Serbia expels Malaysia's ambassador

Serbia's Foreign Ministry says the government has expelled Malaysia's ambassador after his country recognized the independence of Kosovo.

The ministry says the Malaysian envoy Saw Ching Hong has 48 hours to leave the country.

The move follows the expulsion earlier this month of Montenegrin and Macedonian ambassadors over their countries' recognition of Kosovo.

The former Serbian province declared independence in February with the support from the United States and most EU nations.

But Serbia refuses to endorse the split. It has asked for a U.N. court's opinion on whether the secession was legal.-AP

TAIWAN NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT MA IS A PEACEMAKER

Taiwan's newly elected president Ma Ying-jeou said, "I will make it crystal clear that Taiwan will be a stakeholder and will not rock the boat in the region. By stakeholder, I mean peacemaker."

Dr Ma is advocating better ties across the Taiwan Strait, but says talks on a peace agreement can only happen after China stops aiming missiles at Taiwan. He says his immediate priority is to boost economic links with the mainland.

Dr Ma, 57, educated at Harvard, put the promise of an economic revival at the centre of his election campaign.

Official results gave Dr Ma, Nationalist Partu (KMT) an advantage of nearly 17 percentage points over Mr Frank Hsieh of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

He polled 58.45%, with Mr Hsieh getting 41.55%, on a turnout of 76%.