War in the Balkans: Briefing: Day 34

t Three planeloads of refuges left Macedonia yesterday morning carrying 149 refugees to the Netherlands, 155 to Sweden and 134 to France. Planned flights for later yesterday included 147 refugees for Finland and about 250 to Turkey.

t Macedonia says almost 26,000 refugees have so far been sent to third countries.

t The US movie star Richard Gere is visiting Macedonia tomorrow. The actor is to meet Macedonian government and humanitarian officials and tour refugee camps.

t Unicef has started mass vaccinations of refugee children in Macedonia, where overcrowded camps have raised fears of epidemics.

t As many as 30,000 refugees are heading towards the Macedonian border from around the town of Urosevac.

t The United Arab Emirates is to build an airport in northern Albania to speed the flow of aid to refugees.

t Switzerland is turning away hundreds of refugees from its Italian border, leaving them stranded in northern Italy. More are feared to be on their way.

t Europe's air traffic control body, Eurocontrol, says around 30 per cent of Europe's commercial flights are being held up because of the Nato air campaign.