ZAGREB, 11 June, 2022 - The financially feasible management of hospitals and a new network of public healthcare protection are some of the reform actions presented on Saturday by Minister Vili Beroš in his video message to a convention of journalists specialised in reporting on health topics.

He informed the conference, which took place in the Istrian town of Grožnjan, that the public procurement procedures would be streamlined and that the lists of drugs covered by the Croatian Health Insurance Agency (HZZO) would be overhauled.

Beroš said that the reform of the healthcare system would also focus on prevention check-ups, promotion of healthy habits and raising health literacy, stricter control of sick leaves and so on.

Focus will be also placed on strengthening the capacities of day hospitals and on increasing palliative care facilities.

 The hospitals will be rated, and the functional merger will be implemented, among other things.

ZAGREB, 11 June (Hina) - HDZ leader Andrej Plenković said at his party's 19th general convention on Saturday that the HDZ was a centre-right party, as defined by its founder, Croatia's first president Franjo Tuđman, underlining the importance of political stability and continuing inclusive, tolerant, pro-European policies.

Submitting a report on the party's work since the last convention, held four years ago, Plenković said that the last four years had been very challenging for Croatia and the entire world, citing in that context the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian aggression on Ukraine, and in Croatia's case, two strong earthquakes.

"All of that has resulted in energy, food, security and humanitarian crises. Today's convention is therefore very important... for the HDZ to define a position on all issues of importance for its future and the future of our country," he said.

The HDZ demonstrated its strength again in the 2021 local election, he said, adding that the party had been working on its international affirmation, as evidenced by senior posts held by HDZ members in EU institutions.

In his address, Plenković particularly underlined the importance of political stability, noting that there were constant attempts to destabilise the party, which, he said, were futile because of the trust that existed between partners in the ruling coalition, whose cooperation had resulted in the accomplishment of a number of strategic goals.

In that context, he cited the imminent completion of the Pelješac Bridge, entry to the euro and Schengen areas, and the procurement of multipurpose fighter jets.

"Without political stability today we would not have a floating LNG terminal which secures gas supply in such a way to make us not depend on Russian energy," he said, noting that the party's platform guaranteed a social, developed, healthy, solidary and just Croatia.

He added that at the time of the coronavirus pandemic there were no large-scale layoffs or bankruptcies and that that was owing to his government's timely decisions and actions.

Croatia stands by its heroes

In a comment on Serbia's indictment against four Croatian pilots, charged with war crimes against civilians during the 1995 Operation Storm in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Plenković said that Croatia would not accept their prosecution by Serbian authorities.

"Serbia cannot prosecute people who are not its nationals for alleged crimes that were not committed in its territory," he said.

"Croatia defended itself in the Homeland War from Milošević's Great Serbian aggression and the government and the HDZ will certainly not allow prosecutors, whether from Bosnia and Herzegovina or from Serbia, to issue indictments, 27 years after the victory in the Homeland War, against Croatian commanders, generals or pilots. The Croatian state and we all stand by our heroes," Plenković said.

On Ukraine

Commenting on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Plenković said it had changed the way the world functions.

"We have seen how a big power can make moves that are contrary to international law and principles of global governance, launching aggression and invading a neighbouring country, a sovereign member of the UN," said Plenković, adding that the HDZ felt solidarity with Ukraine because of Croatia's difficult experience in the Homeland War.

Our support to Ukraine is principled, it is of a humanitarian, political, diplomatic, financial and military nature, he said, adding that the government would continue supporting Ukraine.

HDZ will not tolerate accusations of treason

Noting that the party would continue working as a patriotic, Christian Democrat and statehood-building party, Plenković said that the HDZ was often targeted by what he described as brutal and aggressive accusations.

"Those members of the left who are aggressive and uncivilised call HDZ members corrupt thieves while right-wing politicians call them traitors, for example, to Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina," he said.

The latter accusations are aimed at "causing harm primarily to the Croats in BiH, the HDZ BiH... and the HDZ in Croatia," he said, adding that his party would not tolerate such accusations.

ZAGREB, 11 June, 2022 - Addressing an HDZ election convention in Zagreb on Saturday, the new president of the European People's Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, congratulated Croatia on its imminent entry to the euro area and the Schengen area, noting that the Western Balkans should be offered a clear prospect of EU membership.

Weber, who on 1 June replaced Donald Tusk as EPP leader, said that his Zagreb visit was his first visit to a foreign country in his capacity as EPP president, and that by doing so he wanted to honour Croatia and its Prime Minister Andrej Plenković for having done a great job.

Croatia will soon join the euro area and the Schengen area, Weber said, noting that Plenković deserved credit for that.

Speaking of the European journey of the Western Balkans, notably Bosnia and Herzegovina, Weber said the region should be given a clear prospect of EU membership.

A clear timeline is needed, concrete steps need to be made so that Western Balkan countries feel welcome in the EU, he said, stressing that the EU needs to implement reforms to make Europe ready to respond to the current challenges.

It cannot happen that one man, for example, Viktor Orban, blocks the entire EU when it wants to introduce sanctions. A Europe that cannot decide on the common foreign policy will be weak. Europe must speak with one strong voice, he said.

The EPP leader also condemned what he described as a brutal, illegal and unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine, stressing that it was an attack on freedom and democracy.

Europeans should work together on defence and security, he said, welcoming in that context the announcement by Sweden and Finland that they will join NATO.

Europe has been attacked. The European way of life is at stake. The current times are serious and now is the time to fight for European values, Weber said, noting that Europe needs real centre-right policies.

ZAGREB, 11 June, 2022 - The leader of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), Dragan Čović, said on Saturday that there is no Bosnia and Herzegovina without the Croat people in that country and that the local Croats are exposed to attempts to be reduced to a minority, which requires a response.

"We must clearly say that there is no Bosnia and Herzegovina without the Croat people in that country," Čović said in Zagreb while attending the  Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) general convention.

It is the Croats who advocate Bosnia and Herzegovina's Euro-Atlantic journey, they are the uniting force, they are the only ones who straightforwardly, vocally and unambiguously follow all the standards of the European Union and the values promoted by our sister party: the Croatian HDZ, Čović said in his keynote speech at the start of the convention.

Currently, in Bosnia and Herzegovina neither the (tripartite) presidency with two Bosniak members nor the government or the parliament are functioning, said Čović alluding to the fact that Željko Komšić who sits as the Croat representative in the three-member presidency, won this position owing to the votes of Bosniak voters.

We have not met with such challenges since the conclusion of the Dayton-peace accord in 1995, since the Homeland War, Čović warned.

According to some estimates, the number of Croats has been cut by more than 50% to 350,000, and they account for a mere 15% of the country's total population.

Čović said that the Croat community is exposed to attempts of majorisation and that they had to respond to those attempts to be outvoted. Therefore, the BiH Croats have set up the Croatian National Assembly in BiH.

"The HNS BiH led by the HDZ BiH  wants to give a clear response to key challenges and issues. At our extraordinary congress at the beginning of this year we sent a clear answer that we want to implement institutional and territorial reorganisation of the country in compliance with the Constitution of BiH," he underscored.

"Changes to the institutional set-up of Bosnia and Herzegovina should incorporate the rulings handed down by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the full equality of all the three constituent peoples."

He hopes that in cooperation with Croatian PM and HDZ leader Andrej Plenković, they will find a solution that cannot be labelled by anyone as anti-Constitutional or being contrary to the Dayton agreement and to civilisation norms.

Bosnia is set to hold general elections in October, and Čović notes that they are making preparations for the polls against a backdrop of the fact that the attempts to amend the electoral law failed in the last two years.

We have united our forces ad we will win the elections. Be sure that the Croatian people  with its slate with 12 parties together will clinch a convincing win at the elections. We will get them being united, said Čović.

Plenković: Status of BiH Croats high on the agendas of international forums

Plenković told the convention that the status of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croats had grown into an important topic on which they have persistently been working and that it is on the agenda with all allies and partners of the HDZ.

This topic has been imposed due to the work of the Croatian government, the HDZ, the HDZ BiH and other friendly parties, he added.

Plenković today welcomed the president of the European People's Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, and the EPP Secretary-General Thanasis Bakolas, who arrived in Zagreb  for the HDZ convention.

Representatives of ethnic Croats in Serbia and Montenegro, Tomislav Žigmanov, Jasna Vojnić, Adrijan Vuksanović and Zvonimir Deković, also thanked to the HDZ for the support to their communities.

ZAGREB, 11 June (Hina) - In the last 24 hours, there have been 293 new cases of the infection with coronavirus, and the disease has taken two more lives in Croatia, the country's COVID-9 crisis management team said on Saturday.

There are currently 1,989 active cases, and 158 of them are hospitalised patients, including five placed on ventilators.

So far, this infectious disease has claimed 16,016 lives in Croatia.

Also, 2,315,011 persons have been vaccinated to date.

ZAGREB, 11 June, 2022 - Parents and families of children killed in the 1991-95 Homeland War and delegations of public institutions and associations on Saturday gathered in Slavonski Brod to pay tribute to children killed in the war.

The event was organised by the Federation of Associations of the Civilian Victims of the Homeland War, whose president Juliana Rosandić said that 402 children had been killed in the 1990s war.

Slavonski Brod was chosen to host today's commemoration because 28 children had been killed during the war there.

Rosandić said that the first decisions on civilian war victim status, based on the new law on the civilian victims of the Homeland War, had begun to be issued.

"They are being issued slowly due to the legal obligation to check each request for the status of civilian war victim, but the process has finally started," she said.

The Federation will now focus on finally having those responsible for the suffering of civilians in the 1990s war identified, she said.

"The exact number of civilian victims in Croatia is not known because the administration does not have those data... we hope those responsible for their suffering will be identified, but that is not in our hands. Someone must answer for all these children," Rosandić said.

ZAGREB, 11 June, 2022 - A race between the Rimac Automobili Nevera electric hypercar and an aerobatic plane took place in Varaždin on Saturday as part of a three-day event bringing together owners of supercars, with Nevera winning the race.

During the 20-minute spectacle, which was watched by some 300 spectators, the hypercar and the aerobatic plane developed speeds of more than 350 kph, with the car, developed by Rimac Automobili, winning the race convincingly.

The hypercar was driven by Miroslav Zrnčević, the main test driver for Bugatti Rimac Automobili, who said that Nevera's maximum speed was 420 kph and that its highest speed during today's race was 350 kph.

"Races like these are not common, flying upside down at 300 kph, and on top of that, a strong wind was blowing so the turbulence was bad," said aerobatic pilot Peter Podlunšek, who flew the plane turned upside down above the hypercar.

He said that the race, his first against a hypercar, was technically very demanding.

The participants in the Varaždin event drove in their Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Jaguars, Porches and Maserattis through the streets of Varaždin today, with Nevera being the main attraction.

The organiser of the event, Krešimir Mostarčić, said the participants came from Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Slovenia and that similar events would also be organised in Osijek and Pula.

June 11, 2022 - Disney Plus finally arrives in Croatia on Tuesday after a long wait since its official confirmation. The streaming service will bring with it a huge catalog of content that includes its best classics, Star Wars, Marvel, National Geographic, and much more.

After several months of waiting after its official confirmation, Disney Plus finally arrives in Croatia on Tuesday, June 14th. Anyone living in Croatia will be able to enjoy a complete catalog of the best content from the US entertainment giants, from Marvel to Star Wars. Among the streaming services available in the country, the ever-present Netflix and Amazon Prime stand out, as well as the relatively new HBO Max, which replaced HBO GO a few months ago. Now, Disney Plus (also Disney+) will be available from this Tuesday for those who want to create a new account, as well as for those who created one before in another region or country.

Disney+ will surely generate great demand among the Croatian audience, especially with its latest and trending content, such as the ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' series from the Star Wars universe, as well as the latest Marvel series, ''Mrs. Marvel'' and ''Moonknight''. However, Croatians are also in for a treat with the soon availability of the complete Marvel and Star Wars filmography, which will allow them to binge endlessly and revisit epic moments from these films.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is currently the most in-demand series on Disney+ worldwide. (Image: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Facebook)

It should be noted that the content of Disney + is not limited at all to just Marvel and Star Wars series and movies, but those who subscribe to the streaming service will also be able to enjoy the best Disney classics, which is the case of countless memorable animated movies like ''The Lion King'', ''Tarzan'' or ''Aladdin'', or the spectacular Pixar movies like ''Toy Story'', ''Finding Nemo'', or ''Ratatouille'', or even their recent live-action films, ''Mulan'' or ''Cruella''.

In addition, for those not so young, Disney + brings an impressive catalog with all National Geographic documentaries, as well as all seasons of The Simpsons, considering that not long ago Disney bought Fox and the streaming rights to its movies and series.

What remains to be found out is whether Disney+ will put the entire catalog from the beginning, or if the content will be uploaded progressively. In addition, we will have to wait until Tuesday to find out in which languages and subtitles the movies and series can be seen on the streaming service. It should be remembered that on HBO Max, movies and series are seen in their original language with subtitles only from the Balkan region.

Those interested in subscribing have the option to do so through a plan of 7.99 euros per month or 79.90 euros per year.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.