April 19, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Aer Lingus Split and Dubrovnik flights will only operate this summer as the Irish airline excludes Pula from its 2022 summer flight schedule. 

This year, the Irish airline Aer Lingus is operating to only two Croatian airports, Dubrovnik and Split, reports Croatian Aviation.

Namely, Aer Lingus will not operate in this year's summer flight schedule on a regular line between Dublin and Pula. The line was last in service before the pandemic. Aer Lingus remains present exclusively in Dalmatia, Split and Dubrovnik.

The line between Dublin and Split operates three times a week from March 29. In May, weekly operations should increase from 3 to as many as seven flights. Aer Lingus plans daily flights between the two cities until early October when they announced three flights a week.

The line between Dublin and Dubrovnik will be open from the first day of May and offers three flights a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, until the end of September. Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair also operates between these two cities. As of this summer, Croatia Airlines will also offer this route, moving it from Zagreb to Split in the peak summer season.

Aer Lingus will additionally operate on the regular line between Cork and Dubrovnik, which will run twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from May 4. 

A320 and A321 aircraft with a capacity of 174 to 212 seats have been announced on these lines. 

Easter weekend was busy for both Split and Dubrovnik airports, adds Croatian Aviation.

The Easter holidays are an introduction to the summer season regarding the number of passengers and flights at Split Airport, with over 260 arrival and departure flights in Split from Thursday, April 14 to Monday, April 18.

Although not all the announcements came true, many flights and airlines were recorded at Split Airport. This Easter, the busiest airline in terms of the number of flights was easyJet, which flew to Geneva, Basel, London, Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, and Berlin.

Passengers were transported from Split by Volotea (Marseille, Nantes, Bordeaux), Eurowings (Stuttgart, Cologne, Hamburg), Lufthansa (Frankfurt, Munich), Condor (Frankfurt, Düsseldorf), Transavia (Paris Orly), KLM (Amsterdam Orly), KLM (Amsterdam) ), Ryanair (Dublin), Vueling (Rome), Austrian (Vienna). Croatia Airlines connected Split with Zagreb, Munich, Frankfurt, and Rome.

Traffic also started to increase in Dubrovnik. Namely, Croatia Airlines (Zagreb, Paris), British (London), Jet2 (Manchester, London, Edinburgh), Austrian (Vienna), Ryanair (Dublin), Vueling (Barcelona), Iberia (Madrid), LOT operated from Dubrovnik. Warsaw).

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, check out our dedicated travel section.

18 April 2022 - In the last 24 hours, there have been 30 new cases of the infection with coronavirus and seven related deaths, Croatia's national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Monday.

There are 3,946 active cases, including 478 hospitalised patients, 23 of whom are on ventilators, while 2,230 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 1,113,547 coronavirus cases, the death toll is 15,742, and 59.46% of the total population, i.e. 70.73% of adults, have been vaccinated against COVID.

April 28, 2022 - Croatia’s Sara Luzar Smajić (3-1) returns to action this Saturday, April 23, as she faces Poland’s Natalia Baczyńska (6-1) at KSW 69 live from Warsaw, Poland. 

Hailing from Zagreb and training out of the UFD Gym in Germany, Smajić made a successful start to her KSW career with a unanimous decision win over Spain’s Aitana Alvarez at KSW 63 last September. The 26-year-old is now aiming to build upon this win and make a push toward the vacant KSW women’s flyweight title.

However, looking to halt those plans is the in-form Natalia Baczyńska. Making her KSW debut, ‘Baka’ comes into the promotion on a six-fight win-streak and is fully motivated to make an immediate impact in the division.

The main event of KSW 69 will see Sebastian Przybysz (9-2) defend his KSW bantamweight title against Brazil’s Werlleson Martins (16-4) while two top Polish middleweights clash in the co-main event as former UFC fighter Pawel Pawak (19-4-1) faces Cezary Kęsik (13-1).

Elsewhere on the card, two of Europe’s top undefeated prospects Robert Ruchala (6-0) and Michele Baiano (7-0) meet and we will see a collision between heavy hitters Maciej Kazieczko (7-2) and Wilson Varela (6-2).

KSW 69 Fight Card
Live on www.KSWTV.com

Main Event
KSW Bantamweight Title
Champion Sebastian Przybysz (9-2) vs. Werlleson Martins (16-4)

Co-Main Event
Middleweight
Pawel Pawak (19-4-1) vs. Cezary Kęsik (13-1)

68kg/150 lb Catchweight
Robert Ruchała (6-0) vs. Michele Baiano (7-0)

Flyweight
Sara Luzar Smajić (3-1) vs. Natalia Baczyńska (6-1)

Lightweight
Maciej Kazieczko (7-2) vs. Wilon Varela (6-2)

Welterweight
Artur Szczepaniak (7-1) vs. Jivko Stoimenov (13-4)

Bantamweight
Paweł Polityło (6-3) vs. Patryk Chrobak (3-1)

Featherweight – First Fight
Wojciech Kazieczko (1-0) vs. Luboš Lesák (2-0)

Event Start: 7pm CET/6pm BST/1pm ET

KSW, or Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, is the premier mixed martial arts organization in Poland and one of the leading MMA organizations in Europe, founded back in 2004. Many KSW fighters have signed on to globally known promotions such as the UFC, making the organization an admirable stepping stone to the world's biggest stage. 

More on www.KSWTV.com.

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

18th of April 2022 - The Palliative Team was launched which included six Croatian veterans who volunteered together with the staff of the Vukovar Health Center.

As Novosti.hr reports, the president of the association “Defender Helps the Defender” (Branitelj pomaže branitelju) Željko Miškulin, wanted to expand the projects so three months later, they founded an association whose goal is to support the Croatian veteran population.

“I saw the needs of the veterans and their sense of forgetfulness since they fell ill. Veteran health and mortality problems were high, several of us suffer from multiple sclerosis, and most members have the status of Croatian war invalids. It was my path and guidance to embark on an adventure that proved useful and successful”, says Miškulin. The association has 50 members of volunteers and, although at the beginning it gathered people from Vukovar - Srijem and Osijek - Baranja counties, today they come from other Croatian counties as well.

In the beginning, the founding members and President Miškulin as volunteers of the Vukovar Health Center, provided palliative care to veterans in their homes, socialized and talked with them, and enabled family members to perform other tasks. After some time, they secured a visit from a dentist to a veteran who was then a bedridden patient for two years, with clergy and priests later joining the cause. Now they provide psychological support, organize examinations, controls, ambulance transport, free accommodation, and food during treatment for family members in Zagreb.

“We have excellent cooperation with the hospital in Vukovar but also with health institutions in Osijek, Zagreb, Zadar, and the health Center in Vinkovci. We also focused on helping the children of Croatian veterans with developmental and severe disabilities, we provide them with equipment and aids with Caritas helping us”, explained Miškulin, adding that the veterans are delighted that someone thinks about their needs.

Behind them are four implemented projects, three more are underway, and new education and an increase of the member numbers are planned as well.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

April 18, 2022 - Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter believes that, after the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that holds the Croatian government responsible for the death of little Madina Hosseini, the system must be changed to one that guarantees the security and respect for the human rights of the refugees who enter to Croatia. She points out, in relation to the current situation in Ukraine, that she would like a future response from the EU to be the same for all those escaping the horrors of war.

Ombudswoman Tena Šimonovic Einwalter said in an interview with Hina that, following the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the death of Madina Hosseini, it is important to change the system because ''as a state we want to respect human rights. This is the complete opposite of what Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the Croatian representative in the Strasbourg court, Štefica Stažnik, claim''. Namely, they both assure that this is not a systemic problem, because Croatia has not been declared responsible for the death of little Madina, but for an ineffective investigation into her death.

The six-year-old girl, Madina Hosseini was killed in November 2017 when she was hit by a train on the Croatian-Serbian border after her family had allegedly been denied the opportunity to seek asylum by Croatian authorities and were ordered to return to Serbia via the tracks.

Madina Hosseini (Photo: Family album)

The ECtHR confirmed that in Madina's case, Croatia had violated rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. As stated in the verdict, Madina's right to life, humiliated her family's children by keeping them in custody, illegally deprived the whole family of their liberty, and collectively expelled part of the family from Croatia and denied them access to a lawyer.

Why is this verdict significant?

In an interview with Hina, Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter commented on the significance of the verdict itself and the moves that Croatia needs to make in order to execute the verdict of that court.

Speaking about the human rights situation, Šimonović Einwalter announced that, in addition to the annual report already published, she would soon present a special report to the Croatian Parliament on the impact of the epidemic in the last two years on human rights and equality.

HINA: The ECtHR passed a verdict deciding in this particular case, but can it be said that it also said that Croatia is systematically violating the rights of refugees at the borders?

ŠIMONOVIC EINWALTER: It is difficult for the ECHR to say that in that way, in those words. This verdict addresses the issue of the treatment of Madina's family, in this specific situation. But the court also says that the case "raises several important issues about migration control by the Croatian authorities" and that "the impact of this case goes beyond the special situation of the family". The court also took into account a number of earlier allegations of violations of migrants' rights.

Some sentences from the decision, it seems to me, therefore indicate that the impact of the case goes beyond this particular family situation and I think it is good to read it that way if we want changes. It is important to carefully analyze and seriously implement this court decision and change the system because as a state we want to respect national law, European law, international law, and human rights. Is there the will to do it? I really hope so.

HINA: The court found that the convention had been violated because the police at the border did not assess the individual situation of the refugee family before they were deported to Serbia. It did not accept the state's argument that the refugee family was crossing the border illegally. What does this mean now, since the beginning of that refugee crisis, it has been persistently emphasized that we are "defending" ourselves at the borders from those who break the law by crossing them?

ŠIMONOVIĆ EINWALTER: In fact, the legal situation was clear even before this decision. It is often pointed out that the police should guard the border, that illegal crossing of the state border is prohibited, and that is exactly what the law says. At the same time, it is legally defined that persons have the right to seek international protection, regardless of the manner of entry into the country. Therefore, there must be an individualized procedure. It includes, because of the risk of violating international law, the possibility that people who are in a specific situation because of fleeing war and exposure to practices such as torture or the death penalty in their countries of origin have the right to seek international protection. It is also needed by people who are victims of human trafficking, rape, or severe violence.

You can't know if that person will have the right to asylum without conducting a procedure - to ask who that person is, where he is fleeing from and why, it is not written on anyone's forehead. As a first contact, officials should try to identify vulnerable people who may want to apply for international protection.

This is a matter of individualized approach, where special vulnerability is sometimes visible at first, for example in children or unaccompanied children, and the best interests of the child must take precedence.

Tena Šimonović Einwalter (Photo: Zeljko Hladika/PIXSELL)

HINA: In the next six months, Croatia must conduct an effective investigation into Madina's death, but also draw up an action plan to eliminate the violations identified by the court. Will this change the situation and the protocol for treating refugees?

ŠIMONOVIĆ EINWALTER: Within six months, but maybe earlier, the Office of the Representative of the Republic of Croatia before the ECtHR must adopt an action plan. In this regard, through a body in which representatives of various institutions participate, we can also give expert opinions and proposals, and it includes ministries, courts, the Constitutional Court, and others. The point of the ECtHR judgments is justice for individuals, but also to change the practice, if necessary the laws, in order to respect the legal standards of human rights protection. It can also be a question of, for example, how to conduct an effective investigation, which was an important issue in this case. We have also heard that Minister Davor Božinović has publicly stated that the responsibility in such cases is on the system and that we need to see what are the things that can and should be corrected.

HINA: Has the Ukrainian crisis shown that those fleeing the war can be treated differently?

ŠIMONOVIĆ EINWALTER: We are currently witnessing great solidarity of citizens towards Ukrainians, but I would like to remind you that we saw this solidarity of citizens in 2015 as well - and then many were ready to help. However, now the European Union has reacted differently than in 2015. The Temporary Protection Directive existed even then, and could theoretically be activated. It is a political decision at the EU level.

With the recent activation of the directive, IDPs from Ukraine have a much simpler and faster procedure. What can be discussed is whether it should have been activated in the past. Could it have been any different for some other people fleeing another war? I believe that a new level of solidarity and assistance to refugees is now being seen. In an ideal world, I would like to see Europe respond in this way to all refugees fleeing the horrors of war.

HINA: Your report makes recommendations on how to address the shortcomings you have identified in the implementation of human rights. Judging by the number, a total of 156 recommendations, a lot of work, what needs to be worked on the most?

ŠIMONOVIĆ EINWALTER: There are many problems, and I would like to point out the problems of access to health care and health services, the need for stronger support and protection of senior citizens, the issue of access to information for citizens regarding rights, and how to exercise them. It is necessary to ensure that the institutions suit them, that the procedures do not take too long, that they are less formalistic, and that their work shows the understanding that they are there for the citizens, to provide them with an easier way to exercise their rights. In some areas, the problems are long-lasting, I have been working in this institution for 14 years and changes are happening slowly.

We also point out systemic problems analytically and comprehensively. What I am always happy about are the improvements, and of course, there are some, especially when fulfilling some of our recommendations, either in an individual case or these systematic ones from the annual report, lead to a higher level of rights for citizens. That is the point of these recommendations. From the Report for 2020, 43 percent of the recommendations were implemented, which is a big jump compared to 2019, when 20 percent of them were implemented. I hope this trend continues.

HINA: In times of insecurity, the most socially vulnerable groups are particularly hard hit. How should the state act on this?

ŠIMONOVIĆ EINWALTER: Those who have been ill before always suffer the most. It will be the same now - it is the poorer senior citizens, but also those who live near the poverty line. Single-parent families and those with three or more children are in a difficult position.

Government measures to alleviate the situation are welcome, but they will certainly not remove all concerns from citizens. It is important to monitor at the state level whether the measures should be corrected, with special attention to the impact on those who find it particularly difficult, and we will monitor this as well.

HINA: A large number of complaints were related to the use of covid certificates and vaccinations. How has the epidemic affected equality and human rights in Croatia?

SIMONOVIC EINWALTER: We have been through a lot in these two years. The epidemic is still actually going on, so while many of us are feeling relieved, no one knows what will happen in the fall. These experiences should be used to learn and strengthen the key sectors: health, social, education, and civil protection. We are currently finalizing a special report on the impact of the epidemic on human rights and equality in those two years, which we will soon submit to Parliament. The purpose of this report is to see what the effects of the epidemic are and how to manage it. It has changed our lives and we need to see what can be done better and differently.

That is why we analyze the impact on certain human rights and certain groups of citizens because some have fared worse. These are the elderly, but they are not the only ones. There is also the impact of poverty and the availability of different services. The fact is that not everyone could be vaccinated, for health reasons, and at the same time, we had the question of the availability of testing, which was not the same for everyone. There are also lessons about informing citizens, given the fake news and misinformation. We will include all of this in the recommendations, and I hope that this report will be the basis for positive progress towards strengthening the resilience of society in the future, to the epidemic, but also to other possible crises.

For more, check out our politics section.

18 April 2022 - General Marinko Krešić stated on Sunday that he withheld his signature to the request to President Zoran Milanović to pardon Josip Perković and Zdravko Mustač, former Yugoslav and Croatian intelligence agents, sentenced by a German court to life for assisting in the murder of a Croatian dissident.

Perković and Mustač were sentenced by a German court in August 2016 to life for assisting in the murder of Croatian dissident Stjepan Đureković in Wolfratshausen in July 1983. Last Tuesday, attorney Anto Nobilo announced pardon motions for his two clients who are serving their sentences in Croatia.

In the meantime, media have reported that the letter with the request for their pardoning by President Milanović has been supported by retired generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak, Ljubo Ćesić Rojs, Pavao Miljavac, Davor Domazet Lošo and Marinko Krešić. General Krešimir Ćosić was originally mentioned as one of the supporters, however, he has withdrawn his signature.

Krešić followed Ćosić's suit, explaining that the divisions which the letter has caused among Homeland War veterans, prompted him to withhold his support.

Krešić, the president of the Croatian Generals Corps (HGZ), an association of retired Croatian Army generals and brigadiers from the Homeland War, said, among other things, that he he had never wanted to be a cause of any divisions or political confrontations.

I have always advocated the reconciliation and unity between Croatia and the Croatian expat communities, Krešić said, adding that he always followed the guiding principle of the first Croatian President, Franjo Tuđman: "Always and everything for Croatia, and our only and eternal Croatia – not for anything."

Explaining why he had initially accepted to participate in this campaign to support the request, Krešić said that he had been inspired by the idea of the all-Croatian reconciliation, the atmosphere of the Holy Week and that he had accepted the fact that brigadiers Perković and Mustač had given a certain contribution in the Homeland War and that he had also taken into consideration their old age and health condition.

The media have reported that the generals feel that Perković and Mustač deserve to be pardoned because of their contribution to the creation of the Croatian state and its defence.

On Monday, General Luka Džanko, a leader of the Association of Homeland War Veterans and Anti-Fascists (VeDRA), joined the initiative to ask President Milanović to pardon the two, due to their contribution in Croatia's war of independence, the association reported on its Facebook account.

Germany requested their extradition from Croatia as Zagreb was entering the EU, which took place in July 2013, whereby Croatia assumed the obligation to execute the European Arrest Warrant.

After the warrant for them was issued, the Croatian parliament passed a law on judicial cooperation in criminal matters with EU member states, under which the EAW would not apply to crimes committed prior to 7 August 2002. This prevented the extradition of Perković, so the law was dubbed Lex Perković. The legislation was passed during the premiership of then SDP leader Zoran Milanović. Due to Lex Perković, as the then prime minister, Milanović suffered major political damage.

Despite that, Croatian courts extradited Perković and Mustač to Germany.

Under the Pardons Act, the president pardons persons convicted by Croatian courts or serving sentences in Croatia. The presidential pardon is not conditioned by the length of the sentence served.

Minister says president would set precedent by pardoning Mustač, Perković

Justice Minister Ivan Malenica said on Saturday that President Milanović would set a precedent if he pardoned Perković and Mustač because, since taking office, he had not responded to the 274 pardon applications sent him by the ministry.

Speaking to Hina, Malenica said that in a little over two years the ministry had sent 274 pardon applications to the President's Office, enclosing reports prepared by the ministry based on the Pardons Act.

Until now, the president has not exercised his constitutional power to pardon someone and if this happens now, it would be a precedent in Milanović's term, he added.

Malenica said that during his presidential campaign, Milanović said the pardon institute was a relict of the past which he would not use. "If this has happened now, it's up to President Milanović to explain his political decision to pardon someone."

18 April 2022 - The Karlovac police reported on Monday that they had found two corpses, one at Svojići and other at Donje Dubrave, in the River Mrežnica, while they had been searching for a missing migrant from a group of Gambians and Senegalese who had reported that one of them had gone missing.

According to a press release issued by the police today, the local police received a telephone call on Saturday evening requesting assistance in the search for a missing man who was believed to have drowned.

Before the call, the local police had discovered at the village of Svojići eight foreigners, who are originally from Gambia and Senegal and who entered Croatia illegally. One man in that group was in a very poor health condition and was therefore transported to a local healthcare institution to be given medical assistance.

During the conversation with the remaining migrants, it was established that another man in that group had fallen in the River Mrežnica and that he was presumed drowned.

During the onsite investigation, a body was found in the River Mrežnica at Svojići, and also another drowned victim was found at Donje Dubrave.

The two victims are presumed to be migrants.

April the 18th, 2022 - The Sljeme cable car, which has been plagued with issues and been open then closed, is now open once again. This time, the new Zagreb attraction has a new service for its users.

As Vecernji List/Dario Topic writes, the Sljeme cable car (Zicara Sljeme) was opened and then closed down, and has now been reopened once again. The now up and running Sljeme cable car, which is back in action following some additional noise reduction has new offers for its users - new working hours and a brand new service.

Given the warmer weather of spring and significantly longer days, which will certainly encourage more and more residents and guests of the City of Zagreb to take the Sljeme cable car up the mountain into nature and enjoy various outdoor activities offeed, the new working hours of the cable car are on weekdays from 10:00 to 19:00, and on weekends, holidays and public holidays from 09:00 to 07:00.

In addition to the above, having listened to the needs and suggestions of both recreational and professional cyclists, who have shown great interest in transporting their bicycles up onto Sljeme using the cable car, those in charge are pleased to announce that this service has now been made available, as reported by ZET.

In addition to purchasing a regular ticket, cyclists will have access to an additional ticket for the transport of their bicycles in the amount of just 20 kuna in one direction. In one single cable car, it is possible to transport two people and two bicycles. Passengers entering the cable car itself by bicycle are obliged to pay attention so as not to damage the equipment or endanger other users when riding the Sljeme cable car, and in order to be transported safely to their destination on Zagreb's famous mountain.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.