BREAKING NEWS Clinton: Either an agreement or an independent Kosovo Just hours earlier, Milošević declared that he would not give up an inch of Kosovo, even if NATO bombed it On page 5

The Washington Post The countdown to the bombings William Drozdiak With the clock ticking toward the final stretch before Saturday’s deadline, the United States has called for, and its European allies are considering, renewing the threat of NATO bombing at the last minute of the talks to pressure the Yugoslav peacemakers and ethnic Albanian leaders into accepting a peace agreement in Serbia’s explosive, volcanic region of Kosovo Province. The biggest obstacle to reaching a solution in the 12-day peace talks taking place near Paris remains the opposition of Serbian leaders in the Belgrade government to accepting the deployment of 28,000 NATO peacekeeping forces on Serbian soil. In an effort to break the deadlock, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s plan was to travel to France on Friday to make one last attempt to persuade the Yugoslav-Serbian side to change its position on the peacekeeping troops. European diplomatic sources said a final attack ultimatum to Yugoslav President Milošević, who exercises complete control over the Yugoslav delegation at the Rambouillet talks, would involve a wide range of weaponry: 430 NATO combat aircraft, including F-117 stealth aircraft and B-52 bombers, are ready to carry out punitive strikes against military areas if the negotiators reject an agreement. NATO bombing would begin with strikes to disable the Yugoslav forces’ air-defense system, and would focus on Serbian army paramilitary bases that have carried out an offensive against Albanian guerrilla forces and separatists in Kosovo over the past year. Albright said that she had also spoken by telephone with Milošević yesterday and explained the mounting pressure she was facing. “He seems to have been struck by the fact that an air attack will happen; the attack will be severe, and he will be the loser if he does not assess things properly.” Continued on page 5

CLOSE FRIEND TESTIFIES: I FOUND HER DEAD Student City wakes up in blood Prosecutor’s daughter murdered On page 7

I MET WITH RAKIPI A compromise is finally believed to have been reached to resolve the conflict between the General Prosecutor’s Office and the PU. “There is room for positions to be brought closer together and accepted by all parties,” the OSCE ambassador confirmed to the newspaper after the meeting he held with the prosecutor... On page 2

The quintuplets are born, and they secure an apartment in the center of the capital. Initially, the new home will be rented for just a year and a half, and later the foundation’s members will decide whether to buy a permanent home... On page 11

The newspaper will also come with the numbers for the Big Game on Sunday

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