BELGRADE (AP) – About 3,000 Serb war veterans are rallying outside the government headquarters demanding back pay for participation in the war in Kosovo a decade ago. The protesters are holding banners reading “No More Lies” and chanting “Thieves.” They have also blocked traffic in one of the busiest parts of the capital. No violence has been reported. Police are guarding the government building. The veterans claim the government owes them money for taking part in the 1998-99 war in Kosovo. There was no immediate response from the government. A protest leader, Velimir Milosevic, said yesterday he was hoping to meet with Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic.

SARAJEVO (AP) – The party founded by Bosnian Serb genocide suspect Radovan Karadzic says it was forced to cut off his membership in 1997. The head of the Serb Democratic Party says in an interview published yesterday in the Nezavisne Novine daily that it never renounced Karadzic. But Mladen Bosic says US envoy Richard Holbrooke told the party to choose between expelling the war crimes suspect or facing an international ban. At the time, Karadzic was head of the party as well as president of the Bosnian Serb mini-state – despite being indicted for war crimes by the UN tribunal in 1995. He was captured in Belgrade last month.

BEIJING (AP) – The Croatian men’s water polo team powered its way to a 13-5 win over Germany on yesterday, continuing an undefeated run at the Beijing Olympics that has focused attention on the players’ newly grown facial hair. The Croatian men decided two months ago to grow mustaches while preparing for Beijing, following the lead of goalkeepers Josip Pavic and Frano Vican. And there’s no way the Croats, ranked No 1 in the world, are going to shave now. Croatia has dominated its first three matches at Yingdong Natatorium and is a favorite for the gold.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic is heading to New York to seek UN support for his country’s plan to challenge Kosovo’s independence at the International Court of Justice. A foreign ministry statement yesterday said that Jeremic will submit a resolution to the UN General Assembly seeking an opinion from the Netherlands-based court about the legality of Kosovo’s secession from Serbia. The court’s opinion would be non-binding, but Serbia hopes it would avert further recognition of Kosovo and force renewed negotiations on its status. The General Assembly meeting will be held next month. (AP)

The United States did their grieving coach proud yesterday, beating Bulgaria in the men’s volleyball preliminaries to secure a place in the Olympic quarter-finals. Russia and Poland were also guaranteed births in the next round thanks to solid victories, while China kept their hopes alive following a thrilling win over regional rivals Japan in front of a wildly partisan home crowd. The United States, ranked third in the world, fought back from a set down to defeat Bulgaria 27-29 25-21 25-14 26-24. The Bulgarians should still progress to the next round but their Olympic ambitions have been clouded by uncertainty over the status of team captain Plamen Konstantinov. (Reuters)

Chicago Bulls forward Andres Nocioni grabbed 18 points to lead defending Olympic champions Argentina to a 77-53 victory over Croatia yesterday in their Olympic men’s basketball Group A matchup. In what quickly proved to be a lopsided game, Toronto Raptors guard Carlos Delfino added 15 points and San Antonio Spurs’ guard Manu Ginobli another 14. No Croatian player made it into double digits. (AP)