The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued the first arrest warrants for suspected war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region May 2, but the Sudanese government has refused to recognize the court’s authority. Sudan’s humanitarian affairs minister and a militia leader are charged with facilitating the rape, murder and torture of civilians in Darfur.

Hundreds of Serbian former militiamen from the Balkan Wars of the 1990s gathered in central Serbia May 5 to pledge renewed violence if Kosovo is granted independence. The United States and its allies have backed a United Nations proposal for an independent Kosovo, a region of Serbia that’s mostly ethnically Albanian.

Politicians agreed May 3 to hold early presidential elections July 22, after opposition parties boycotted a presidential vote May 6, rendering the vote invalid and causing the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party candidate Abdullah Gul to withdraw. The secular opposition has said Turkey’s secular state will be threatened if the Islamist AK Party controls both the presidency and Parliament.

Two rival politicians agreed May 4 to work together to set a date for parliamentary elections. On April 2, President Viktor Yushchenko ordered early elections in late May. His main rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, head of a coalition with a parliamentary majority, called that decree unconstitutional and accused the president of manipulating his way into gaining parliamentary control.

Eight peacekeeping soldiers from France and one from Canada died when their plane crashed in Egypt’s Sinai region May 6, the French Defense Ministry said. The crash cuts France’s 15-person peacekeeping contingent in Egypt by more than half. Reports said the plane had been flying lower than normal before it crashed.