Journalists' Association Asks President to Stop Insulting Their Profession
ZAGREB, 30 April 2022 - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Saturday asked President Zoran Milanović to stop insulting the journalistic profession, saying that his statements about journalists and the media are inappropriate and to be condemned.
The HND commented on Milanović's statement that he did not follow the media. "They follow me, like scabies, like a skin infection... It's awfully bad. The education criterion has declined enormously. It's a totally neglected profession," the president said.
The HND said in a press release that such assessments did not befit the head of state in a democratic society and that they were insulting to all journalists as well as an unacceptable generalisation of a public interest profession.
The HND said numerous governments were responsible for the "devastated" journalistic scene, including Milanović's when he was prime minister, during which the current law on the public broadcaster was adopted, which, the HND said, was having disastrous consequences.
The HND said that over the past 30 years journalists played an important role in uncovering numerous irregularities in society, and criticised the behaviour of the president and the prime minister "in these moments of crisis."
The HND urged Milanović to just answer questions from the press, without belittling and vilifying, reminding him that in his inauguration speech he underlined the importance of protecting and promoting the independence of the media.
The HND reiterated its call on all office holders to just answer questions from the press.
Social Democrats Say Their Party to Offer Different Political Activity Paradigm
ZAGREB, 30 April 2022 - Members of the Social Democrats parliamentary group presented in Split on Saturday their eponymous association and announced the establishment of a political party that would offer a different paradigm of political activity than the one currently on the scene.
Croatia clearly needs a serious Croatian policy based on different values, said Davorko Vidović, the association's president.
The Social Democrats are the largest opposition parliamentary group, formed after 18 Social Democratic Party (SDP) MPs were ousted from or left the party.
Vidović said their own political party would be based on values of social democracy present in Europe for the past 200 years, such as freedom, justice, equality and solidarity, but faced with new challenges.
"We wish to be the spokespersons of the modern Croatia, which needs representatives capable of articulating those needs."
The Social Democrats want to show that the country can be run differently, by respecting every citizen and introducing decency, respect, tolerance and arguments in the political discourse, Vidović said.
MP Katica Glamuzina said Social Democrats were" returning to the foundations of social democracy" and "the path of equity, equality and the fight for those disenfranchised."
Speaking of tomorrow's International Workers' Day, MP Davor Bernardić said citizens no longer wanted to watch the president and the prime minister row but were interested in how to live better.
It's key to help workers working on insecure platforms as well as all others, and also young people who can't afford to buy a flat, which the Social Democrats are dealing with, he added.
The key job is to help Croatia demographically and keep people from leaving, he said.
Luka Modrić Celebrates 19th Real Madrid Trophy as LaLiga Title Clinched
April 30, 2022 - Real Madrid has become the Spanish champion for the 35th time, clinching the LaLiga title today against Espanyol.
A year ago, Real Madrid was left without a title in the last round, but this season looked a bit different.
In the 34th round of LaLiga, Real Madrid beat Espanyol (4-0) at home and thus, for the 35th time in history, secured the Spanish title. Second-placed Sevilla is 17 points behind and Barcelona is -18 with a game less. Even if they celebrate on Sunday, they cannot theoretically overthrow Madrid.
Rodrygo scored two goals for 2-0 Madrid at halftime, followed by Asensio and Benzema goals in the 55th and 81st minutes for the final 4-0.
On Wednesday, Real Madrid and Manchester City will play in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals, meaning Ancelotti didn't want to exhaust his most important players. Luka Modric played until the 60th minute.
This title is special for Real in many ways. Brazilian footballer Marcelo has gone down in history as the most trophy-winning footballer in the club’s history with 24 trophies, and nothing could have passed without Don Carlo getting another column in the history books. He became the first coach in history to win a championship in all five leagues! He succeeded with Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Bayern, and now Real Madrid.
Croatian maestro Luka Modrić will remember this as the day he won his 19th trophy with Real Madrid, making him the fifth most trophy-winning player in the club's history.
Luka made history with Real Madrid and won four Champions Leagues, three of them in a row. This is Luka's third La Liga title, while he has also won one Cup, four Club World Cups, three Uefa Super Cups, and four Spanish Super Cups.
Modrić came to Madrid in 2012, and while he had a rough start, he became one of the best ever to wear the Royal jersey.
Modrić has played 431 games and scored 31 goals with 70 assists so far. This season, he's played a total of 38 games - and that's all at 36.
Source: 24Sata
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Croatia Finishes 6th in Water Polo World League European Qualifications
April 30, 2022 - The Croatia men's water polo team took 6th place in the final tournament of the World League European qualifications, which is being held in Podgorica. Croatia lost the match for fifth place to Hungary on Saturday 9-14 (1-3, 3-1, 2-5, 3-5 ).
Jerko Marinić Kragić scored three goals for Croatia, while Ivan Krapić, Ivan Domagoj Zović, Luka Bukić, Josip Vrlić, Hrvoje Benić, and Konstantin Harkov added one goal each. Hungary was led by Marton Vamos with four goals and Gergely Burian with three goals.
"This is a new team after all. A lot of players have ‘retired’ when it comes to national water polo. There are a lot of new players, and I am finally among them. The goal in Podgorica was to work mostly on the team part of tactics, technique, and even some other things outside the pool. To become a real ‘klapa’. Therefore, when it is put in order, everything will be as it should be. This tournament was good for us to see where we are and what we are, since we didn't have much time to prepare. We still have a lot to fix. I think that the Croatia national team must aim for the highest success and I think we will achieve that. The process is long, it is not easy, but we will succeed. We have time to do all this, we have time to come to the next gathering, if I'm not mistaken, on June 5. We are all eager, hungry and thirsty for success," Jerko Marinić Kragić emphasized after the match for HVS.
Qualifying for the final World League tournament, which will be held from July 23 to 29 in Strasbourg, will be won by the three first-placed national teams from the tournament in Podgorica. Namely, the match for fifth place did not matter.
Italy and Serbia took two of the three places with victories in the semifinals on Friday, while Montenegro and Spain will play for the third-place later on Saturday. Earlier, France, the USA, Canada, Brazil, and Australia won a spot in the final tournament.
Source: HRT
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SDP Leader Says Government Unwilling to Amend Labour Act
ZAGREB, 30 April 2022 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Peđa Grbin on Saturday distributed carnations and socialised with citizens in Pula ahead of International Workers' Day, noting that the incumbent government was not willing to launch a comprehensive reform of the Labour Act announced over six months ago.
"According to recent EU statistics, Croatia is close to the bottom of the EU ranking in terms of employment and that is what we need to talk about, not just when we observe International Workers' Day but throughout the year," Grbin said, recalling that a comprehensive reform of the labour law was announced more than half a year ago but that it was not happening.
"This government is not willing to do it and lacks the capacity. It has changed the minister who should be in charge of the reform, a new one has been appointed who knows nothing about work and workers, and the problems are staying," he said, adding that data for February showed that regardless of a rise in absolute figures, the real value of wages had dropped over the past year.
"We should all focus on maintaining the value of income, of preserving the value of wages and pensions as well as on dealing with problems such as compensation for overtime work, work on Sundays and holidays and higher wages," Grbin said, adding that the reality was such that workers were still exploited.
He also called for amending the Pension Act to ensure adequate indexation of pensions to prevent their losing in value due to growing inflation.
Greenpeace Activists Collecting Signatures to Ban Fossil Fuels
ZAGREB, 30 April 2022 - Croatian Greenpeace activists on Saturday joined in collecting signatures for the European Citizens' Initiative's petition to ban the promotion of fossil fuels and related sponsorships, calling on citizens to sign in Zagreb's main square by 4 pm today or online.
The activists displayed a banner in Ban Jelačić Square saying "Fossil fuels kill people and the climate", and warned about the link between those fuels and the financing of the war in Ukraine as well as about the damage oil, coal and fossil gas cause to the climate.
The ECI petition obliges the European Commission to consider it if the required number of signatures is collected.
Activists believe the long-term solution to both the war and climate crises is a resolute "no" to all fossil fuels, wherever they come from, and turning to renewables for which, they say, Croatia has huge potential, notably in sun energy.
In order to achieve real energy independence, the government must give up fossil fuels, exploit the sun and start to invest in renewables, Petra Andrić of Greenpeace's Croatian office said.
Croatia Reports 797 New COVID-19 Cases, Six Deaths
ZAGREB, 30 April 2022 - Croatia has recorded 797 new coronavirus cases and six COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Saturday.
The number of active cases in the country now stands at 5,777, of whom 422 infected persons are being treated in hospital, including 17 placed on ventilators, while 3,798 persons are self-isolating.
Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 1,122,459 people have been registered as having contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom 15,828 have died and 1,100,854 have recovered, including 1,032 in the last 24 hours.
A total of 4,786,857 people have tested for COVID-19 to date, including 3,083 in the last 24 hours.
By Friday, 5,243,687 vaccine doses had been administered, with 59.49 per cent of the total population, or 70.76 per cent of adults, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,313,245 people had received at least one dose and 2,241,889 of them had been fully vaccinated, which is 68.68 per cent of the adult population.
Emergency Medical Service Workers Want Complex Working Conditions Recognised
ZAGREB, 30 April 2022 - The central event marking the national day of emergency medical service workers, which has been observed since 2013, was held in Sisak on Saturday, with speakers announcing a motion to adopt relevant regulations and recognise an accelerated retirement plan for emergency medical service workers.
The past two years were very demanding and challenging for workers of the Emergency Medical Service, and for those in Sisak-Moslavina County they were additionally difficult due to the 2020 earthquake, it was said.
The head of the Croatian Institute for Emergency Medicine, Maja Grba-Bujević, said that it is well-known that difficult working conditions and stress affect a worker's working life as well as life expectancy, while emergency medical service tasks are increasingly demanding, which is why the number of employees has doubled in recent years.
She spoke of the professionalism and selflessness of emergency medical teams during the coronavirus pandemic, noting that a survey of nine countries put Croatia on a par with France in terms of efficiency and competence.
To make the service even more efficient, nine boats were procured for emergency situations on the islands, Grba-Bujević said, calling for the establishment of an own helicopter emergency service, noting that so far cooperation with the army and police had been good in that regard.
Parliament Speaker Issues Message for International Workers' Day
ZAGREB, 30 April 2022 - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Saturday issued a message on the occasion of International Workers' Day, noting that constant social dialogue and partnership between the state, employers and unions are necessary for improving the status of workers.
"Contributing to social security, equity and the economic stability of our country requires involvement of all stakeholders in the labour market and joint efforts," said Jandroković.
Recalling that on 1 May 1886 protesting Chicago workers paved the way for the struggle for the recognition of workers' basic rights and decent life based on fairer working conditions, Jandroković said that in the current time of many challenges, it was necessary to adapt to new working conditions.
"Those challenges also serve as additional encouragement to continue creating conditions in the Croatian society that will result in equal opportunities for everyone to work productively and have a decent salary," he said, recalling that 1 May is also the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker and expressing gratitude to all workers who in the current challenging times do their job conscientiously, with commitment and to the benefit of their community.
Union of Civil Society Sector Workers Calls for Marking International Workers' Day
ZAGREB, 30 April 2022 - A trade union of precarious workers and activists on Saturday called on all workers to mark International Workers' Day as their day of fight for decent wages, better working conditions and more social and economic rights.
Calling on workers to support or join workers' unions, the union, which goes by the acronym SKUPA and brings together members of civil society organisations, also called on workers to join in a protest march to be organised in Zagreb on Sunday by the SSSH trade union federation, of which it is a member.
The SKUPA trade union was established in December 2021 as a response by workers in civil society organisations to poor working conditions in the sector.
"That includes frequently low or inadequate salaries, excessive workload, frequently unpaid overtime work and work on weekends, job insecurity, and mobbing and bullying in the workplace," the union says, noting that civil society organisations in Croatia employ around 19,000 workers.
