NATION& WORLD BRIEFS

NEW YORK Brother of Giuliani associate eyed in probe

The brother of an indicted associate of Rudy Giulia ni is also under scrutiny in an ongoing campaign finance probe, a prosecutor said Friday.

During a bail hearing for Igor Fruman in federal court in Manhattan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos told a judge t hat Fruman's brother Steven had initially failed to disclose his interest in a holding company linked to the scheme when he was screened to be a backer of a $1 million bail bond.

Rooss aid of Steven Fruman: “It appears he could be involved in some of the conduct in the indictment.”

Igor Fruman's defense attorney, Todd Blanche, responded by calling prosecutors' interest in the brother's finances a “fishing expedition.”

PRISTINA, KOSOVO US urges Kosovo to resume Serbia dialogue

A top U. S. official on Friday urged Kosovo and Serbia to resume dialogue on normalizing their ties, saying the issue has an enormous impact on their peoples and on the broader region.

Matthew Palmer, a U.S. special representative for the Western Balkans, said during a visit to Kosovo that the dialogue would “free both Serbia and Kosovo from the legacy of hostility that drains their focus and their energies, and it will open up economic opportunities.”

NEW DELHI India, US to enhance cooperation vs. terrorism

India and the U.S. agreed Friday to enhanced cooperation in tackling money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.

A statement issued after a meeting of the Economic and Financial Partnership group said the cooperation was not limited to information exchanges involving global terrorist financing or the designation of specific terrorist facilitators and financiers.

It said India has demonstrated its support for action against non-compliant countries.