New York - Serbia on Wednesday asked the UN General Assembly to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legality of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told the 192-nation assembly that sending the request to the ICJ at The Hague would "prevent the Kosovo crisis from serving as a deeply problematic precedent in any part of the globe where secessionist ambitions are harboured."

Lisbon - Portugal announced Tuesday evening its official recognition of Kosovo, which last February had unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia.

The office of Foreign Minister Luis Amado announced the move, which reduced the number of European Union states still opposed to recognizing Kosovo's independence.

Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Romania and the Czech Republic are still opposed to Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence which they regard as contrary to international law.

Pristina - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Monday rejected a break-up of Kosovo after Serbia renewed its threat to seek secession of the former province's minority Serbs.

Gates was the first US cabinet member to visit Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia in February.

He met Kosovo's leaders and was visiting US troops stationed in Kosovo.

"The United States supports the territorial integrity of Kosovo," he told reporters in the capital, Pristina.

Pristina - The United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said Friday that international judges returned to work in the volatile town of Mitrovica six months after their violent ouster.

"The reopening of the court in north Mitrovica is a first step to ensure that rule of law is provided to everyone in Kosovo," UNMIK said in a statement.

The court was shut down in mid-March after it was stormed and occupied by Serb demonstrators.

Belgrade/Pristina  - Serbian President Boris Tadic hinted at a possible initiative by Belgrade to partition the breakaway Kosovo, drawing an angry dismissal from Pristina on Tuesday.

"If we spend all other options, and there are many, I'm ready to consider that option," Tadic said in an interview, pointing out that partition is "not on the agenda at this moment.

Formally, Tadic has little real power as the head of state, but as the leader of the pro-European coalition which won in May elections, he is the actual spokesman for Serbia.

Pristina, Kosovo  - Kosovo police said Thursday it has arrested the customs deputy director and five other customs officials suspected of allowing organized crime to smuggle vast amounts of fuel.

Also arrested was a businessman who allegedly bribed the officials into allowing his fuel tankers to pass without paying duty.

"The officials were arrested for abusing their position, for accepting bribes and bribing others ... in complicity of organized crime," police spokesman Veton Elshani told reporters.

The arrested customs employees operated on Kosovo's main border pass toward Macedonia. They are suspected of inflicting damage to the state adminIstration of almost 1 million euros (1.4 million dollars).