ZAGREB, Oct 12, 2020 - Following an attempted murder of a policeman in St. Mark's Square, where the buildings housing the government and the parliament are located, President Zoran Milanovic on Monday said that the current accessibility of the square was unacceptable and he urged higher security.

"The highest state institutions are there, it should not be a tourist destination, those institutions should be appropriately protected," Milanovic said in a comment on the incident in which a 22-year-old man shot and wounded the policeman and later committed suicide in a nearby street.

Milanovic called on the government to protect St. Mark's Square in an appropriate way, adding that "the only way to prevent incidents (like this one) is to physically prevent them."

Asked by reporters whether he suggested the square should be made accessible only to people who work and live there, the president said that the issue should be addressed by professionals and that it was also a matter of common sense.

He said that he had phoned Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic around 11 a.m. and they concluded that a meeting of the Council for National Security would not be convened.

Milanovic went on to say that there had always been and would be acts of violence and called on the government, the police and the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) to control the amount and dispersion of firearms which citizens possess illegally.

"The firearm used in the incident this morning is usually used by the Croatian Army, and such firearms must not be part of anyone's privately owned weapons. In that regard, the government, the police and SOA enjoy my support," the president said.

ZAGREB, Oct 12, 2020 - Rijeka, Varazdin, Istria and Virovitica-Podravina County are positive examples of how to fight against the coronavirus in Europe, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) said in its annual report released on Monday.

The European Committee of the Regions, a body which has been representing regional and local authorities in the EU since 1994, has released the report titled "EU Annual Regional and Local Barometer", in which it addressed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on health and the economy.

The report mentions the city of Rijeka, Istria, Virovitica-Podravina County and the city of Varazdin as examples of good practice with some of their measures aimed at supporting the economy and the health sector.

The city of Rijeka has "exempted those businesses and taxpayers that were required to close from paying for the use of public space and utility fees and offered reductions or exemptions to those allowed to operate, based on their drop in turnover," the report reads.

Rijeka and "the Red Cross have organised the delivery of food and medication to senior or sick citizens, and numerous individuals, NGOs and companies have donated protective masks, visors and funds to assist citizens and institutions," the report said.

It also said that Virovitica-Podravina County "has subsidised the lease costs for tenants of the business incubators in the region."

In Istria, primary and secondary schools helped to produce protective visors for health workers using 3D printers.

The report also mentioned that "the municipality of Varazdin allocated resources and organised large numbers of young volunteers for food and medicine deliveries, prioritising the most vulnerable segments of the population."

The CoR has 328 members, nine of whom are from Croatia, and it advises the European Commission and the European Parliament on policies that affect regions and cities.

The report was published on Monday for the opening of the European Week of Regions and Cities, the biggest annual conference dedicated to reducing the gap between the rich and poor parts of the EU.

Mid-September the EU registered over 2.2 million cases of the coronavirus infection and over 142,000 deaths. The spread of the pandemic and its consequences differed greatly among member states, and Croatia's coastal regions were among those that were hit the hardest.

Croatia has 14.7 beds in intensive care units per 100,000 citizens. Portugal has the lowest capacity with 4.2 beds, and Germany has the highest, with 29.2 beds.

Regions that registered the highest number of infections and fatalities during the pandemic were not necessarily the hardest hit in economic terms. The crisis caused by COVID-19 had a particularly negative effect on economies relying on tourism.

According to results of research carried out by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the consequences of the crisis will be felt longer in areas that rely on tourists from the EU or third countries, and those include areas in Portugal, Croatia, Greece, Austria, as well as cities such as Paris or Milan.

October 12, 2020 - The Croatian Headquarters announced new measures in Croatia, which are in effect as of today. 

Index.hr reports that Minister of the Interior and Chief of the National Civil Protection Headquarters Davor Bozinovic announced that the obligation to wear masks indoors is being introduced and that there is a limit of 50 people at social gatherings.

"We are introducing the obligation to wear masks indoors, where people come into contact with each other, and where it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least two meters," Bozinovic said at a press conference of the National Civil Protection Headquarters.

Citizens are obliged to use face masks or medical masks correctly all the time - over the mouth and nose, he added.

Employees of healthcare institutions must wear masks and anyone visiting patients, employees of social welfare institutions providing accommodation services, and passengers, drivers, and other employees in public transport.

Employees should also wear them in the commercial industry and customers during their stay in stores; employees in the catering industry who come into contact with guests or participate in serving or preparing food, drinks, and beverages, guests in catering facilities, except while sitting in their seats and consuming food or drink.

Bozinovic said that special recommendations had been made for all gatherings where more than 50 people are expected. They refer to professional artistic performances and programs, amateur cultural and artistic performances and programs, cinema screenings, sports competitions, gatherings during weddings, funerals, religious rites, exhibitions in museums, galleries, and other exhibition spaces.

The organizers of these gatherings are obliged to request the consent of the competent county Civil Protection Headquarters via e-mail no later than five days before the planned gathering. The headquarters should decide according to the current epidemiological situation within 48 hours.

Bozinovic mentioned that decisions on limiting social gatherings for the areas of certain local self-government units could also be requested by the county headquarters, considering that the epidemiological situation is not the same everywhere in Croatia.

He also said that the measures come into force on the day of their adoption, which is today.

"The number of newly infected is constantly increasing. I would not assess today's number of 181 as realistic; we know that these are test results from Sunday, and then the least testing is carried out. We only get an objective picture from Wednesday to Sunday; then, all laboratories work to the maximum," said Bozinovic. 

"We cannot be satisfied with the epidemiological situation. The basic defense is keeping a distance, hand hygiene, and wearing masks,” he said.

"Since the measures were relaxed in May, the headquarters has mostly appealed to everyone to act responsibly, which means applying these basic instructions. A large part of the citizens have accepted it, we thank them, but some people, consciously or unconsciously, do not. Because of these others, the states, and thus Croatia, are forced to take measures," he said.

"We have prescribed decisions for gatherings for which over 50 people are expected. These are special recommendations for cultural programs, cinema screenings, weddings, sports events..." said Bozinovic.

The organizer for these gatherings should ask permission from the headquarters, Bozinovic said. The Headquarters will respond within 48 hours.

“Those who are rejected cannot be held,” he said.

"We are introducing an obligation to wear masks indoors where people come into contact and where a distance of two meters cannot be kept,” the minister said.

"Masks must be worn by guests in catering establishments except while sitting in their seats,” he added.

Masks should also be worn by anyone attending indoor Mass.

"Face masks do not have to be used in cases of recommended exemptions. With these two decisions, we believe we can reduce proliferation. The other goal we are achieving is to avoid bans," Bozinovic said.

"We call on everyone for more patience, rationality, solidarity," said Bozinovic.

"These decisions come into force today."

Capak took the floor.

"HZJZ has prepared a series of instructions, most of which relate to the operation of catering facilities. A new recommendation for masks is coming into force today," Capak said.

"In all outdoor situations where it is impossible to keep a distance, it is recommended to wear a mask," said Capak.

"For tomorrow, we are planning a set of measures related to the work of catering facilities," he said.

"We estimate that it is good to wear masks in the open where it is not possible to ensure distance," said Bozinovic.

Capak said a total of 404 people were hospitalized. There are 27 people on ventilators.

Markotic said that the intensive care unit on Zarazna was mostly full.

"It's a dynamic process; patients are discharged and admitted during the day. Everything is under control," she said.

Beros said that inaccurate information appeared in the media that there is a lack of doctors who know how to work with ventilators.

“That’s not true,” he said.

"We have over 800, and the fact is that one anesthesiologist supervises several ventilators, the number of specialists is sufficient," he said.

"We are doing everything to be more prepared; we are procuring new ventilators," Beros said.

“In the last month, 141 staff have been employed to help epidemiologists,” he said.

Capak commented on self-isolation.

"It is true that at the last session of the Board of Directors of the Croatian Epidemiological Society, several members proposed that the self-isolation be shortened to ten days because after the tenth day the risk of infection is significantly lower," he said.

"We estimate that six to ten percent of people get sick in those four days, and it's a big economic loss. Maybe that shortening would reduce hiding contacts. But at the then board meeting, it was decided that self-isolation would remain for 14 days," Capak said.

"Now that has changed a bit. In the next session, which will take place soon, we will consider it. That decision has not been made yet; there is only a proposal from the Croatian Epidemiological Society," he said.

Capak said he believes the decisions were made at the right time.

"We have a problem that the number of new cases is high. With these decisions, we count on stopping it," he said.

“We’ll do everything we can to make sure the lockdown never happens again,” Capak said.

Bozinovic finally added that the next press conference could be tomorrow.

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October 12, 2020 -  22-year-old Danijel Bezuk shot a police officer in Zagreb's St. Mark's Square this morning, after which he committed suicide in the Jabukovac area.

Index.hr reported that a police officer was shot on St. Mark's Square in Zagreb this morning. He received four gunshot wounds and is at Vinogradska Hospital. The attacker fled after the shooting, and around 9 am, the police reported that his body had been found and that he had committed suicide.

As it turns out, the attacker is 22-year-old Danijel Bezuk from Kutina.

Police released the first information about the attacker around 11 am.

"The possible perpetrator of the attempted aggravated murder of a 31-year-old police officer this morning on St. Mark's Square and also the person who committed suicide in the Jabukovac area is, according to information so far, a 22-year-old Croatian citizen. The person is not previously known to police officers."

He is a young man from Kutina who comes from a veteran family.

Bezuk left a message on Facebook just after he shot the police officer, which you can see in the header photo above.

"There has been a lot of fraud and reckless trampling of human values without responsibility," the message reads on Facebook profile, translated into English.

He allegedly shot the police offer with a Kalashnikov he allegedly took from his father.

Index contacted Danijel’s uncle, who said he was sick and couldn’t talk. Index.hr then contacted other members of his family. A crying woman answered, but hung up.

"The time I used to see him, I didn't notice anything unusual. He was always smiling and often made jokes," an acquaintance said.  

More info soon...

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ZAGREB, Oct 12, 2020 - A Zagreb Emergency Medical Service ambulance arrived at St Mark's Square 6-7 minutes after a shooting in which a police officer working as a security guard for the government was wounded by a man who opened fire at him but the officer was taken to hospital by another ambulance that was closer to the scene.

This was stated by Zagreb Emergency Medical Service head Zarko Rasic, who told Hina that an ambulance arrived at the scene in less than 10 minutes, which is the standard in emergency medicine, despite rain and the morning rush hour.

The man who wounded the police officer, who has undergone surgery and is in stable condition, committed suicide at a different location.

ZAGREB, Oct 11, 2020 - The 18th edition of the Zagreb Film Festival will this year take place on November 8-15 at several locations in Croatia's capital, as well as online.

The films will be screened at several venues in Zagreb, including Tuskanac Cinema, the Croatian Music Institute and the Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as in some other Croatian cities as part of the ZFF Travels programme.

In addition to the main competition programmes for international feature and short films, the festival also features the national competition of short films called "Checkers" and the competition "Together Again" for new films by directors whose films have been screened in the previous editions of the ZFF.

Some of the films to be screened this year are "Oasis" by Ivan Ikic, "New Order" by Michel Franco, "Echo" by Rúnar Rúnarsson, and "Uppercase Print" by Radu Jude.

ZAGREB, Oct 12, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 181 new cases of the coronavirus infection and three fatalities, the national COVID-19 response team said on Monday.

The number of active cases today stands at 2,712. There are 404 COVID patients in hospitals, including 27 who are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first case of the coronavirus infection, 20,621 people have contracted the disease, and 327 of them have died, while 17,582 people have recovered, 284 of whom over the past 24 hours.

Currently, 14,048 people are self-isolating.

To date, 360,976 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 2,461 in the last 24 hours.

October 12, 2020 – This couple from the UK sold everything they had. With £150,000, they wanted to travel the world, but they were stopped by a pandemic and had to change their plans. That's how they, in the end, spent six weeks in Croatia.

Many couples wish to do the same – leave their usual workplaces and move to the other side of the world to follow their dream lifestyle.

According to Jutarnji.hr, 27-year-old teacher Chloe and 28-year-old computer scientist Jay Hammond from Essex in the UK succeeded in their plan. First, they resigned from their permanent and safe jobs in February this year. They then sold everything they owned and removed their 8-year-old son Oliver from school, only to embark on a £ 150,000 adventure – a trip around the world.

"We were very young when we had a child and the logical next step after parenthood was to start saving and secure a stable home. However, after taking a month off in the spring of 2019 to explore and get to know Southeast Asia, we were completely overwhelmed by ‘travel fever’. We decided that we wanted to travel all the time, which is why our desire to buy our own house was put on hold until further notice, ” says the couple.

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A post shared by ✈ TRAVELLING THE WORLD ? (@the.hammonds.around.the.world) on Aug 31, 2020 at 9:48am PDT

The couple spent the next year figuring out how to make their dream come true. For six months, they moved in with Chloe's parents to save as much money as possible on renting an apartment. They sold everything except a few sentimental items, and Jay, they reveal, found it especially difficult to say goodbye to their favorite computer and games.

The Hammonds originally wanted to return to Asia, but their plans were thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic. After a few frustrating months in lockdown in the UK, they decided to at least travel to Europe.

In July, they left for Italy, from where they arrived in Croatia - for six weeks!

During their time in Croatia, they visited our coastal destinations Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, and the Krka National Park. Their next destination is Greece, where they plan to stay for five weeks.

For more details about their big trip, you can follow them on Instagram.

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