ZAGREB (AP) - Six ethnic Croats surrendered to the UN war crimes tribunal yesterday to face allegations they participated in the torture and massacre of Muslims in Bosnia in 1993. Colonel General Milivoj Petkovic, retired General Slobodan Praljak, Jadranko Prlic, Valentin Coric, Bruno Stojic and Bersilav Pusic flew from Zagreb to Amsterdam on a commercial Croatia Airlines jetliner en route to the court in The Hague, Netherlands. All six men are wanted for their alleged roles in the torture and killings of Muslim civilians and the organization of detention camps in southeastern Bosnia.

BUCHAREST (AP) - Romania’s government denied yesterday that the country had a secret agreement with Britain on visa regulations for Romanians traveling there. The government statement came a day after The Sunday Telegraph reported that Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase had agreed to cut the number of Romanians presenting themselves for entry to Britain as asylum seekers. In return, British Prime Minister Tony Blair would radically relax the conditions for entry, the report said.

Observers yesterday criticized the Slovenians’ rejection of a bid to restore residency rights to citizens from other parts of the former Yugoslavia, saying it was a setback for democracy in the soon-to-be EU member. “It is shameful that the solution of human rights violations is being continuously delayed,” Slovenian human rights ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek warned late on Sunday after Slovenians voted overwhelmingly against the move. On Sunday, 94.7 percent of voters rejected a bill seeking to do that, with only 3.8 percent voting in favor of the measure. (AFP)

The Bosnian capital’s only day-care center for children with special needs was closed yesterday due to lack of funds, the center’s director said. The center was opened in 1998 and was funded by a Norwegian non-governmental organization, Norwegian People’s Aid, but the organization cut off donations three months ago, Majudin Dzudza said. Sarajevo’s Ministry for Social Care was supposed to provide money for the continuation of the center’s work, but failed to do so. (AP)

Posters backing top Bosnian-Serb war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic were plastered in Banja Luka yesterday, five days after a failed NATO operation to nab him. The posters, which were quickly removed by police, showed a color photograph of the former political leader leader, with the caption “Always with you.” (AFP)