Croatia

BELGRADE - National Theater in Belgrade has been included in the Adriatic Route, part of the European Route of Historic Theaters, the Serbian national theater announced on Thursday.

ZAGREB – Flowers in the colors of the Croatian “Chessboard” flag and shaped in the form of the U symbol of the Ustasha, Croatian pro-Nazi regime responsible for massive killings of Serbs, Jews and Roma in concentration camps during World War II, have been planted at the Jasenovac Memorial Site in central Croatia.

A former policeman on trial for a notorious massacre of Serb civilians in the Croatian village of Grubori in 1995 said that his anti-terrorist unit was not involved in the murders.

ZAGREB - Serb parties in the eastern Croatian city of Vukovar signed a coalition agreement to stand together in early elections for the city council and mayor, scheduled for June 15.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Croatia did not violate the rights of former soldier Fred Margus by prosecuting him for war crimes again after he had been amnestied.

BELGRADE - Croatia and Serbia are preparing an agreement on protection against natural and man-made disasters and on dealing with their aftermath and the agreement will soon be signed, the Belgrade daily newspaper Politika reported on Tuesday.

A Zagreb court on Thursday acquitted former interior minister Josip Boljkovac of any role in the mass killing of 21 civilian detainees near Duga Resa in 1945.

Croatia sets aside funds for neighboring countries

ZAGREB -- Croatia has decided to send humanitarian aid worth EUR 100,000 to Serbia and Bosnia each, and thus help the neighboring countries cope with the floods.

Foreign Minister Vesna Pusić explained that her ministry has a sum allocated each year for humanitarian aid to those affected by disasters abroad.

Josipovic promoted Croatia’s energy independence policy among influential circles and think tanks during a week-long visit to Washington.

Prime Minister Milanovic on Thursday said that Croatia would apply join the Schengen zone on July 1, 2015, two years after joining the European club.

"One year ago, I said that one of our cabinet's major goals would be to make Croatia fit to formally apply for membership of the Schengen zone in the shortest possible time after joining the EU, that is, two years," Milanovic said.