reveal that the amount UK manufacturers must pay for raw materials is showing alarming increases. The surging cost of wheat led to a 36 per cent rise in food ingredient prices in the past 12 months, the biggest jump for more than 20 years. Oil prices rose by more than 70 per cent, which is the highest annual rise since 2000.

Ross Walker of Royal Bank of Scotland warned that the report casts "serious doubt" on City expectations for rates to be hacked back from 5.25 per cent to near four per cent. He said: "These figures cannot be as merely an energy and food price issue - price increases are broad-based, partly a reflection of sterling's depreciation." Compounding the economic woes, Britain last year recorded its largest annual goods trade deficit since records began in 1697. The gap between imports and exports swelled to £87.4 billion from £77.4 billion in 2006.

"THE GREAT WEAPON THEY HAVE IS PERSISTENCE AND PATIENCE, and the one weakness that we have is THE TENDENCY TO LOSE PATIENCE AND BECOME COMPLACENT," Chertoff tells WTOP.

"It strikes me as hard to accept that anybody would believe the threat is over. There is nothing these terrorists are doing or saying that could lead a reasonable person to believe that they have somehow lost interest. Our biggest challenge is making sure we do not drop our guard because time passes."

Chertoff recognizes it has been more than six years since al Qaida launched the Sept. 11 attacks, but some experts say that's how long it took to plan them, suggesting the U.S. may close in ON ANOTHER SPECTACULAR ATTEMPT BY OSAMA BIN LADEN TO TOPPLE THE U.S. ECONOMY.

The Rev. Andrzej Trojanowski, a soft-spoken Pole, plans to build a "spiritual oasis" that will serve as Europe's only center dedicated to performing exorcisms. With the blessing of the local Catholic archbishop and theological support from the Vatican, the center will aid a growing number of Poles possessed by evil forces or the devil himself, he said. "This is my task, this is my purpose -- I want to help these people," said Trojanowski, who has worked as an exorcist for four years. "There is a group of people who cannot get relief through any other practices and who need peace."

Exorcism -- the church rite of expelling evil spirits from tortured souls -- is making a comeback in Catholic regions of Europe. Last July, more than 300 practitioners gathered in the Polish city of Czestochowa for the fourth International Congress of Exorcists. About 70 priests serve as trained exorcists in Poland, about double the number of five years ago. An estimated 300 exorcists are active in Italy. Foremost among them: the Rev. Gabriele Amorth, 82, who performs exorcisms daily in Rome and is dean of Europe's corps of demon-battling priests.

"People don't pray anymore, they don't go to church, they don't go to confession. The devil has an easy time of it," Amorth said in an interview. "There's a lot more devil worship, people interested in satanic things and seances, and less in Jesus." Amorth and other priests said the resurgence in exorcisms has been encouraged by the Vatican, which in 1999 formally revised and upheld the rite for the first time in almost 400 years.

Gregg William Bergersen, 51, of Alexandria, was arrested at his home on espionage charges. Tai Shen Kuo, a Taiwan-born U.S. citizen, 58, and Yu Xin Kang, a Chinese national, 33, both of New Orleans, were arrested in New Orleans on charges of conspiracy to provide defense secrets to China. Mr. Bergersen worked as a weapons system analyst for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, in Arlington, which is in charge of U.S. arms sales to foreign nations. He held a top-secret clearance.

One official said the case involved the transfer of command, control, communications and intelligence equipment originally sold to Taiwan that was diverted to China. Court papers state that the three men conspired to transfer defense secrets during meetings with Chinese intelligence officials. "Today's prosecution demonstrates that foreign spying remains a serious threat," said Kenneth L. Wainstein, assistant attorney general for national security.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed a major rally in Tehran a week after Iran sparked international concern by test-launching a rocket designed to carry its first domestically made research satellite into orbit. "God willing, next summer the first 100 percent Iranian-made satellite will be positioned in orbit," he said.

The West fears Tehran is covertly trying to obtain nuclear bombs. Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, says it needs nuclear energy to meet booming electricity demand. The technology used to put satellites into space could also be used for launching weapons, analysts say, and both the United States and Russia have expressed concern about the rocket test.

Russia, which has long argued there is no evidence Tehran is seeking atomic weapons, and which is supplying fuel for its Bushehr nuclear power station, said the test raised suspicions about the real nature of Iran's atomic program.

Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the six, who include alleged plot mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The charges, the first for Guantanamo inmates directly related to 9/11, are expected to be heard by a controversial military tribunal system. About 3,000 people died in the hijacked plane attacks.

The Guantanamo Bay detention centre, in south-east Cuba, began to receive US military prisoners in January 2002. Hundreds have been released without charge but about 275 remain and the US hopes to try about 80. Brig Gen Thomas Hartmann, a legal adviser to the head of the Pentagon's Office of Military Commissions, said the charges alleged a "long-term, highly sophisticated plan by al-Qaeda to attack the US".

Our technological and industrialized world is filled with magicians, wizards, occultism, spiritualism, fortune tellers, spell trafficking, amulets, as well as very real Satanic sects. Chased away from the door, the devil has come in through the window. Chased away by the faith, he has returned by way of superstition.

The episode of Jesus' temptations in the desert that is read on the First Sunday of Lent helps us to have some clarity on this subject. First of all, do demons exist? That is, does the word "demon" truly indicate some personal being with intelligence and will, or is it simply a symbol, a manner of speaking that refers to the sum of the world's moral evil, the collective unconscious, collective alienation, etc.?

Many intellectuals do not believe in demons in the first sense. But it must be noted that many great writers, such as Goethe and Dostoyevsky, took Satan's existence very seriously. Baudelaire, who was certainly no angel, said that "the demon's greatest trick is to make people believe that he does not exist."

The rise has followed an influx of hundreds of thousands of Eastern Europeans into the UK since 2004. At the same time the number of British people claiming incapacity benefit has soared while there has also been an increase in people emigrating. Official figures from the Labour Force Survey show that the number of foreigners in the UK workforce increased between 2001 and last year by 864,000 - to just over two million people. This is equivalent to one in 14 of a total working population.

The Conservatives last night said the disclosure undermined Gordon Brown's vow to create jobs for British workers. Critics claim many British workers are either simply unemployed or claiming to be too ill to work. Around 4.8 million people are currently claiming out-of-work benefits. Around 2.6 million are on incapacity benefits - 120,000 more than when Labour came to power in 1997.

The US administration is pressing the 27 governments of the European Union to sign up for a range of new security measures for transatlantic travel, including allowing armed guards on all flights from Europe to America by US airlines. The demand to put armed air marshals on to the flights is part of a travel clampdown by the Bush administration that officials in Brussels described as "blackmail" and "troublesome", and could see west Europeans and Britons required to have US visas if their governments balk at Washington's requirements.

According to a US document being circulated for signature in European capitals, EU states would also need to supply personal data on all air passengers overflying but not landing in the US in order to gain or retain visa-free travel to America, senior EU officials said. And within months the US department of homeland security is to impose a new permit system for Europeans flying to the US, compelling all travellers to apply online for permission to enter the country before booking or buying a ticket, a procedure that will take several days.

The data from the US's new electronic transport authorisation system is to be combined with extensive personal passenger details already being provided by EU countries to the US for the "profiling" of potential terrorists and assessment of other security risks. As part of a controversial passenger data exchange programme allegedly aimed at combating terrorism, the EU has for the past few months been supplying the American authorities with 19 items of information on every traveller flying from the EU to the US.

The new American demands go well beyond what was agreed under that passenger name record (PNR) system and look certain to cause disputes within Europe and between Europe and the US. Brussels is pressing European governments not to sign the bilateral deals with the Americans to avoid weakening the EU bargaining position. But Washington appears close to striking accords on the new travel regime with Greece and the Czech Republic. Both countries have sizeable diaspora communities in America, while their citizens need visas to enter the US. Visa-free travel would be popular in both countries.