Today's Story Line:

The human emotions in this war - rage among Serbs and desperation among the several hundred thousand ethnic Albanian refugees - are becoming as important to the outcome as NATO's strategy of bombing Slobodan Milosevic into submission. A negotiated end seems even more far off as the emotions harden official positions. Quote of note: "Whatever NATO does, the Serbs will never accept an agreement with them. I'm not saying it's smart, but that's our mentality." - a prominent Serb intellectual.

Forgotten in the refugee exodus is the group that triggered this war, the Kosovo Liberation Army. Many of its forces are with the refugees, using the anger to recruit young men for what they hope is a NATO land war to come.

Canada created a new territory for its Inuit people, which may be a model for handling ethnic diversity.

- Clayton Jones World editor

REPORTERS ON THE JOB * CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH ARKAN: Our Balkans correspondent Justin Brown had an evening interview set up with a Yugoslav source in Belgrade. It was after dark, when it's not considered safe to be on the streets - especially for an American journalist. So he and his translator asked the source to meet them in the Hyatt Hotel cafe. As the interview began, all of a sudden, Zeljko Raznjatovic, the infamous "Arkan," sauntered in, wearing a dapper business suit, with some of his colleagues. (Arkan is the much-feared paramilitary leader responsible for some "ethnic cleansing" campaigns in Croatia and Bosnia. He's been indicted by a international war crimes tribunal. Moreover, he has become one of the more eloquent spokesmen of the Serb cause.) Arkan appeared a few weeks ago in the Hyatt, causing most of the foreign press to flee. As it happened, he sat at the table next to Justin and turned to watch a television on the wall broadcasting CNN. And although he heard Justin speak English, he did not comment. Justin thought of interviewing him, but his interpreter advised against it. Justin kept talking with his interviewee, a Yugoslav judge, who seemed more amused than bothered. They left the cafe with Arkan still watching CNN.

*BOOKING A FLIGHT TO WAR: To reach Kosovo refugees, reporter Robert Marquand had to find a flight from Vienna to the Macedonia capital of Skopje. He was told the only flights were through something called "M4," a mysterious airline called Avia Impex. It has no schedule and no office. Bookings can only be made to a cell phone. And it seems uninhibited by safety regulations. The flight had so many passengers that one man had to sit in the bathroom and two were in the aisle.

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