Kosovo general election date set

The United Nations has agreed a date for the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo to hold general elections.

The vote, on 17 November, would come ahead of a report by international envoys on efforts to resolve disputes over the status of the province.

The UN's head of administration in Kosovo, Joachim Ruecker, stressed that talks on the territory's bid for independence would take priority.

Kosovo - currently part of Serbia - has been governed by the UN since 1999.

Last month the UN Security Council failed to find consensus on the province's future. Its majority ethnic Albanian population wants independence.

Mr Ruecker warned the election could be postponed if it threatened to disrupt talks over the future of Kosovo.

"I reserve the right to postpone the elections date should there be a conflict, in particular should the holding of elections be used as an excuse to delay status," he said.