A memorial stone to the dogs killed on duty in the Balkans and an etched wooden sign reading simply "dog" mark the chalet complex and kennels where he lives, in the dog section of the Norwegian military base outside Pristina. Behind the wire mesh are the wagging tails of Betty and Baldy, black labradors who search for bombs, mines and explosives. In another cage, a huge German shepherd hurls himself at the wire: he has been trained to attack anyone not dressed in the Norwegian Army uniform.The peace-keeping troops in Kosovo ­ known as K-For ­ have scores of dogs at work from a scattering of countries, taking on riot control, arms, explosive and mine searches, guarding, tracking, and narcotics searches. K-For is careful to protect its dogs as much as possible from the hazards of their frontline duties.Captain Richard Pope, in charge of the British dog section, says: "We don't put the dogs in vulnerable positions. If a situation is escalating, we tend to show the dogs early on and then withdraw them behind the shields so that they are not exposed to glass, fire, stones and petrol bombs."But the Norwegian Army is taking no risks; it has developed protective equipment for its patrol dogs.

Each dog has been supplied with a heat cover, a protective vest, a muzzle, a "field doggy bag", a set of paw shoes and a drinking cup. Though the dogs are formidable they are at risk from kicks, punches and missiles on duty. Jon Andre Thomsen, a dog handler, says: "It is hard not to be afraid of them. People bitten by the dogs have to be hurt."But K-For has a more ruthless attitude towards Kosovo's civilian canine populace. Dog-shooting squads regularly pick off feral dogs that roam the streets. There are thousands of stray dogs in Kosovo, many of which are what one UN police officer called "displaced dogs"; those abandoned as both Albanians and Serbs fled their homes after the 1999 war.In that year, the World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA) estimated that hundreds of thousands of Kosovo's animals had died because of the conflict, either from starvation, disease, gunfire or land mines.

It reported that pets and livestock were being used for target practice by the Serbian military, and were often burnt to death in farm buildings.But even since the end of the war, it's been a dog's life for the local canine population. Shaggy, lean, mangy, black-nosed, dirty white coated, mongrels with bushy tails, they are are frequently taken casualty on the roads. One in four is said to have diseases, with some carrying rabies.The locals are a hazard too, pelting them with stones and kicks. The Kosovars very often draw a line, distinguishing pedigree dogs, which are precious, and those street dogs that are vermin And then there are the soldiers Beware of K-For. With packs often swelling to up to 100, the peace-keepers claim the dogs pose a risk to civilians and soldiers, especially during the bitterly cold winters.One UN official, seeing his fill of puppies gambolling amid the traffic, suggested a prophylactic programme might be more effective But dogs are fairly low on the agenda for Kosovo The KLA never issued canine flak jackets. Birth control will be by car bumper or by gun for some time to come.. A series of high-profile job losses in France, including at Marks & Spencer, led to a crisis yesterday in Lionel Jospin's centre-left coalition government.

A series of high-profile job losses in France, including at Marks & Spencer, led to a crisis yesterday in Lionel Jospin's centre-left coalition government. Mr Jospin's Communist coalition partners threatened to vote against a reform of French employment law today unless it was amended to dissuade big business from summarily firing workers en masse. If the Communists do vote against the proposals, this would be the most serious split in the coalition since the Socialist Mr Jospin came to power almost exactly four years ago. The government would not necessarily be forced to resign but Mr Jospin would be substantially weakened before the presidential and parliamentary elections next April and June.He made concessions yesterday in an attempt to keep the support of the Communists, themselves under electoral pressure from the rise of the Greens and the far left. If the law is approved, it is likely to be considerably harsher than Mr Jospin intended, undermining his efforts to present himself ­ to the French electorate and to potential foreign investors ­ as a modern and market- friendly socialist.The original proposal, by the Employment Minister, Elisabeth Guigou, suggests employees should be empowered to impose a 21-day delay period before a redundancy programme is announced.

Fines on big employers for failing to consult workers on possible redundancies, as M&S failed to do, would be steeply increased.The Communists have been pressing for, among other things, a much longer period of postponement, which would allow employer and employee representatives in works councils "enough time to look at genuine alternatives". The Socialists say this would amount ­ in the eyes of employers and potential employers ­ to a return to the state approval of redundancies, abolished in France in the early Nineties. Several new forms of words were discussed yesterday but the national secretary of the Communist Party, Robert Hue, said: "The sums don't work out yet. It is still possible that we will vote against [the new law] tomorrow."The dispute is potentially damaging economically as well as politically. Some foreign companies have announced tentative plans for investment in France, which could create 15,000 jobs in the next five years. The Jospin government fears that too tough a reform of employment law could scare off some of these investors.On the other hand, Mr Jospin cannot afford to enter the election campaigns next year in dispute with his Communist partners and offending other left-wing voters by seeming too pro-business.