<p><strong>Will Kosovo's leader see a war crimes trial? </strong>Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi was <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKBN23V2B6" target="_blank">indicted</a> on Wednesday in The Hague for war crimes committed during Kosovo's violent uprising against Serb ethnic cleansing in 1998-1999. Thaçi is the first sitting head of state ever to be formally accused of war crimes. The indictment, which includes nearly 100 murders, was handed down by a special prosecutor in the <a href="https://www.scp-ks.org/en" target="_blank">Kosovo Specialist Chamber</a>, established in 2015 to investigate alleged war crimes by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Kosovo, which was once a province of Serbia, became <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/world/europe/18kosovo.html" target="_blank">de facto independent</a> in 2008, but its sovereignty has yet to be <a href="https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_kosovos_path_to_independence" target="_blank">recognized</a> by Serbia, several EU members, China, and Russia. Thaçi — who has been in power since the end of the war and is also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/24/hashim-thaci-kosovo-organised-crime" target="_blank">suspected</a> of involvement in drug, gun and human organ smuggling — immediately denied any wrongdoing, and cancelled his upcoming trip to the US, where he was set to attend White House talks on normalizing relations with Serbia.<br/></p><p><strong>Singapore's family feud election: </strong>Singapore is all set to hold its general election on July 10, despite the coronavirus. Prime Minister Lee Hsieng Loo <a href="https://www.lowellsun.com/2020/06/23/singapore-leader-calls-early-elections-despite-pandemic/" target="_blank">announced</a> on Tuesday a 9-day campaign with no mass rallies. Lee, the son of Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew, is widely expected to win in a landslide, in what is probably his <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-politics/as-singapore-enters-twilight-of-lee-era-ruling-party-prepares-for-change-idUSKCN1NW0GM" target="_blank">last election</a>. His People's Action Party has ruled since independence in 1965. But the big drama is whether his estranged<a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/lee-family-feud" target="_blank"> brother</a>, Lee Hsieng Yang, will help the opposition Progress Singapore Party carve out a respectable chunk of the 93 seats up for grabs in parliament. Singapore's ballot will be the second major recent election in the region after South Korea's, which was hailed as a success in <a href="https://www.gzeromedia.com/corona-voting-south-koreans-and-americans" target="_self">how to make democracy work in the middle of a pandemic</a>.<br/></p><strong></strong>
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