Stjepan Mesic

Croatian parties have put a number of veterans from independence war of the 1990s on their candidates' lists for the parliamentary elections due in November.

The Patriotic Coalition, led by strongest opposition party, the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, is putting at least one war veteran on all its lists.

Bosnian academics bestowed the honorary Isa-bey Ishakovic award, named after the 15th-century founder of Sarajevo, on Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on Thursday to underline the importance of good relations between Bosnia and Croatia.

Croatia's new President, Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, is at odds with the centre-left government over who commands the country's armed forces in peacetime.

Grabar Kitarovic last Friday maintained that she commanded the army in peacetime, adding that a planned military parade for August would not therefore be held.

BELGRADE - Former Croatian president Stjepan Mesic stated Monday that relations between Croatia and Serbia are not as they should be in the best interest of both countries and the region as a whole.

The relations are still burdened by the past, and Zagreb and Belgrade will have to overcome their disagreements soon, Mesic told Belgrade-based daily Danas.

Croatian companies are hailing a number of important agreements reached at a major trade forum in Moscow.

The Croatia-Russia economic forum and investment conference organized on Tuesday gathered more than 250 Russian and 100 Croatian companies.

A court in Hameenlinna, Finland, on Monday fined and paroled two officials of the Finnish state-owned arms company Patria for bribing Croatian officials during a sale of armed vehicles in 2007.

Heikki Hulkkonen and Patria's former representative in Croatia, Reijo Niittynen, were given 20 months parole and a 297,000 euro fine each for offering a bribe of 1.6 million euro.

Against a background of American disapproval, a major Russia-Croatia economic forum and investment conference started in the Russian capital on Tuesday, gathering 200 Russian and 100 Croatian companies.

The conference opened a day after the EU on Monday broadened sanctions on Russia to include an additional 19 Russians and Ukrainians and nine more Russian companies.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic confirmed on Thursday that he will attend the inauguration of the new Croatian President, Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic.

Grabar Kitarovic won the presidential elections in January, narrowly defeating the incumbent, Ivo Josipovic, in the second round.

Former Croatian president Stjepan Mesic said Veljko Kadijevic, the wartime commander of the Yugoslav People’s Army, who has died in exile, should have been tried for war crimes.

As BiH protests continue, attention turns to Dayton accord

Officials and citizens debate a re-organisation of BiH's intricate political landscape.

According to the European Parliament, any changes to the Dayton agreement must be a result of mutual agreement between local politicians. [AFP]