May 15, 2022 - The Croatia deaf handball team won the gold medal at the Deaflympics in Caxias do Sulu, Brazil, beating Germany 32-21 in the final! This is the fifth gold medal for the Croatia handball team at the Deaflympics and the 17th total from major competitions. 

The rhythm was slow in the first half on both sides, but Croatia was somewhat better, which, thanks to the outside line in which Lušić and Glumac played very well, managed to take the lead in the middle of the half with three goals. Šagovac defended well again with eight saves, one of which was a 7-meter throw.

We already knew the winner in the first three minutes of the second half. Three goals by Bošnjak and one by Glumac put Croatia ahead by seven goals which delighted more than 2,000 spectators at the final. Bošnjak led the Croatia national team with ten goals, followed by Glumac with six and Ilija Perak and Lušić with four each.

After the game, top scorer Tomislav Bošnjak said that the start was nervous with a lot of technical errors, but even with such a game, they ended the half with a three-goal advantage.

"At halftime, we agreed to start strongly from the beginning, which was achieved, and the difference only grew to the final 11-goal advantage," added Bošnjak.

The Croatia men's deaf handball team is one of Croatia's most trophy-winning teams. This is their 17th medal in major competitions. Winning this gold brings their Deaglympics medal count to 8 (five gold, one silver, and two bronze), with seven European (five gold, one silver, and one bronze) and two World Championship medals, both gold.

Serbia won third place at the Deaflympics. In the women's part of the tournament, Denmark finished first, Turkey was second, while Brazil won bronze. 

Croatia won a total of four medals at the Deaflympics - three gold and one silver in Caixas do Sulu. In addition to handball, taekwondo fighter Matea Kolovrat and javelin thrower Laura Štefanac won gold medals, and taekwondo fighter Petra Goleš won the silver. 

Source: Jutarnji List + HRT

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

May 15, 2022 - Team Unruly, in collaboration with Pollen, is bringing a unique four-day island takeover to Croatia for the first time ever, fusing the best in Jamaican, African, and UK music, led by the King of Dancehall Popcaan. Introducing the Unruly Culture Splash Weekender!

International star Popcaan who is signed to OVO is recognizable for hits such as  ‘Only Man She Want’ and ‘Family,’ and collaborations such as ‘Twist & Turn’ with Drake, PartyNextDoor, and Jamie XX’s ‘I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)’.

Join Popcaan and the Unruly team for a jam-packed four-day feast of Caribbean culture, the first travel getaway of its kind in Europe.  At Culture Splash, expect huge headline performances with a lineup like no other curated by Unruly’s very own Popcaan, bringing together sound-system culture from across the globe and its community, highlighting creativity, wellness, and music, food, dance, and vibes with lots of surprises in-store.

Taking place on the beautiful island of Pag in Croatia, Zrće beach is one of the best party beaches in the world, with clubs lining the shoreline on the Adriatic Sea. Croatia is known for bringing the biggest and best music experiences to their country, and this one is no different. Set on a stunning beach that has become known to be among the best party locations in the world, this is the place to be this Summer.

A stellar itinerary and additional events await across the 4 days, with parties running all day and night including a themed pool party, brunch, BBQs, and a boat party. Need to chill out? There are spa and make-up treatments available to get you rejuvenated and prepared to party until sunrise. Want to realign? Join our dance class. Want to experience more of what the Island of Pag has to offer? Add on a once-in-a-lifetime excursion.

Whether you are on a budget or looking for luxury, there is something for everyone to enjoy at Culture Splash Weekender.

About Pollen Boilerplate

Pollen is a leading travel company building, curating, and delivering the best experiences for members all over the world. Members enjoy these experiences together with the people they love, creating stronger relationships and unforgettable memories. Customers who travel with Pollen immerse themselves in multi-day itineraries that combine live entertainment, parties, and relaxation time in more than 50 popular destinations. Members can discover and book these experiences exclusively on https://pollen.co/uk and the Pollen app. Pollen has already launched bespoke travel experiences with megastars like Justin Bieber, J Balvin, 50 Cent, and Duran Duran.

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

May 15, 2022 - Marko Livaja has broken an 87-year-old Hajduk record, scoring 27 goals in a single season after two goals from the penalty spot against Istra last night. 

Hajduk's #10 Marko Livaja wrote Hajduk history in Saturday's match against Istra 1961, becoming Hajduk's top scorer in one season with 27 goals! 

Until the match against Istria, he was tied with legendary striker Zlatko Vujović in second place with 25 goals. However, after putting two goals in the back of Istra's net, he broke Leo Lemešić's record from the 1934/35 season with 26 goals scored. Lemešić is the second-top scorer in the history of the club behind Frane Matošić.

Marko scored goals against all clubs in the Croatian First League this season. Namely, in the 2021/22 Croatian Championship, he scored six goals against Istra 1961, five goals against Rijeka, four goals against Hrvatski Dragovoljac, three goals against Gorica and Lokomotiva, two goals against Šibenik and Slaven Belupo, and one goal against both Osijek and Dinamo to seal his title at the top scorer in the league.

It is also clear that with 27 goals, Marko Livaja will win the HNL Golden Boot after Josip Drmić no longer has a chance to catch the Hajduk striker due to a two-match ban. Recall, Drmić was fined 5,000 kuna and a two-match ban for hitting Stefan Simić in last Sunday's Adriatic derby between Rijeka and Hajduk. Drmić is thus in second place with 21 goals, while Dion Drena Beljo, Mislav Oršić, and Marko Dabro (who left Lokomotiva for China a month and a half ago) follow. Drmić will be free for the next two weekends, but he can play in the Cup final between Rijeka and Hajduk at Poljud on May 26.

"Numerous well-deserved hymns have been written about the achievements, statistics, records, moves, and games of Hajduk's #10s. His contribution will surely remain inscribed in the club's history alongside the greatest greats. Not only on the pitch but also off it" concluded Hajduk in a statement. 

The best player in the HNL started scoring at Inter and continued in Atalanta, FC Rubin Kazan, Empoli, Las Palmas, AEK, and now Hajduk. His 26th goal in Saturday's game was also the 100th goal of his career. 

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

May the 15th, 2022 - Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac and the Jadrolinija management board's representatives have come together as the height of the summer tourist season rapidly approaches.

As Morski writes, representatives of the Jadroilinija management board met recently at the National and University Library in Zagreb with the Minister of Tourism and Sport, Nikolina Brnjac. The meeting was held as we're now approaching the main part of the tourist year, and Minister Brnjac commented on the current tourist results and expectations from the main summer season.

Along with the President of the Jadrolinija management board, David Sopta, the meeting was attended by various representatives of the Croatian tourism sector, including members of the Croatian Tourist Board and the Council for the Recovery and Development of Tourism, as well as representatives of hotel groups and other professional associations.

''The beginning of 2022 showed an increase in the number of transported passengers and vehicles on national and international lines compared to the same period in 2021. Participating in several tourism events, increased interest in our lines was noticed, so we're very optimistic about the recovery of the market and the return of group tourist trips,'' said the President of the Management Board of Jadrolinija at the meeting.

''The results so far testify that this year we've prepared well and taken all of the necessary activities to strengthen and upgrade the position of Croatia as a desirable tourist destination with high quality and a diverse offer. It's even more important that our emitting markets increasingly recognise Croatia as a year-round destination, which is an important component in the development of the sustainability of Croatian tourism.

When we talk about the value of fiscalised receipts issued for the first four months of this year, we can be very satisfied because on average each month had an increase of 10 percent compared to the same period back during pre-pandemic 2019,'' said Minister Nikolina Brnjac, adding that she believes such good results are set to continue throughout the height of 2022's summer season when we realise 70 percent of 2019's total tourist traffic and 63 percent of that same year's total revenues.

Representatives of the tourism sector said that the demand for Croatia has been extremely good, that the country is one of the leading holiday destinations in its main emitting markets and that they believe that this summer season will continue to yield good results with continued cooperation between the Croatian Government and the entire sector.

According to the Tax Administration, in the first four months of 2022, a total of 5 billion and 457 million kuna in fiscal receipts were realised, which is 170 percent more than in the same period last year, and when compared to the first four months of 2019, the value stands at an encouraging ​​11 percent higher.

So far, more than 1.9 million arrivals and 6.2 million overnight stays have been realised across Croatia, ie 172 percent more arrivals and 154 percent more overnight stays compared to the same period back in 2021.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

May the 15th, 2022 - Split politician Ivica Puljak has claimed that the City of Split will become one of the best places in all of Croatia when it comes to education.

As Morski writes, presenting his programme in the City of Split, Croatia's second largest city, Centre's mayoral candidate Ivica Puljak announced the construction of apartments, kindergartens and schools, and said that if making a return to the helm of Split's city administration, they'd continue where they left off.

According to Ivica Puljak, they wanted to share the programme with the people at a public presentation at the place where they celebrated their victory last time, something he hopes to repeat. He was accompanied by other Centre political candidates (who would be deputy mayors), Bojan Ivosevic and Antonio Kuzmanic.

They plan to build POS apartments in Koresnica, complete Znjan beach by the summer of 2024, and build the Dracevac Technology Park. They have already thought up a project to build four kindergartens, so two should be completed by the beginning of the next school year, and two by the end of the term so that all children can have a place in kindergarten.

''Split will be one of the best places in Croatia in terms of education standards,'' claimed a confident Ivica Puljak. They also plan to build five new halls so that all primary schools in Split have their own, as well as two new schools, in Kili and Sirobuja, N1 reports. There are also the priority streets of Lovrinacka, Vukovarska, Put Mostina, Put Kamena, Bracka ulica and Mandjerova in their sights, as well as the desire to solve the problem of parking through urban mobility and building more garages.

Ivica Puljak said that they also have a new waste management system to boast of, so that Split would be able to separate 50 percent of waste in three years and become an "example city" to others across Croatia and indeed further afield.

In addition to the original waste separation system, they have developed a new urban policy and will draft a new GUP by the year 2026, and conduct a tender for city projects. According to that, he added, Stari Hajduk Square would become a memorial-cultural-sports centre with underground garages as well.

When asked how to get money for the planned projects has been secured and set aside, Ivica Puljak answered that the money will be generated from the city budget, while the City of Split will still have to borrow for some of these important projects.

He noted that they now have a more realistic programme than they did before because they have experience in Banovina, and said that they want to continue where they left off "with more enthusiasm, desire, hope and greater support from residents."

For more, check out our dedicated politics section.

May the 15th, 2022 - The stunning Central Dalmatian island of Korcula is absolutely unique, and anyone who has ever spent any amount of time there doesn't need to be convinced of that. We all know it, and now it's official. Big 7 Travel has declared Korcula the fifth most beautiful island on the face of the Earth, ranking it alongside the likes of Bora Bora.

As Morski writes, Korcula's deserved title as the fifth most beautiful island in the entire world was announced by the readers and editors of the Big 7 travel site, who chose from as many as 50 islands dotted all over the globe. Very surprisingly, there were no other islands from Croatia listed, but there were Seychelles, Bora Bora, Barbados, the Maldives, jaw-dropping locations in from Hawaii and the Caribbean, and islands from Zanzibar, but all these places were overshadowed by Korcula.

It's difficult to pick the most beautiful island from all of the many inhabited and uninhabited islands this country boasts. Each and every one of them stands out from another in some shape or form, and each has unique qualities, customs and traditions. This particular Croatian island, however, has clearly caught the eye of the international community.

Margaret from Ireland stated: “What do I think about Korcula? If you're up for living in the moment and meditating, and you have to imagine a happy place, this is it. There is no price it could ever be sold for.''

Evelyn from France also has only praise for idyllic Korcula: “It's very quiet and the people there are very kind. Wherever we go, we meet lovely people, so I think we'll come back again.''

The old town of Korcula is unavoidable for all visitors, and it is remembered fondly for its beautiful architecture.

''Another specificity is that the side streets are curved so that the harsh winds of winter can't enter the old town while on the left they're flat so that the summer mistral refreshes us every day,'' revealed Andrea Tedeschi, a Korcula-based tourist guide, for RTL. Those who construced the buildings on the island of Korcula were smart, and it now has a number of restaurants to boast of as well, and with very good reason.

''The gastronomic life of Korcula as a whole is fantastic. I think that you rarely have so many different gastronomic offers on one island in Croatia,'' said Ante Bojic, the owner of the oldest tavern on Korcula.

Hana Turudic, the director of the Tourist Board of Korcula Town said: "We love our little island, we keep it very hospitable with the welcoming hearts of the local population, there's something for everyone on this island.''

The hidden gems Korcula can boast of are plentiful, such as the gorgeous beach which, in addition to being drenched in sun, a calm, crystal clear sea and silence, also offers a view of the island of Lastovo, seeing it get a rightful place on the list of most sought after beaches in the world.

This new title could bring Korcula many guests from across the globe, and nature has done its thing in the many gifts it has given to this breathtaking island, and now it is up to the locals to keep the island as it is - the most desirable.

For more, check out our dedicated travel section.

ZAGREB, 14 May 2022 - Serb National Council (SNV) president Milorad Pupovac said on Saturday, in a comment on the commemoration of the Bleiburg tragedy, that every victim deserved to be commemorated and remembered but that criminal ideologies and their executors deserved condemnation and social and moral contempt.

"Each victim deserves their suffering to be commemorated and remembered. Ideologies that are criminal deserve condemnation and contempt. Perpetrators of crimes deserve social and moral contempt. Those who do not want to make this kind of distinction are not guided by the highest of moral principles," Pupovac said at Petrova Gora, where the SNV, the Association of Antifascist Fighters and Antifascists (SABA) and local officials marked the 80th anniversary of a Partisan attack launched to break from enemy encirclement on that mountain in Karlovac County.

The operation helped establish a free territory and save 10,000 refugees and is considered the first organised case of resistance to fascism in Europe.

Reporters asked Pupovac how he interpreted today's commemorative events for the Bleiburg victims, to which he said that the preamble to the Croatian Constitution spoke of the Partisan movement and decisions by the State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH), of which the Partisan field hospital at Petrova Gora was part.

Preamble to Constitution does not communicate what present-day Croatian policies communicate

"The preamble to the Croatian Constitution and the part of the Mirogoj cemetery dedicated to the Ustasha and Home Guards do not communicate what our policies today communicate," he said.

The SNV said that at Petrova Gora today it remembered May 1942, when 730 Partisan fighters launched an attack on Ustasha and Italian fascists whose forces were ten times bigger, broke out of the encirclement and established a free territory, saving 10,000 people who had fled their villages.

"This is a very important place in the modern history of Croatia and in the struggle of the peoples of Croatia and Yugoslavia for freedom, against Nazi, fascist and local (collaborationist) forces," the SNV president said.

He called for restoring the Partisan hospital complex at Petrova Gora so that the place is given the treatment it deserves "in line with the freedom-loving traditions of Croatia and Europe."

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

ZAGREB, 14 May 2022 - An event was held in Vukovar on Saturday to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Croatia's first president Franjo Tuđman, with speakers at the event saying that the current state leadership and Zagreb city authorities disregard the role of the late president.

Vukovar Mayor and Homeland Movement leader Ivan Penava, historian Josip Jurčević, the late Croatian president's advisor, former justice minister and member of parliament, Bosiljko Mišetić, and academician Josip Pečarić spoke about Tuđman at the event.

Jurčević said that the more "Tuđman is de-Tuđmanised, the greater symbolic importance he has."

Pečarić believes that the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU) treats Tuđman the same way the state does, with his membership of HAZU being regularly passed over.

Penava said that if the Homeland Movement had been consulted on how Tuđman's 100th birth anniversary should be commemorated, celebrations would be taking place across the country.

"Institutions, kindergartens, schools, research and other institutions would be discussing Tuđman's 100th birth anniversary the whole day. Military aircraft would be flying over Zagreb in his honour, instead of Macron's, as seen a few weeks ago," said Penava.

Commenting on Tuđman's younger son Stjepan's failure to attend the Vukovar event, Penava said that due to disappointment with events surrounding the 100th anniversary of his father's birth, Stjepan Tuđman decided to stay in Zagreb and visit with his family Veliko Trgovišće, where his father was born, as well as attend Mass in Zagreb.

Penava said that the state leadership and the Zagreb city authorities' treatment of the Tuđman family was the best proof of the authorities' attitude toward Tuđmanism, sovereignism and to Croatia as created by Tuđman and defenders in 1991.

For more, check out our politics section.