Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has declared his opinion that Serbia should acquire official EU candidate country status as soon as possible.

Sweden’s foreign minister Carl Bildt has called on Serbia not to isolate itself from the rest of Europe as Belgrade’s refusal to recognize Kosovo’s independence threatens future efforts to join an enlarged EU.

Serbia's top security body, the National Security Council, has opened a meeting focusing on the handling of last week's attacks on the U.S. embassy and other embassies in Belgrade.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev has told Serbian leaders there will be no shift in his country's support for Serb sovereignty over Kosovo.

Serbian President Boris Tadic has called for an end to violence after rioters opposed to Kosovo's declaration of independence Thursday attacked the U.S. and other embassies in Belgrade.

The United States has formally protested to Serbia's government over inadequate security at the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, which was attacked and partly burned by demonstrators Thursday. The State Department says Serbian anger over Kosovo independence is no excuse for the attack and anti-U.S. incitement in Serbia. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Police is using tear gas to disperse crowds of rioting people who have been attacking embassies in Belgrade. The closed U.S. embassy building has been set on fire. The Turkish, Croatian and Bosnian legations have also come under attack.

Serbia's president told the U.N. Security Council that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is illegal and violates Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. But despite his demands that the council reject Kosovo's independence, several members expressed their support for the new state. From United Nations headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Belgrade has recalled its ambassador from the U.S. over Washington’s recognition of Kosovo, as the rift among the international community deepened on Tuesday.

A new trans-Siberian link is in the process of being established by the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London. Initial plans are in place for a dual award Masters programme in Petroleum Geoscience with Tyumen State Oil and Gas University (TSOGU) in Siberia, in partnership with TNK-BP.

They will have a new flag to fly, a new anthem to sing, and the support of much of the West. But when Kosovo finally becomes Europe's newest state, that hard-won status will have a huge asterisk attached.

Serbia's government has adopted a resolution annulling an expected declaration of independence to be issued by leaders of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority.