Kosovo parliament elects new president,

Kosovo's parliament elected economist Justina Shiroka Pula as the country's largely ceremonial president just before a constitutional deadline, avoiding another snap election in one of the poorest countries in Europe.



She received 81 votes, one more than she needed, in the 120-seat parliament in the early minutes of Wednesday.



Failure to elect a new president would have triggered snap parliamentary elections in the Balkan country, as it did in June.



Shiroka Pula's election followed a deal between the ruling Vetevendosje party of Prime Minister Albin Kurti and opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo to limit the powers of a Kosovo war crimes court in The Hague.



Police fired tear gas and used water cannon on Monday to disperse demonstrators demanding the changes be approved. Critics have asserted the Hague court's punishments are too harsh.