BELGRADE, March 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic conferred Thursday with Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta on bilateral relations and on the region's stability and its integration in the European Union.

Tadic pointed to the importance of the agreement on cooperation in fighting organized crime, drug trafficking and international terrorism, that Serbia and Albania intend to sign, the president's press office said in a release. Despite different views on Kosovo, the talk focused on improving bilateral cooperation, especially in the economic sector, the release says.

BELGRADE, March 12 (Tanjug) - Serbian and Albanian Foreign Ministers, Vuk Jeremic and Iljir Meta respectively, agreed Thursday evening that despite the fact that the two governments strongly disagree regarding the Kosovo issue, this must not be an obstacle for the two countries to cooperate in other areas.

"There is a huge difference of opinion regarding the future status of Kosovo-Metohija, which has not been diminished by today's talks, but we agreed that this difference should be isolated so that it would not burden our relations in other spheres," Jeremic said at a joint press conference with his Albanian counterpart. Assessing Meta's visit to Serbia as "historical," Jeremic said that Belgrade and Tirana have a shared vision of the future - EU membership of the entire region. The ministers also agreed that the national minorities, the Albanian one in Serbia and the Serbian one in Albania, must enjoy full rights and represent a connection between the two countries. "I hope that the Serbs in Albania will have the same rights as the Albanians in Serbia," Jeremic said, expressing the Serbian government's readiness to ensure the highest level of minority rights to the Albanian minority in Serbia.

BELGRADE, March 12 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic met with Albanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Iljir Meta in Belgrade Thursday evening to discuss the cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terrorism, organized crime and illegal drug trade. On the occasion, Dacic and Meta signed an Agreement on cooperation in the fight against organized crime, international drug trafficking and international terrorism.

BELGRADE, March 11 (Tanjug) - Serbia's Chief of Police Milorad Veljovic and Croatia's Deputy Chief of Police Milijan Brkic discussed cooperation in the fight against organized crime on Thursday, and also exchanged information on the murder of Serbian citizen Cvetko Simic in Zagreb.

Veljovic said that "today's meeting is the continuation of our very good and long cooperation in the fight against organized crime, which should serve as an example to other countries in the region." "We agreed to form lower-level operating teams, which will exchange information on organized crime on a daily basis," he said, the Serbian Interior Ministry released in a statement. "Neither Serbia nor Croatia will harbor any organized criminal groups," Veljovic said and stressed that one of the topics discussed was the murder of Simic, whose body was recently discovered in Jarun Lake in Zagreb.

Brkic thanked his Serbian colleagues on detailed information they provided on the Simic case, and asked all colleagues from the region to look to the quality cooperation between the Serbian and Croatian police services as an example, it is said in the statement. On the night of March 8, members of the kayak rowing club Koncar found the body of a man on Jarun Lake in Zagreb, with its head and extremities cut off. The body was later identified as Simic.

PODGORICA, March 11 (Tanjug) - Montenegrin Foreign Minister Milan Rocen said Thursday that the latest Serbian-Montenegrin dispute over the Saric case is linked with Montenegro's decision to recognize Kosovo's declaration of independence. Serbia's story about organized crime in Montenegro is prompted by its strategic wish to slow down Montenegro's integration in European structures, he said.

Serbia's attempt to put the ball in Montenegro's court is part of measures against Montenegro for establishing diplomatic relations with Kosovo, he said. Despite the current problems, the future of Serbia - Montenegro relations should not be a cause for concern, Rocen said.

Darko Saric, suspected by the Serbian police of smuggling over two tons of cocaine from Latin America, is a Serbian citizen born in Montenegro. Serbia's special prosecution for organized crime said recently it received information from the Serbian police that Saric is hiding in Montenegro. Most of the other suspects in the case are Montenegrin citizens and are not available to Serbian authorities.

LJUBLJANA, March 12 (Beta) - Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor said that getting "Serbia and Kosovo to participate" in the EU-Balkan summit "appears to be an impossible mission"."But, there are many who believe that if someone can do it, we can. Our success is not guaranteed, we are working on it," Pahor said.

He and Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor decided in January to organize a summit on March 20 in Slovenia dedicated to speeding up the European integration of the Western Balkans. This would be the first meeting of all regional leaders in the last 20 years. The Slovenian and Croatian PMs are hoping that they will be able to convince the Serbian delegation to participate in the conference along with the Kosovo Albanian officials, whose unilaterally proclaimed independence Belgrade does not recognize.

Serbia refused to participate in international conferences at which Kosovo is not represented as a delegation headed by UNMIK. Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said on Tuesday that he will only participate in the conference as a representative of Kosovo. "I believe that we will succeed," Pahor said, adding that he is in constant contact with Kosor and other European leaders. Pahor said that he met on Thursday with European Council President Van Rompuy.

BERLIN, March 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic will be presented with the Steiger Award in Bochum next weekend, which is given for the contribution to the European unity, openness and tolerance.

The award is being presented for the sixth time, for contribution in the area of music, sports, media, preservation of the environment, film, Europe, that is improvement of the European unity and humanitarian engagement. The creator of the award, which is given to most deserving people from Germany and the rest of the world, is journalist Sascha Hellen from Bochum.

Apart from Tadic, this year the award will be given to the wife of German President Horst Kohler, Eva Luise Kohler, Professor Alfred Biolek, Princess of Jordan Haya of Jordan, German actor Armin Mueller-Stahl, actor Christopher Lee, and others. The winners will be presented with the award at the ceremony in Bochum, on Saturday, March 13.

So far, this award was received by Israeli President Shimon Peres, former Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed El Baradei, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German actress Iris Berben, Farah Diba Pahlavi (widow of Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran), Romano Prodi, former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski.

BELGRADE, March 12 (Tanjug) - Seven years since the assassination of the former Serbian prime minister and leader of the Democratic Party (DS), Zoran Djindic, will be marked Friday by laying wreaths and paying respect, as well as by staging the finals of the rhetoric competition organized in his honor.

Djindjic's widow, Ruzica Djindjic, President of Serbia and DS leader Boris Tadic, friends and officials of the DS party, as well as scholarship holders of Dr.Zoran Djindjic Fund, will gather to pay respect and place wreaths at Djindjic's grave in the Alley of the Great in Belgrade.

BELGRADE, March 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic expressed Thursday his conviction that in deciding on extradition of Ejup Ganic, a former member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) wartime presidency, the UK court will take Serbia's arguments and evidence against him into account.

Commenting the decision taken earlier in the day by London's High Court to release Ganic from custody on bail, Dacic told the press that this was a procedural issue and that no final decision on extradition has been taken yet. London's High Court granted bail to Ganic on Thursday, and he is expected to be released within 24 hours according to court procedure. Ganic was arrested at London's Heathrow Airport on March 1 based on an Interpol warrant issued by Serbia and was placed in extradition custody in London.

Ganic is charged with participation in the attack on a Yugoslav Army convoy in Sarajevo in 1992. It was announced earlier that if released on bail, Ganic will have to remain in London at least until April 14, when Serbia is to present in a court hearing the evidence on the basis of which it requested Ganic's extradition. The request with comprehensive court documentation was sent to the UK for the purpose of Ganic's extradition to the High Court in Belgrade, in order to complete the criminal proceedings undertaken against him in Serbia.

BELGRADE, March 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said Thursday that agreements on police cooperation have no political connotation and that police forces must cooperate in fighting organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism.

Serbia has agreements on readmission with 18 countries, he said at the end of parliamentary debate on bills on several inter-state agreements on police cooperation and readmission which he presented. The first agreements on readmission were signed by Serbia in 1996 with Germany and in 1997 with Switzerland, Dacic noted. Cooperation with the police forces of other countries is carried out through Interpol, he said, emphasizing that inter-state agreements being concluded on police cooperation can only be useful to Serbia.

BONN, March 11 (Tanjug) - Belgium's Prime Minister Yves Leterme said Thursday that he has no regrets about the visa abolishment for the citizens of Serbia and Macedonia, since the future of the two countries is in the European Union (EU). I believe that the future of Serbia and Macedonia is in the EU, and visa abolishment represents an important step about which I have no regrets, the Belgian prime minister stated, pointing out, however, that the experience has showed that the decision on visa liberalization should be followed by other measures as well.

In a statement given to the Deutsche Welle Radio, he added that efforts are being made together with Serbian and Macedonian authorities to inform the citizens that it makes no sense to emigrate to Belgium, because there is no way that they will be given the political asylum in the country.

We had an agreement on the return of those who had already emigrated to Belgium and on their readmission with the help of the authorities in charge, he stressed. Leterme pointed out that the number of new asylum seekers from Serbia and Macedonia dropped to almost zero, and added that the Belgian authorities would intervene if there was a need for that.

POZAREVAC, March 11 (Tanjug) - Russian ambassador to Serbia Aleksander Konuzin presented Thursday in Pozarevac medals to two veterans of the 9th Serbian Brigade of the Yugoslav National Liberation Army (NOVJ) on the brigade's 66 anniversary.

The 9th Serbian Brigade took part in the liberation of Yugoslavia at the end of World War II together with Russia's Red Army. Konuzin, Russian Assistant Military Attaché Sergei Krasnov and head of the Consular Department Aleksander Ivanov also laid wreaths in honor of the NOVJ and Red Army combattants killed in action.

Konuzin presented medals to Zarko Trepsic and Zivojin Djurdjevic on behalf of Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev. The 9th Serbian Brigade was formed in 1944 and lost 896 men in action until the end of WWII.

BELGRADE, March 12 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic has expressed his belief that Serbia can increase its economic growth by raising the purchasing power of citizens, but also by intensifying the construction of roads.

It is expected that the works will start on the construction of 110 km of the northern part of the Corridor 10 from Horgos to Novi Sad and of the part from Subotica to Kelebija. The construction of the high way, which is financed by the World Bank and European banks, will also begin on the part from Dimitrovgrad towards Nis, and from Leskovac towards the Macedonian border, Dinkic said for the Friday edition of the Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti.

According to him, the biggest problem for starting of the construction of large infrastructural objects is not the money, but rather the fact that the country does not have good and quality projects. "This is why the government decided to launch a tender, in order to provide the participation of three serious companies that will be managing the roads construction projects in Serbia," Dinkic pointed out.

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Tanjug) - Human rights in Serbia are generally respected, and the government has kept making progress in the cooperation with The Hague Tribunal, the late Thursday 2009 report of the U.S. State Departement stated, and evaluated that the courts in Serbia are still subject to corruption and political influence.

Unlike recent years, when the Serbian authorities were mostly criticized for not having arrested the remaining two Hague indictees, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, the latest report characterizes the cooperation as positive. The special war crimes chamber of the Belgrade District Court continued to try cases arising from crimes committed during the 1991-99 conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, and the government, as assessed in the report, made a significant progress in the cooperation with neighboring countries, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and other international organizations.

In a very detailed report on Serbia, however, it is pointed out that there were cases of violation of human rights, such as physical mistreatment of detainees by police, corruption in the police and the judiciary, inefficient and lengthy trials, harassment of journalists, human rights advocates, and others critical of the government, as well as cases of ethnic, religious and sex discrimination.

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Tanjug) - Human trafficking, cases of politically and ethnically motivated violence, inefficient judiciary and a great number of internally displaced people represent a serious problem in Kosovo, the US State Department says in its 2009 Human Rights Report on the southern Serbian province, which was published on Thursday evening.

No progress has been made in Kosovo in terms of the return of internally displaced persons to their homes, there have been numerous incidents of violence and discrimination of women, trafficking in persons, particularly girls and women for sexual exploitation. Societal antipathy against Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church was also evident, the State Department says in the report. From January to November last year, 856 people in Kosovo were victims of violence, and 681 of them were women. In 125 such incidents, the victims were children - 74 girls and 51 boys.

The interim Kosovo institutions did not adopt any law last year which regulates the protection of workers' rights. The average monthly pay was EUR 230 in the public sector and EUR 280 in the private sector, while the minimum wage was EUR 80, says the report.

PRISTINA, March 12 (Tanjug) - Head of the International Civilian Office (ICO) in Kosovo Pieter Feith has requested from Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci to suspend a minister who is suspected of corruption, the Pristina daily Koha ditore reported on Friday.

The daily reported that the minister is a powerful political figure who manages a very important department in Taci's government. He is suspected of illegally earning dozens of millions of euros, and the file with data regarding the case was delivered to both Taci and EULEX.

EULEX Mission's spokesperson Karin Limdal did not deny that there is an investigation, but she added that EULEX does not comment on such matters. As you know, EULEX cannot give any information on a person who is under investigation, regardless of the fact whether he or she is a suspect or a witness, Limdal said.

PRISTINA, March 12 (Tanjug) - The Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency (KACA) has filed corruption charges against 159 officials of the interim Kosovo institutions, Director of the Agency Hasan Preteni stated in Pristina on Thursday.

According to a report presented in Pristina, corruption in Kosovo has increased by 34.61 percent comparing with 2008. Preteni said that most of the charges, 53 out of 175, are connected with corruption in the judiciary.