The United Nations war crimes tribunal has decided against separating the Kosovo section of the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic from that involving Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The three-judge panel made the decision Tuesday, in an effort to speed up the Milosevic trial. It previously had suggested a division, amid growing concerns about the former Yugoslav president's poor health, which has repeatedly delayed the proceedings.
The court also adjourned the trial until January 23, ahead of a planned Christmas break, giving Mr. Milosevic an additional three weeks to rest. It rejected Mr. Milosevic's request for extra time to present his defense, and it criticized him for focusing most of his time on Kosovo in efforts to force the court to give him the extension.
Mr. Milosevic faces more than 60 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s.
