December 25, 2008	Thursday	Zilhaj 26, 1429

PRISTINA, Dec 24: Kosovo decided on Wednesday to name a central street of its capital Pristina after outgoing US President George Bush for his support of the territory’s split from Serbia.

Backed unanimously by Kosovo’s cabinet, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said the move was “a sign of the huge state and national respect and appreciation” for the United States’ contribution to independence, declared earlier this year.

Located in Pristina’s downtown area, Bush Street is to be linked to the main thoroughfare named after Mother Teresa, the 1979 Nobel Peace Laureate of Albanian origin.

Separately, the government pledged 5,000 euros ($7,000) towards a statue honouring Bush’s predecessor, Bill Clinton, popular in ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo over Nato’s 1999 air war against Serb forces.

The three-metre tall statue, a project started in 2007, is to stand in a square of Pristina, which already has a Bill Clinton Boulevard graced by a 7.5 metre-high mural of the former US leader.

The US was one of the first of more than 50 countries to recognise the independence of Kosovo, which is staunchly opposed by Serbia and its ally Russia.—AFP