BELGRADE (AFP) – Serbia registered 95 victims of human trafficking since January, almost half of them under age, officials said yesterday. Eighty of the 95 victims are women, while 46 are younger then 18 years old, Beta news agency reported, quoting the anti-trafficking group in charge of overseeing activities aimed at preventing human smuggling. While 51 victims have been sexually exploited, the others were forced to beg or illegally work without pay or official registration, the data showed. Most of the victims are Serbian but they also include citizens of Romania, Albania, Moldavia, Montenegro and Bosnia, the agency reported. In 2008, the authorities registered 55 victims of human trafficking. The Interior Ministry officials said the increase was due to tougher measures aimed at halting the illegal smuggling of people. The data was presented as the representatives of several ministries signed an accord on cooperation in a fight against human trafficking.

TIRANA (AFP) – A luxury vehicle stolen from AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso in 2006 has been found in Tirana, Albania police said yesterday. The Range Rover was impounded from an Albanian citizen who told police he had bought the vehicle from an Italian citizen. An investigation was under way to determine how the jeep – sporting Albanian plates – had entered the country. Luxury vehicles stolen from Western Europe often end up on Albania’s streets after their plates are changed. They are later sold on with falsified documents and changed serial numbers on the engine and other parts. In 2005, border authorities in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia seized a BMW vehicle belonging to British soccer star David Beckham, stolen in Spain and en route to Albania.

BANJA LUKA (AP) – Bosnian Serb war criminal Biljana Plavsic said the success of Bosnia’s Serb Republic helped her to survive her time in jail. Plavsic, the former Bosnian Serb president, was freed October 27 from a Swedish prison after serving two-thirds of an 11-year jail term for crimes against humanity during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war. More than 100,000 people were killed during the conflict, most of them by Bosnian Serb forces. The 79-year-old Plavsic spoke to reporters yesterday for the first time since her early release. She says she is amazed to see how beautiful the Serb Republic has become.

Subway strike. Subway workers in Romania’s capital staged a two-hour strike yesterday to demand a 20 percent pay rise. Head of the subway workers’ union Ion Radoi said the Bucharest subway made a profit last year and workers should have higher wages. Some 700,000 passengers use the 49-station system every day. The morning strike yesterday affected some 70,000 passengers. Transportation Minister Radu Berceanu has said no funds are available to meet the workers demands. (AP)

Turkey says it has successfully modernized 171 tanks and is in talks with the government of Chile to overhaul tanks there. Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul spoke yesterday during a ceremony to mark the modernization of German-made Leopard 1 tanks by Turkish defense company Aselsan. The company installed high-tech fire control systems on Leopard 1 A1 and A4 tanks. (AP)

The European Parliament yesterday backed plans to grant visa-free travel within the EU for Serbia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro as of December 19, while urging more reforms elsewhere in the western Balkans. All three countries hope to join the European Union in coming years and visa liberalization is seen as a cornerstone of EU policy aimed at stabilizing the region. EU ministers are likely to give their final approval to the plan later this month. “I do expect ministers to support this on November 30,” said Tanja Fajon, a Slovenian MEP. EU parliamentarians said Albania and Bosnia had yet to meet the criteria for easier travel and urged politicians to press on with reforms, including fighting corruption and organized crime. (Reuters)