ZAGREB, 24 January, 2021 - So far a total of 35,586 housing units have been reported damaged in a recent 6.2 magnitude earthquake in Sisak-Moslavina County, of which 20,643 have been inspected, the county authorities said on Saturday, citing updated information.

A total of 248 facilities have been found unfit for use due to the danger of adjacent buildings collapsing while 2,561 have been found unfit for use due to damage.

A total of 2,120 facilities have been declared temporarily unfit for use because they require a thorough inspection while 2,498 have been declared temporarily unfit for use because they require repair work due to the danger of some of their elements falling off.

A total of 530 units have been found to be undamaged and fit for use, 4,809 have been declared fit for use without any restrictions because they have sustained no or only minor damage, while 7,877 have been declared fit for use on the condition instructions given are complied with and recommended repair work is carried out.

For the latest information on the earthquake emergency, follow the dedicated TCN section.

January the 24th, 2021 - The Croatian Government and the National Civil Protection Headquarters, as well as Croatian epidemiologists, are set to meet today to discuss what is to come after the 1st of February when the country's anti-epidemic measures are set to be reviewed. Is the relaxation of the current measures on the cards?

Many have their fingers crossed that some concessions when it comes to the currently very restrictive measures will be made. The measures, while harsh, have yielded success, with Croatia's new daily cases of coronavirus infection tumbling on an impressive downward trajectory for weeks now. While some government ministers, including the Prime Minister, have voiced their desire for a relaxation, some in the profession have been firm in their answer to that - no. 

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, today, members of the Croatian National Civil Protection Headquarters and government ministers will meet to discuss possible easing of the current epidemiological measures, as was confirmed Interior Minister and Civil Protection Staff Chief Davor Bozinovic at a government session held this week.

At the end of the month, more precisely, on the 31st of January, the current Decision on epidemiological measures restricting gatherings, rules for crossing the Croatian border for various categories of passenger and the work of cafes, restaurants and the like ceases to be valid. In order to see Croatia continue on its current path of success in controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus, new measures and rules will need to be introduced to replace those now expiring ones.

Whether or not Croatia's good epidemiological picture will result in any of them finally being relaxed to allow for a little more normality is yet to be seen, but it is certain that much more will be known today, and what becomes known will likely be followed with just as many questions, as has been the case to date.

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January 24, 2021 - Croatia and Denmark will meet on Monday in a decisive match for Croatia's fate in the quarterfinals of the World Championship in Egypt. What can we expect? 

Croatia suffered a shocking defeat to Argentina on Saturday night, complicating their path to the quarterfinals of the World Championship in Egypt. While a win would have locked in a spot among the eight best national teams, Croatia must now defeat reigning Olympic and World Champions Denmark and rely on a Qatar victory against Argentina to push them through to the next phase of the tournament. 

Argentina and Qatar play from 6 pm on Monday, and Croatia and Denmark meet two and a half hours later - at 8:30 pm CET.

Denmark is no stranger to Croatia, and behind Spain and France, it is a national team they have met the most times. Namely, Croatia and Denmark have played 18 times, with an even win-loss ratio - both teams have nine wins and nine losses, and they have never drawn. 

At the World Champs, Croatia and Denmark have met a handful of times.

In Portugal in 2003, on the road to the gold, Croatia celebrated 33:27 in a second-round match. Four years later, in Germany, Croatia won 28:26 in the second round in which Ivano Balić excelled with nine goals. In Sweden in 2011, in front of a packed Malmo Arena, Croatia lost 34:29. Kasper Sondergaard led Denmark with ten goals, and Mikkel Hansen scored nine goals. Croatia suffered an even heavier defeat in the 2013 semifinals. After seven consecutive wins, Denmark beat Croatia by 14 goals (34:20) and went on to the final. In the end, Croatia received the bronze medal, which is the last medal from the World Championship.

The two sides have met the most at the Euros, nine times, with four wins to Croatia and five to Denmark. You might remember the especially painful Euro 2008 final when Denmark won 24:20. 

But the European medal is just one of many in Denmark's collection. Namely, they have won the second-most medals won in European Championship history, with a total of six - two gold (2008, 2012), one silver (2014), and three bronze medals (2002, 2004 & 2006). Only Spain has more.

And let's not forget that as of January 2019, they are the reigning Olympic and World Champions. Denmark topped France in Rio and Norway at the World Championship hosted in Denmark and Germany two years ago. 

But when Croatia plays like we know they can, they are a force to be reckoned with, too. 

The Cowboys' shaky World Championship campaign can be attributed to a few things. For starters, captain Domagoj Duvnjak and Luka Cindric had just played in the Champions League final before traveling to Egypt. If they weren't already fatigued, Duvnjak also battled COVID-19 and Cindric an adductor injury, which sent him back home to Barcelona to recover. 

Furthermore, Igor Karacic and Luka Stepancic had to cancel their preparations with Croatia due to injuries, and Marin Sego and Manuel Strlek were still in the process of recovery. Recall, Sego didn't return to the starting lineup until the 19th minute of the Qatar match, thus missing Croatia's first two group stage matches against Japan and Angola. 

To make matters worse, several team members complained of stomach problems the day before Argentina, and Ivan Martinovic and Domagoj Duvnjak were in the worst condition. Martinovic missed training and tested for coronavirus as a precaution, but the result was negative. Other players felt weaker symptoms, which was undoubtedly concerning before the most crucial match of the tournament so far. 

Fortunately, two hours before yesterday's match, the Croatian Handball Federation confirmed that everyone would be ready, though we failed to see that reflected on the court.

Croatia was mostly lost in the attack against Argentina, and the game went down as one of the worst in Croatian handball history.

Coach Lino Cervar even resigned from the bench afterward and said that Croatia must be led by someone else. Cervar's harsh reaction came while Croatia still technically has a chance for the quarterfinals - and one Qatar player could be their hope. 

As mentioned before, Croatia is no longer dependent on itself and must rely on Qatar on Monday in the clash against Argentina.

Namely, Gol.hr reports that Qatar can also make it to the quarterfinals with a win against Argentina and a Croatia defeat against Denmark. 

Qatar will indeed play their best for a victory, especially since the team's top player returned to the squad only yesterday after coming down with COVID-19. Rafel Capote scored nine goals in his first match at the tournament yesterday against Bahrain and showed that he is in great form and ready to overcome Argentina.

Capote is a great shooter, and in addition to the always unpleasant Saric in goal, Qatar has several serious players who can challenge Argentina. 

So, who will it be? Monday is D-Day. Tune in from 6 pm CET! 

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

January 24, 2021 - A great night for the Croatian basketballer, as Bojan Bogdanovic achieves career-8 assists against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. 

Utah Jazz has been in phenomenal form lately. The convincing victory against the Golden State Warriors is now the eighth in a row, which is currently the longest streak in the NBA.

Donovan Mitchell was the best for Utah with 23 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, but he was again helped by the collective contribution of his teammates. Among them is the best Croatian basketball player Bojan Bogdanovic, who did not have such a great shooting night, but with 14 points, he added seven rebounds and eight assists, a career record for the Croatian. "Babo" plays the role of an executor, not a playmaker, and on average has recorded 1.7 assists per game in his career, making this is a great achievement for the Mostar native.

Bogey's got a career-high for assists—8 dimes with 6 minutes left in the third quarter!#TakeNote | @44bojan pic.twitter.com/oNW76KLk7N

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) January 24, 2021

Steph Curry was the best for Golden State, recording 24 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, but also scored five three-pointers for a total of 2562 in his career, overtaking the legendary Reggie Miller in second place in the league's most three-pointers. In front of the Warriors star is now only Ray Allen with 2973 career three-pointers.

All three Brooklyn Nets stars came out on the floor again on Saturday. Durant, Irving, Harden managed to beat Miami, even with Bam Adebayo, who scored 41 points with five rebounds and nine assists for this career record. The Nets were led by Durant with 31 points, Irving with 28, and Harden with 12, but with 11 assists, he was the team’s best assistant.

The Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns for the second time in two nights, and both games went into overtime. After the Nuggets managed to win in the first game after one overtime, they needed two in this one, and Nikola Jokic led them to victory with 29 points and 22 rebounds, which is his career record, and six assists.

Dario Saric was once again not on the list of active players because he is in self-isolation.

Source: Novi List

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January 24, 2021 - Brodosplit will build the world's largest electric-powered sailing ship, leaving no carbon footprint in the environment.

Slobodna Dalmacija writes that stemming from the electric-powered river tram, an idea borne by Željko Hederić and the team from Osijek's FERIT, the world's largest electric-powered sailing ship with three masts should bear fruit in Split. 

Brodosplit will soon begin constructing a three-masted schooner, a completely eco-friendly ship that will be powered by electric motors, while the batteries will be charged by sailing, leaving no carbon footprint in the environment.

It is even more impressive that this is a project for developing a ship propulsion system from the IRI2 program, for which the European Union has co-financed 60 percent of the value. However, those responsible have not stated the amounts in question.

The project is lead by the DIV Group, which owns the Split shipyard, and partners from the scientific research community, including FERIT and Split FESB. Work on the project began almost a year ago - last February, and will last a total of three and a half years.

"Split has already made "Klara," a classic three-masted schooner, but they also wanted something more modern, and they wanted to improve the project. We, on the other hand, developed the "river tram" project at the faculty in Osijek, because we have the Drava. And you have the sea! Everything is based on the principle of using hydrokinetic energy," says Hederic.

Namely, water flows through a standing turbine and converts hydropower into electricity. In the case of this ship, the sea “stands,” and the sailboat goes, pushed by the force of the wind in the sails. Of course, the screw or propeller spins, creating electricity. The professor says that in this way - from wind energy, i.e., sails as a turbine that drives the ship - you can get four to six knots of the ship's relative speed, which gives torque to the rotation of the bolt like a generator turbine.

Thus, hydrokinetic recovery of wind energy into battery electricity.

"For example, the wind gives the ship energy for a speed of ten knots, and we reduce it to six knots and save the difference in the battery. I call it - plowing the sea. From our scientific ideas, engineers will perform a technical solution," points out the Osijek professor.

When it is not using sails, the ship will be powered by two electric motors, each with a power of 150 kilowatts. They will be powered by a system of batteries that are continuously charged from various sources. When it reaches a sailing speed of six knots, the ship will need only 60 kilowatts of power, which is a relatively imperceptible power for a vessel of 500 gross tons, explained Brodosplit.

The ship will be equipped with 30 tons of batteries, whose capacity, figuratively speaking, is like having 60 Tesla cars. More precisely, it has a total of a maximum of 2300 kilowatt-hours, which ensures more than 50 hours of cruising exclusively on stored electricity when there is no wind.

Due to navigation safety, the ship will have two diesel units that would be turned on only if needed but will be more likely to rust from non-use, they emphasized.

What will set the Split sailing ship apart from similar vessels is that the vessel will charge its batteries when sailing but in a very ingenious way. A system of the already mentioned ship propellers with variable pitch and special wing geometry will be used, which will - for sailing - serve as a hydro turbine.

Brodosplit explains that this "reversible screw" will charge the batteries in the lower deck.

All relevant information will be collected and supervised on the bridge, or command center. From meteorological data, so that the commander knows where the wind is most favorable, to all other ship systems and propulsion, electricity supply in batteries, engine operation, solar panels, wind farms, hot water, and energy consumption.

"All "revenues" and "expenditures" of energy on the ship will be managed and controlled from one place," said the Split shipyard.

Experts from Split FESB, led by Branko Klarin, work on the sailing system and its robotics, wind turbines, and photovoltaic panels. At the sailboat's bow and stern, two vertical wind turbines are planned to supply the ship with electricity while in port or at anchor.

A photovoltaic solar power plant will be installed on the roof of the superstructure. Klarin's team will address how to extract and store heat from a solar photovoltaic power plant by cooling the panels to be more efficient in producing electricity. Photovoltaic panels work most efficiently at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, but on their surface, on sunny days, it can be as high as 80 degrees, so excess heat can be used to heat water.

Thus, the sailboat will be supplied with electricity, heat, and water from entirely renewable sources: all the energy will be obtained without any carbon dioxide emissions.

"In short, there are no costs for fuel and power supply of propulsion machines, as well as all devices inside the ship, air conditioning, and kitchen," concludes Hederić, emphasizing that electric drive is three times more efficient than diesel.

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

January 24, 2021 – First President of Croatia makes a Covid-era comeback, as new Franjo Tudman face masks become a hit on social media

So far, the nationally specific Covid-era face masks seen on the streets of Croatia have been rather divisive. The logos of the country's bigger football clubs look good but could land you in grief if you travel to the other side of the country while wearing one. The outlawed slogans and insignia of Nazi-allied independent Croatia are a rather more gruesome reminder of the minority of fascist sympathisers that sadly linger in the village. Thankfully there are few tourists here right now to be appalled at such.

Three cheers, then, for the arrival of a distinctly Croatian covering of which the whole country can approve. Though released relatively recently, the new Franjo Tudman face masks have already proved to be a Covid-era hit on social media.

The Franjo Tudman face masks were designed by nationally recognized Rijeka singer-songwriter Dražen Turina, best known by the nickname Šajeta, which is also the name under which his music is released. Along with Pula singer Alen Vitasović and his band Gustafi, Šajeta is a key composer of contemporary Croatian music that uses the Chakavian dialect. Dražen Turina revealed the Franjo Tudman face masks on his Twitter social media account, where they became instantly popular.

Distancing himself from any misunderstanding that the Franjo Tudman face masks had been inspired by sentiments of nationalism, Šajeta instead playfully bemoaned the wearing of masks by young Croats that feature the images of foreign figures. He said he deliberately choose a photo of the former Croatian president smiling for the Franjo Tudman face masks.

It is not yet clear if Šajeta plans to make the Franjo Tudman face masks widely available. Followers of the singer on Twitter were keen to ask if he would be making other masks featuring nationally famous figures.

The Franjo Tudman face masks are far from the first tributes to be paid to the first President of Croatia. There are more statues dedicated to Franjo Tudman in Croatia than any other person. Following Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia, Franjo Tudman became the first President of Croatia and served in the position from 1990 until his death in 1999.

All images from the Twitter account of Šajeta

January the 24th, 2021 - The stormy Jugo wind is one of the main enemies of many a Croatian seafarer. Croatia has many types of wind, all of which cause different effects along the coast, but jugo is among the most talked about. 

Anyone who has spent any time in Dalmatia during the colder winter months will know how monstrous the stormy jugo wind can be, causing rain to lash against windows almost entirely horizontally and forcing waiters to dash outside in a panic as they attempt to rescue chairs and tables from the grasp of the harsh elements. 

In summer, the Adriatic coast looks as calm as calm could be, and few could expect to see the sparkling seawater swell and turn grey, crashing violently against the rugged coastline as the wind takes hold in the winter. For the frequent passenger ferries which operate twelve months per year in Croatia, linking the islands to each other and to the mainland, the stormy jugo wind is an eternal enemy. 

As Dalmacija Danas writes, yesterday dragged the continuation of very unstable weather into Dalmatia, and across the entire Adriatic the stormy jugo wind has been blowing moderately to very strongly.

According to the DHMZ, there have been some incredibly sharp gusts of up to 86 kilometres per hour in the City of Split, and according to the Pljusak.com network of stations, the wind in Mosor created violent gusts of up to 94 kilometres per hour.

One onlooker, Sinisa Vickov, filmed a video showcasing the strength of the stormy jugo wind in the Port of Split, capturing how one of Jadrolinija's otherwise laege vessels, "Lastovo" successfully managed to enter the port in the face of being tossed around by the unrelenting wind.

Watch the video here.

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January the 24th, 2021 - Will Croatian cafe owners finally be permitted to serve coffee to go as the country's epidemiological measures are reviewed on February the 1st? 

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, in the coming days, the state will present the new epidemiological measures for the economy after February the 1st in detail, during which consultations will be held with all those whose work has been suspended, such as Croatian faces, according to Labour Minister Josip Aladrovic.

"Certainly, as has been the case previous times, there will be consultations with all those who are involved. Of course, there is a special emphasis being placed on those in the hospitality and catering industry because of their number and because these measures have a significant impact on them,'' said the Minister.

He added that no measure will be adopted without consultations with all those whose work has been suspended.

When asked by journalists about the announcement of the National Association of Caterers, which, citing sources close to the Civil Protection Headquarters, said that hotels would be opened first, then restaurants would be next, opening their doors from early March, with Croatian cafes being allowed to open their doors few weeks later, Aladrovic said that in early February, a new set of measures would be announced.

Croatian cafe owners and others in the hospitality and catering sector are asking to be given the opportunity to sell coffee to go about which the minister said that there is definitely room for conversation and agreement, and finally some concessions.

For the increasingly frequent remarks that the payment of job support subsidies for November and December have arrived late, Aladrovic said that he admitted that there were delays for November, but that there were no more complaints and that the CES paid out a total of around 400 million kuna.

Almost 300 million kuna has been paid out for the month of December 2020 so far, and Aladrovic doesn't expect any further technical problems in that particular regard.

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