Military

A sonic boom that echoed over Washington Sunday was caused by two fighter jets scrambling to intercept an unresponsive aircraft that later crashed in rural Virginia, officials told AFP.

Residents of the city and its suburbs reported hearing the thundering noise, which rattled windows and shook walls for miles and caused social media to light up with people asking what had happened.

Personnel and military equipment from the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey will pass through the Bulgarian republican road network, the Ministry of Defense reports.

For at least two years, officers at the Serbian Interior Ministry's State Security Service kept records thoroughly about their outgoing on personnel. About every two weeks, they made a list of all the people receiving per diem allowances and the total amount of money paid to them.

NATO on Thursday ramped up pressure on its member Turkey to drop its objections to Sweden's membership as the military organization seeks to deal with the issue by the time US President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet next month.

Foreign Minister Vassilis Kaskarelis asked for the release of two ethnic Greek men who were imprisoned during a mayoral election campaign in Albania at a meeting with the country's counterpart Olta Xhacka, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.

The request was made on the sidelines of the informal Summit of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs taking place in Oslo.

A smaller group of Serbs remained on the watch in front of the municipalities.
Members of KFOR are still in front of the municipalities, while members of special forces are present within the local self-governments.
The mayor of Leposavic has been sleeping within the municipality for three nights.

European leaders meet Thursday at a summit held on one of the most vulnerable points on the continent's strategic frontline, in a show of diplomatic force designed to pressure Moscow.

The European Political Community (EPC), which groups 27 EU members with 40 of their allies and excludes Russia and Belarus, chose Ukraine's tiny neighbour Moldova for its second summit.

ZVECAN - Two Serb men arrested during Monday's clashes in Zvecan and subsequently handed over by Kfor to Pristina's police were transferred to court detention in Kosovska Mitrovica on Wednesday morning, former Zvecan mayor Dragisa Milovic said.

He said Rados Petrovic and Dusan Obrenovic were due to appear before a judge later in the day.

Hill added that this will affect relations with Washington, but that he is not familiar with all the details either.
He told reporters in Belgrade and added that progress must be made in the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, the formation of the CSM and the continuation of the dialogue.

The UN court in The Hague is delivering its final verdict on Wednesday in the war crimes retrial of top Serbian State Security officials Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, who have appealed against their 12-year sentences for involvement in wartime crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.