BRUSSELS (AFP) – The European Union should not allow its leading candidate nation Croatia to join up unless Zagreb ends impunity for war crimes, Amnesty International’s head said yesterday. London-based rights group Amnesty complains that though there have been a number of war crimes trials in Croatian courts related to the 1991-95 war, these were essentially linked to victims who were ethnic Croats. “There are huge problems inside Croatia still, particularly on investigating and prosecuting crimes at a local level when the victim is Serbian,” Amnesty’s Secretary-General Irene Khan told AFP in Brussels. Croatia, which began its EU accession talks in October 2005, has so far opened 16 of the 35 chapters or policy areas that it must complete in order to join the bloc.

BELGRADE (Reuters) – A man was killed by a firearm and a boy seriously wounded when rival soccer fans clashed near the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad, police said yesterday. “It is still unknown who killed the 27-year-old fan at the Futog train station, while another, 17-year-old fan is in critical condition after being shot in the neck,” authorities said. Three fans have been detained for questioning on suspicion of taking part in Monday’s fight which some media said was pre-arranged after Saturday’s violence in Novi Sad before a first-division soccer match.

The European Union signed an agreement with Montenegro yesterday opening the way for the former Yugoslav republic to join the World Trade Organization. The signature was a key milestone for the state, which became independent in 2006 after voting to break a union with Serbia, becoming a member of the global trading body and eventually of the EU. “Today’s signature is another (piece of) good news, showing the progress Montenegro is making on its EU road,” European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a statement. (Reuters)

An animal protection group says a bear once owned by a Bosnian mobster and locked in a cage for the last eight years is being sent to a sanctuary in France. Dragomir Mijic, the head of the animal protection group NOA, says the bear, named Miljen, was starting his journey to France yesterday. (AP)

Authorities say a moderately strong earthquake has struck central Bulgaria, but no injuries or damage have been reported. Bulgaria’s national seismological institute says the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 4.2 on the Richter scale. It occurred at 6.43 a.m. (local time) yesterday with its epicenter about 170 kilometers (106 miles) east of Sofia. (AP)