Kosovo proclaims its independence.................

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"PRISTINA, SERBIA -- Kosovos's parliament today declared the province's independence from Serbia, a controversial secession backed by Washington and many European governments but opposed by Russia and its Serbian allies.

The declaration was immediately condemned by Serbia, which lost control of the province to U.N. supervision in 1999, when NATO bombing campaigns drove out Serbian forces attacking ethnic Albanian separatists.

Russia demanded an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, now scheduled for this afternoon in New York.

"Kosovo is a republic -- an independent, democratic and sovereign state," Jakup Krasniqi, Kosovo's parliament speaker, said as the chamber burst into applause.

Krasniqi, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and President Fatmir Sejdiu signed the declaration, which was scripted on parchment, before the unveiling of a new national crest and a flag: a bright blue banner featuring a golden map of Kosovo and six stars, one for each of its main ethnic groups.

For Kosovo's Albanians, statehood is the dream of generations. In advance of today's announcement, signs in countless stores and businesses in downtown Pristina declared "Happy independence," drivers honked their horns and people waved flags (American ones were especially popular), set off firecrackers and sang national songs. Restaurants offered free independence-day meals. Kosovo expatriates were returning in droves from other parts of Europe and the U.S."

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