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Kosovo Albanians children paint an Albanian eagle on a wall in a village of Livoc on February 16, 2008. Kosovo began its long-awaited final countdown to statehood on Friday, with Prime Minister Hashim Thaci poised to confirm Sunday as the day it will declare independence from Serbia. It will do so with strong support from the major EU powers and the United States, and equally vigorous opposition from Serbia and Russia, which have vowed never to recognise it. AFP PHOTO / ARMEND NIMANI