December 16, 2020 - After winning just seven points in 13 Premier League games, Slaven Bilic was sacked as the West Bromwich Albion manager. Fans of the club are outraged.

HRT reports that English media announced last night that the club had decided on that move, so last night's sensational point won against Manchester City - one of the most expensively compiled teams in the world - did not help the former Croatia national team coach.

"I'm very calm. I love my job, I enjoy it, and I'm working hard for myself and my staff for the club. Everything else is out of my control," Slaven Bilic said after the match at Etihad last night. Bilic is extremely well-liked by the fans of West Bromwich Albion, after getting the club promoted back into the Premier League. His dismissal has been met by them with disbelief and anger.

WBA, however, announced today he would no longer lead the club:

"West Bromwich Albion have today parted company with Head Coach Slaven Bilić. 

Assistant Coaches Dean Računica and Danilo Butorović, and First Team Coach Julian Dicks have also left the club with immediate effect.

The Baggies are currently 19th in the Premier League table with seven points from 13 fixtures. 

Albion would like to thank Slaven and his coaching staff for their efforts in achieving promotion last season and wishes them all well in the future," WBA wrote on their official website, adding that they would make no further comments at this time. 

Slaven Bilic thus became the first coach in this Premier League season to be fired.

The former coach of the Croatia national football team, who also led London club, West Ham, for two years (2015-2017), took over the West Bromwich club in June 2019 and was responsible for directly promoting them to the Premier League. This was no small achievement considering the squad had been predicted to struggle even in the Championship 

Unfortunately, without louder reinforcements and with many unfortunate circumstances, such as VAR decisions that were to the detriment of WBA, the club achieved one victory in 13 Premier League games under Slaven Bilic's leadership, with four draws and eight defeats. Most Albion fans are directing the blame at the board of West Bromwich Albion. After promotion to the Premier League, they failed to obtain the key new signings Bilic had requested to ensure success. The club currently has Chinese owners. The first player they brought in was a Chinese player. He was immediately loaned out. To a Chinese club.

West Bromwich Albion enjoyed a terrific run of form under Slaven Bilić's guidance and he was recognised as Manager of the Month in the English Championship League in March 2020, having taken over at the club in only summer 2019.

Commenting on the sacking, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said, “I’m very sad to hear that Slaven lost his job. I think he’s done great for them in getting promotion. I know him from years back. I’m sure he’ll get a job again, when he wants to.”

“Hopefully more clubs think long-term. Of course, it’s a short-term business, and we need results in the short-term, but everyone knows that continuity is the key to success.”

At the time of the dismissal, British media cited the experienced 66-year-old Sam Allardyce as the main candidate to be Bilic's successor. Allardyce has saved clubs from relegation from the Premier League on several occasions during his career. His last engagement was at Everton, which he led from December 2017 to May 2018. Many West Bromwich Albion fans have expressed dismay at the thought of being lead by Allardyce for the rest of the season. Allardyce was announced as West Brom's new manager later in the afternoon.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December 16, 2020 – The Rijeka utility company for cleaning and waste management "Čistoća" introduced five more new smart modular containers for mixed municipal and valuable, recyclable waste in the center of Rijeka.

As Rijeka.hr writes, to upgrade the existing waste collection service, "Čistoća "already installed 12 smart containers in June 2019, of which 7 in the very center of Rijeka. Five new smart containers will be installed in the city center area: in Trpimirova Street and on the Riva (at bus stations), on Karolina Riječka Pier, on the 111th Brigade of the Croatian Army Square, and Klobučarić Square.

The director of "Čistoća", Jasna Kukuljan, said that the containers have built-in fill sensors that send data to the management software, that is, the tanks themselves report the need for emptying. They also have a press that compresses waste, thus enabling the disposal of more waste than is possible in conventional containers.

Artists will paint the containers

All the needed energy-smart containers use a photovoltaic panel located on top of the container body. Using advanced technologies achieves significant savings in time, human resources, and energy and contributes to reducing emissions of pollutants into the environment.

In addition to being useful, Rijeka artists will also beautifully paint the containers. Namely, through the competition, "Čistoća" selected the 20 best artists from Rijeka who will paint smart containers with their works. Therefore, they will undoubtedly be interesting and attractive elements of urban equipment.

These are the artworks: Biciklistica, author Tina Radosavljević; Cranes, by Ariana Sušanj; Octopus, by Hana Dutina; Let's recycle in the city that flows by the author Nora Vlaša, and Love your city – think green, author Mirta Tomulić.

Rijeka separates a third of the waste

Deputy Mayor Marko Filipović emphasized the importance of applying new technologies in all segments, including the one related to waste collection, which places Rijeka at the very top of Smart Cities – cities that are entirely ready for the digital transition.

In addition to containers, citizens collect waste separately through recycling yards. In Rijeka, they currently have three fixed and two mobile recycling yards at their disposal, and the plan is to expand the system of recycling yards.

Together with waste collected in recycling yards, Rijeka separates almost 30 percent of its waste.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, Dec 16, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has said the situation with the pandemic requires national unity, solidarity, and a high degree of responsibility in order to save as many lives as possible and the economy, accusing the opposition of irresponsibly undermining everything that is being done to fight COVID-19.

In an interview with Globus weekly, Plenkovic says new COVID measures are being considered as well as an extension of the ones in force in order to reduce the number of infections.

"I'll reiterate that our priority was and remains to preserve the health of our citizens and save every life. One should clearly say that the choice is not between health and the economy, it is a health and the economy. It would be easiest to introduce another lockdown, but few are asking where the money would come from for salaries and financing the economy."

He says it is extremely important that everyone complies with the COVID measures so as to reduce, through joint efforts, the number of infections and the pressure on hospitals and the medical staff "who are giving their all to save every life and keep the healthcare system running."

Plenkovic says the economy is "key for financing the healthcare system."

Speaking of the arrival of a vaccine, he says that if a large portion of the population gets vaccinated, the infection will disappear sooner.

Announcing a public campaign, he says the wish is for all the information on the vaccine to be transparent, clear and based on science so as to explain to citizens the benefits and how the vaccine can protect them from the disease.

Speaking of the opposition's moves, Plenkovic says it is a pity that their contribution to the COVID crisis "boils down to undermining the work" of the national response team.

"The opposition's attempts to have everything decided in parliament only additionally reveals their deep lack of understanding of the nature of this crisis in which it's necessary to make decisions. How, for example, would a two-thirds majority be achieved in parliament on whether the physical distance should be one meter, a meter and a half or two, how many people can be in shops or on the farmers' market?"

Plenkovic says parliament passed all the laws necessary to enable the government and the COVID response team to make the necessary operational decisions, adding that such a system "has ensured the necessary flexibility for adopting all the necessary measures on short notice."

Plenkovic says the opposition has the right to "irresponsibly undermine all we are doing in the fight against COVID-19, but we will continue to adopt the optimal measures for protecting the health and maintaining the economy."

ZAGREB, Dec 16, 2020 - In the past 24 hours 3,327 coronavirus infections have been registered in Croatia, bringing the number of active cases to 22,042, and 92 COVID-19 patients have died, the national COVID-19 response team said on Wednesday.

Currently, 2,907 patients are hospitalized, including 294 on ventilators, while 53,286 people are self-isolating.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Croatia has registered 183,045 coronavirus cases and 2,870 COVID deaths, while 157,773 persons have recovered, including 2,694 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 908,215 persons have been tested for the virus, including 11,387 in the past 24 hours.

December 16, 2020 - The Croatian women's handball team advanced to the semi-final of the European Championships with a victory against Germany on Tuesday. The semi-final duel between Croatia and France will be played on Friday at 6 pm.

Gol.hr reports that France and Norway are the biggest favorites for gold at the Euros. France came to the Championship as the current European champion, and this will be no easy task for Nenad Šoštarić's team.

Reputable Lequipe presented the Croatia national team, and the journalists of the most widely read French sports newspaper pointed out the advantages of Croatia in the clash for the final.

"France, as first in the group, will meet Croatia in the semi-final, unexpectedly, as this is Croatia's first semifinal in history," begins Lequipe about Croatia.

"Croatia has never played a semi-final in its history, and since 2013, it has been known as a second-class handball team. They were constantly eliminated in the first round of big competitions, even at home in 2014," the French journalist points out.

"Ćamila Mičijević, a left-winger from Metz, is the fourth-best scorer of the competition with 30 goals, five on average. Goalkeeper Tea Pijević reigns in front of the goal, defending 37% on average. Her catching the ball with one hand will be remembered as one of the cult scenes of the Euro."

Lequipe points out that France is a big favorite but says they have to be careful because Croatia is experiencing euphoria, and there is no pressure for the medal. 

The last match between Croatia and France was back in 2007, and France celebrated 28:26.

France did not record a single defeat in the Euros, and only Russia managed to snatch a point from them.

In the first group stage, they defeated the host and the second semifinalist, Denmark, then Montenegro, and Slovenia. In the second round, apart from drawing against Russia, they defeated Spain and Sweden. Although this part of the draw was stronger, it should be noted that France recorded two victories only by one goal, against Montenegro and Spain, which gives Croatia hope. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December 16, 2020 - Hajduk and HNS met on Tuesday in Split to discuss installing a new Poljud pitch, which should begin in May next year.

An operational meeting was held on Tuesday at Poljud between representatives of HNK Hajduk, led by the President of the Management Board Lukša Jakobušić, and the Croatian Football Federation, led by the Executive Director Marijan Kustić. The topic of the meeting, which lasted a little less than an hour, was installing a new lawn on the main pitch of Poljud Stadium.

The following conclusions were reached:

"The common conclusion is that it is not possible to carry out the complete works for laying down a new pitch until January 30. The reason is the upcoming holidays, i.e., the impossibility to acquire and begin the construction process, preparatory works, installation, and putting the lawn into full operation in such a short time. The option to start work in January was considered. Still, the completion would be only at the beginning of March, which would prevent Hajduk from playing at least four championship matches in the month of the Club's 110th birthday, which includes the biggest Croatian derby at its stadium.

- It was agreed that due to logistical, technical, and time constraints, the replacement of the lawn would start in May, which gives enough time to enter the next season with a new pitch.

- HNS and Hajduk will sign an agreement on the installation of a hybrid lawn at the beginning of 2021. The city will give consent to Hajduk to change the pitch.

- An additional reason for setting up the pitch in May is the possibility to donate our current field to one of the second division teams in Dalmatia. According to the previous request, it was agreed in principle that the field would be donated to the Dalmatian second league club Croatia Zmijavci, and this is possible only after the end of our and their season," stated Hajduk on its official website. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December 16, 2020 - The latest on the COVID-19 vaccination plan in Croatia, as revealed by Krunoslav Capak of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

Jutarnji List reports that although the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has announced that approval for the use of Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine could arrive by December 29, the German Bild reports that this could happen as early as December 23. On the other hand, the Germans say that in that case, vaccination in that country could start the day after Christmas, more precisely, on December 26. Given that the European Commission has announced in the vaccination plan that all EU countries, after the EMA has the last word, will receive the vaccine simultaneously, this would mean that Croatia could start with the first vaccinations on December 26 or 28.

Namely, BioNTech reported that the delivery of vaccines from the factory and the primary European distribution center of Pfizer's vaccine in Puurs, Belgium, can start as soon as the green light from the EMA and the EC arrives. The date by which the EMA could give the green light was indirectly confirmed at a press conference by German Health Minister Jens Spahn. He said the media reports, according to which the EMA should approve the vaccine on December 23, were correct, adding that this would happen through a regular rather than an urgent procedure, "because we want citizens to gain confidence in the vaccine," he said.

"We have information that the Pfizer vaccine will arrive in Croatia on January 4. However, the company said earlier that, as soon as the EMA approval arrives, symbolic quantities of the vaccine could be delivered to all EU countries at the same time this year. The rest should arrive after the New Year," says the director of the CNIPH, Krunoslav Capak. He is convinced that if the EMA approves the vaccine on the 23rd, Croatia will receive the first quantities simultaneously as Germany and other EU countries.

It should be reminded that Croatia has ordered a million doses of Pfizer vaccine, but it will, as in other countries, arrive in smaller tranches. The first quantity for Croatia should be 125,000 doses and is intended for the vaccination of users and employees of nursing homes and health professionals. After that, those over 65 and chronic patients will be vaccinated with two doses, for which it will be necessary to organize vaccination sites well. The National Civil Protection Headquarters also announced a campaign to give citizens all the information they need about the benefits of vaccination and possible side effects.

According to some information, the start of the campaign is planned for December 21, while the current epidemiological measures will be in force, and it seems that they will not be eased. It is also possible that the measures will be tightened if, by the end of this week, the numbers of patients and hospitalized due to coronavirus do not show a more serious downward trend. The Headquarters and the Ministry of Health believe that this is optimal because most people will be at home, spending time watching television, listening to the radio, or reading online portals.

But what is still not clearly answered is the details of the vaccination plan. For healthcare facilities, this should not be a major problem, as many healthcare professionals are concentrated in one place and can vaccinate each other. However, nursing homes are increasingly a "bottleneck," in which more than 70 percent of users have given their consent to vaccination. The facts say that homes do not have enough health professionals who could use all open vaccine bottles in the short term.

These days, the survey of nursing home users and employees has been completed, so it is known at least approximately how many doses are needed. So far, about 24,000 residents and employees have expressed this interest, which means that 48,000 doses should be provided for them within 21 days, which is the interval between two doses of the vaccine. If vaccination in Croatia starts on December 28, those vaccinated on that day will acquire full immunity on January 24 next year. By the end of the week, it should be known how much interest health professionals have in vaccination.

Initial figures suggest it could be about half of public sector employees, or about 30,000. This means that 60,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine should be provided for them. According to that calculation, after the vaccination of those from the first planned group of 125,000 received doses, there would be about 15,000 left from the first delivery of the vaccine, i.e., enough to vaccinate another 5,000 at-risk citizens.

However, there could be many more problems when the next shipment of Pfizer vaccines arrives, i.e., when the vaccination of the general population over the age of 65, who live in their apartments and houses, begins, because they will certainly need more doctors and nurses to implement them than usual in the flu vaccination season. There is still doubt as to whether vaccinations should be given exclusively to family physicians, as suggested by epidemiologist Dr. Bernard Kaić, or whether the number of "vaccinators" should be extended, for example, to pharmacists, about which there are also suggestions.

To read more about coronavirus in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 16th of December, 2020 - last year, Croatia's residents spent a record 15.3 billion kuna during the festive period, but the ongoing coronavirus crisis has left its mark on Croatian Christmas consumer habits.

Although there is no estimate for what has been an absolutely dire 2020 yet, the specialised consulting company in the field of the agri-food sector, Smarter, estimates that the total consumption of food and beverages will fall by up to 20 percent in December, marking a significant change in the typical Croatian Christmas shopping spirit.

According to the latest data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, retail consumption in Croatia fell by 7.3 percent back in September when compared to the same month last year, with a decline in retail trade in food, beverages and tobacco products.

At the same time, they estimate better sales and the higher consumption of local Croatian products due to their continued good supply and higher production, which has since been confirmed by the estimate of growth in the value of Croatian agricultural production this year by about one billion kuna, helped along by the support of retail chains.

Smarter added that Croatian Christmas consumption in regard to festivities will be more modest than in previous years (two years ago the calculation of the average ''festive basket'' stood at 2175.98 kuna), but the offer of Croatian products is better than it was before, and meat, fish, wine, fruit, vegetables and other food are being sold at special prices. Online sales also increased significantly (by 13.9 percent in the first half of 2020 according to the CBS).

"We're convinced that the awareness of the need for a turnaround in the sector of agriculture and food production will be further developed and that Croatia will finally get a strategy that will revitalise this production on a sound basis," concluded Smarter.

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