Zagreb  - Prime Minister Ivo Sanader fired two of his ministers and the police chief in the wake of the latest mafia-style slaying in Croatia, but was still facing nationwide outrage on Tuesday.

A killer, armed with a pistol equipped with a silencer, shot dead Ivana Hodak, 28, daughter of politically prominent parents, in her apartment and then fled. The murder took place in a building in downtown Zagreb, barely 100 metres from police headquarters.

As many times before, a massive manhunt was launched, involving police barricades, commandos with automatic rifles on display and the questioning of some 30 people - but in the end, no arrests.

Zagreb - Croatian Premier Ivo Sanader, shocked by the murder of the daughter of a prominent political couple, Monday evening sacked two ministers and the country's chief of police and declared a war on the mafia.

Sanader said he was sacking Interior Minister Berislav Roncevic and Justice Minister Ana Lovrin and would also fire the chief of police.

His announcement followed the murder earlier in the day of a daughter of prominent lawyer Zvonir Hodak and former deputy premier Ljerka Mintas Hodak in her house in Zagreb.

Zagreb - A former general appeared in court in his native Croatia on Friday to face charges of embezzlement, a day after his extradition from Austria, Croatian television reported.

General Vladimir Zagorec, 44, did not make a plea when he appeared for the first time before a judge after skipping a hearing last year and fleeing to Austria where he was arrested last week.

A weapons dealer for the Croatian armed forces during the Balkan nation's 1991-95 war of independence from Yugoslavia, Zagorec, was remanded in detention for one month while investigations continue.

Zagreb - The family of Ankica and Grgo Katalinic wanted to build a street specially leading to their house for their 75th wedding anniversary, but local authorities turned the request down, the Jutarnji List daily said Friday.

Ankica, 97, and Grga, 95, live without electricity and tap water in a mountaintop village, reachable only after a several-hour hike on a narrow path. All others in the village Katalinici - after which Grga's family was named - either long-since died or left.

Zagreb - The management of Croatia's INA oil company said the 2,800 kuna (557 dollars) per share bid for a majority package by Hungary's MOL was "acceptable, the Zagreb stock exchange said Monday.

The bid was for a 31-per cent stake in INA that is not at present included in the 44-per cent state ownership. MOL already holds 25 per cent.

The 31 per cent of the capital is held by a veterans' fund, while the remainder is in the hands of private and institutional investors. At 2,800 kuna per share, MOL has put a
28-billion kuna price tag on INA.