Slovenia ratifies Croatia's NATO bid

Slovenia has cleared the way for Croatia's entry to NATO by ratifying the ex-Yugoslav country's bid for alliance membership. All 26 other NATO nations have ratified Croatia's bid to become the newest member at the alliance's April 3-4 summit. Slovenian President Danilo Turk signed the ratification Friday after a small non-parliamentary group failed to gain enough signatures to force a nationwide referendum on Croatia's admission. The group says Croatia should first solve its longtime border dispute with Slovenia. Government officials opposed hampering Croatia's NATO entry, though they are blocking its negotiations to join the European Union because of a border dispute.