A special session of Kosovo’s parliament has voted to declare independence from Serbia, with thousands of ethnic Albanians jamming the streets of Pristina, the main city, for the historic moment.

BAGHDAD – Negotiations to free a CBS News journalist seized in the southern Iraqi city of Basra a week ago are being held up over discussions about how he should be released, a leading Shi’ite militia group said on Sunday.

BELGRADE – Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica condemned Kosovo as a false state in a televised address to the nation on Sunday minutes after its mainly Albanian province declared independence.