August 3, 2021 - Croatia gymnast Tin Srbić has secured the Olympic silver medal in the men's horizontal bar final on Tuesday! This is Croatia's 8th medal in Tokyo.

Croatian gymnast Tin Srbić won the silver medal in the men's horizontal bar final at the Olympic Games in Tokyo with a score of 14.900, winning the eighth Olympic medal for Croatia this summer. 

Slobodan Kadic

The 2017 Montreal world champion and silver medalist at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart, and a two-time silver medalist at the European Championships (2019, 2020), thus reached his first Olympic medal! 

It was also the eighth medal for Croatia at the Olympics in Tokyo, and the third silver after three gold and two bronze medals.

Srbić entered the final as a third-place finisher in the qualifications with a great exercise, with a start of 6.2 and finally a score of 14,633. However, for the final, he was preparing his strongest exercise with a start of 6.5 announcing that he was going for all or nothing. Better than him in the qualifications was Japanese gymnast Daiki Hashimoto (15,033) and Kazakh gymnast Milad Karimi (14,766).

The gold medal was thus won by the incredible Hashimoto with a score of 15,066, while the bronze was won by Russian Nikita Nagornyy with 14,533. For the 19-year-old Hashimoto, it is the second gold in Tokyo after he was the best in all-around.

Slobodan Kadic

Croatia's Tin Srbić, Japan's Daiki Hashimoto and Takeru Kitazono, Kazakhstan's Milad Karimi, Russia's Nikita Nagornyy, Australia's Tyson Bull, and the Netherland's Bart Deurloo also performed in the final.

"It’s hard for me to say much at all, I’m overjoyed and proud. When I saw the final going on, it wasn’t exactly fabulous, a lot of gymnasts were falling off the bar. It was quite tense, but I said to myself ‘now or never, you go for everything’ and lo and behold, it all turned out for me. This silver medal means everything to me," said Srbić, who calmly and concentratedly completed the exercise.

"I knew when the score came that it would be a medal, although before it came, you never know exactly what criteria the judges took, but they judged very well. I am very satisfied with the assessment, if I had completely buried Saskok, it would have been 15,000, it would have been even closer to the Japanese gymnast, but in that situation, I could not have done better, I gave my all."

Srbić's silver is the second Olympic medal for Croatian gymnastics after Filip Ude in 2008 in Beijing.

"From such conditions and against such countries that we are fighting against, to win an Olympic medal against these teams is incredible. Yes, it is the second in Croatian history, I can only say 'Fićo, sorry, I am finally better than you'.

Slobodan Kadic

"I'm not complaining, some more gold will come someday. I will rest a lot, rehabilitate a little, but I will return to the hall with even greater zeal and an even greater desire to come to Paris in three years, so we will see what will be there."

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August, the 3rd, 2021 - The Croatian Koncar Group (Grupa) has seen quite the increase in terms of net profit in the first six months of 2021, despite the previous and continued obstacles caused by the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

As Novac writes, in the first half of the year, the well known Croatian Koncar Group generated an impressive net profit of 74.3 million kuna, which is an increase of 41.2 million kuna or 124.3 percent when compared to the same period last year, according to the company's financial report published on Thursday.

"The Croatian Koncar Group ended the first half of 2021 with excellent results and all key business indicators show growth compared to the same period last year," said Gordan Kolak, President of the Management Board of Koncar Elektroindustrija, in a comment on the aforementioned financial report.

In that period, consolidated operating revenues grew by 18.3 percent to 1.6 billion kuna.

According to the data from the financial report, the companies operating under the wider umbrella of the large Croatian Koncar Group generated consolidated revenues from the sale of products and services in the amount of 1.6 billion kuna in the first half of the year, which is 251.9 million kuna or 18.8 percent more than in the same period last year.

Revenues here on the Croatian market amounted to 609.5 million kuna, which is 37.3 percent more, while revenues from sales to foreign markets increased by 9.6 percent, to 983.6 million kuna. Thus, the share of exports in total revenues from sales of products and services stands at 61.7 percent.

The most significant exports were realised on the demanding German market, amounting to 181.6 million kuna or 18.5 percent of total exports, followed by Sweden, to which goods and services were exported in the amount of 145.4 million kuna or 14.8 percent of total exports, and then Austria with 78.8 million kuna or 8 percent of total exports.

Koncar pointed out that in addition to sales, excellent financial results were achieved - EBITDA amounted to 129.7 million kuna and was higher by 46 million kuna when compared to the first half of last year, and their EBITDA margin amounted to 8.1 percent (in the same period last year it stood at 6.2 percent).

Operating profit amounted to 81.3 million kuna, while the Croatian Koncar Group's net consolidated result amounted to 74.3 million kuna, which is 41.2 million kuna more than in the same period last year.

In the first half of the year, the companies of the wider Koncar Group contracted new business (contracts) in the amount of 2.2 billion kuna, which is 691.8 million kuna or 46.5 percent more new business compared to last year. Of the total amount of contracted work, 956 million kuna (43.9 percent of the total contracted work) was contracted for the domestic market, and 1.12 billion kuna (56.1 percent of the total contracted work) referred to export contracts.

The backlog at the end of June amounted to 4.8 billion kuna, which is 13.8 percent more than at the beginning of the year.

The sales revenue plan is fully covered by the contracted works, and by the end of the year, the contracting of new works for realisation in 2022 and the following years is expected. At the end of the first half of the year, the backlog for realisation in the following years amounts to 3 billion kuna, it is stated.

The further growth of newly contracted business in the first half of the year, the balance of contracted business (backlog) and the growth of all business indicators are a reflection of a series of activities undertaken by the Croatian Koncar Group in this very complex economic situation, said Kolak.

He also pointed out that in an environment that still contains many uncertainties related to the coronavirus pandemic, they have shown resilience and focus on business partners, employees, production and commercial activities and are satisfied with what has been achieved in the first six months of this business year.

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August the 3rd, 2021 - As wildfires rage across tourist destinations in Turkey and tourists are placed on boats to be taken away from immediate danger, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic recalls the help Turkey readily offered to Croatia following the devastating earthquake which struck Central Croatia at the end of last year and sends a Croatian canadair to help.

The Turkish wildfires are horrifying to watch as they engulf the coastline and create a scene all too familiar for many people who have experienced the same on a lesser scale multiple times in Dalmatia over the summers. As heatwaves become more and more frequent, it seems such horrendous scenes will also become more normal viewing, and as Turkey also tried to save its tourist season, saving lives from the enormous flames has taken priority.

As Morski writes, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Sunday that the Republic of Croatia was ready to help Turkey fight catastrophic fires in the country in any way possible, in which eight people have tragically lost their lives so far.

"We'd like to express our condolences to the families of the victims, the Turkish people and President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan because of the catastrophic fires in the country," Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic wrote on Twitter.

He added that the Croatian government had ''decided to help Turkey by sending a Croatian canadair" through the European Coordination Centre for Emergency Response's special system. (ERCC).

The number of people killed in the devastating fires raging along Turkey's otherwise wildly popular southern coast rose to eight on Sunday as Turkish firefighters battled for the fifth day to contain the growing blaze, which continues to threaten resorts and the country's tourism as tourists are moved out of the areas concerned onto boats.

The Prime Minister added that Croatia appreciates the assistance sent to the country by Turkey after the earthquake back at the very end of December 2020 in the area of Petrinja, Glina and Sisak.

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August the 3rd, 2021 - Croatian General Ante Gotovina, a hero of the Homeland War, has stepped forward with a name proposal for Peljesac bridge, which has finally and historically connected Croatian and European Union (EU) territory.

Peljesac bridge was a long time coming, and with Chinese workers hard at work constructing it day and night, the bridge has been completed, finalising an enormous strategic Croatian project which has connected the extreme south of Dalmatia with the rest of the country, eliminating the need for a border crossing into neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina (through the coastal town of Neum). 

The move has, as mentioned, also been of strategic importance to the European Union, which provided a huge percentage of money in non-refundable EU funds for the bridge's construction, as Bosnia and Herzegovina's small piece of coastline which broke up Croatian territory, remains a third country.

Potential names for the bridge, which has always been simply known as Peljesac bridge until now, have been flying around, and General Ante Gotovina has his own suggestion.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, General Ante Gotovina was asked what he would say to the Croatian people during the days of pride and glory of the celebration of Operation Storm (Oluja), General Gotovina said:

"As you can see, tradition is something we have to keep close to us. Security and freedom are a necessity every day, for those who care about it. This is found in our National Security System and within our Croatian Armed Forces. And for the rest of it - we need to work and work!

We have managed to bring a lot of strategic projects to fruition, we've met a lot of strategic goals since the end of the Homeland War. Much has been done. One of these is now the connection of the extreme south of Croatia with the rest of Croatia via the already famous Peljesac bridge. As the flag of the City of Dubrovnik says - Libertas! It would be nice to call that bridge Libertas. It represents freedom,'' Gotovina told IKA.

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August the 3rd, 2021 - Croatian pharmacies would like to step in and ramp up the vaccination process, aiding all those who haven't yet managed to get to a mass vaccination point in getting their first and second doses, but there is of course, in typical Croatian fashion, an issue.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, numerous Croatian residents have readily taken the opportunity to get their digital COVID-certificates issued in Croatian pharmacies, but imagine how much better things might be if you could go there for vaccination, too?

To obtain a digital COVID certificate, you just need to show either your health insurance card or your identity card, on the basis of which the pharmacist enters you into the database of the Ministry of Health by entering your OIB and issuing you with your certificate. People can get it printed out in paper form if they so wish, or the pharmacist can send it to their e-mail address.

According to Ana Soldo, President of the Croatian Chamber of Pharmacists, despite the initial crowding, the issuance of COVID certificates went mostly smoothly, and people rarely waited for more than a few minutes to receive them. There were technical problems in some Croatian pharmacies, which is expected, and they were effectively eliminated.

It took a lot of time for pharmacists to be able to issue these certificates, but the Chamber expects that such a situation will not last long, reports Novi list.

''It has now become available to people, so people did start going to Croatian pharmacies to get them issued. I believe that then the interest will slowly subside,'' Soldo said.

Regarding the start of vaccination in Croatian pharmacies, which is expected in a few weeks, the pharmacy chamber says that there will be no more mass vaccination rollouts, but the vaccines will be introduced only where there's a need for them.

Coronavirus vaccination will not be performed by the pharmacists themselves, but by doctors who will visit various Croatian pharmacies in mobile teams.

''There aren't many doctors with the time to come out and do this, so this will take place only in those Croatian pharmacies in areas where there are no vaccination points, so that it will make it easier for people to come and get vaccinated. We're going to try to solve this problem by the end of the year by vaccinating people in Croatian pharmacies on our own, without a doctor coming to do it. All countries that have such a model also have much better vaccination coverage,'' added Soldo.

As an example, she pointed out the fantastic results of the United Kingdom, where people are regularly vaccinated by pharmacists, and the vaccination level against influenza in elderly people and those with chronic illnesses is higher than 70 percent, while in Croatia, it is rather shamefully under 20 percent.

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August 3, 2021 -  The Seget Gornji fire broke out in the hills near Trogir on Monday morning. 24 hours later, the fire is still active. 

Index.hr reports that the firefighters worked all night to put out the fire that broke out in Seget Gornji in the Trogir hinterland on Monday night. By midnight, about 550 hectares of mostly low vegetation and some pine forest had been burned, the County Fire Operational Center in Split reported.

Firefighters are on duty in parts of the fire that is under control, while most of the fire-affected area has not yet been brought under control.

At the request of firefighters, from around 00.30 am, the Adriatic Highway from BP Perić to the turn for the roundabout towards the Ciovo Bridge, i.e., the Trogir bypass, was closed to all traffic, and traffic was redirected through Trogir. At around 5:15 a.m., traffic was alternately established on the Highway (DC 8) near Trogir, which had previously been completely disrupted, police said. In other words, traffic now takes place in one lane, and vehicles from two directions are alternately released by the police, who regulate traffic.

According to information from the field, after 23:30, there was a partial spread of fire near Seget Gornji. Every gust of wind ignited the fire, and it was much more visible at midnight. 

"The burned area is currently estimated at 400 to 500 hectares. The fire is still active; new forces have replaced one part of the forces on the ground," Chief Fire Chief Slavko Tucakovic told Dalmacija Danas. 

"In the morning, the departures of two Canadairs are already engaged at 5:45; they are there around 6:15. We want to repair as large an area as possible early in the morning, so we hope to enter the day without the open fire," Tucakovic added.

He added that in addition to all the forces that put out the fire on Monday, 170 firefighters with about 50 vehicles, 26 soldiers were also engaged. As he explained, these are purposefully organized forces of the Croatian Army, adding that extinguishing the fire near Trogir showed the effectiveness of the air force - three Canadairs and three air-tractors, and especially firefighters who fought the fire on the ground.

"This is perhaps the most demanding fire of the season. What is good is that there are no injured firefighters. I hope the fire will be extinguished tomorrow," Tucakovic said last night.

He sent a message to the citizens.

"When we talk about warnings, we emphasize that lighting fires are prohibited. It is imperative that if citizens notice a fire, that they report it as soon as possible so that the fire can be brought under control in time," Tucakovic concluded.

After midnight, the mayor of Trogir, Ante Bilic, commented on the latest situation with the fire near Trogir.

"I have now visited our DVD. As you can unfortunately see, there has been a partial flare-up again.

It is most serious in the area towards the bypass, and it is possible to close it, and the wind makes the work of firefighters even more difficult.

Early in the morning, Canadairs and helicopters will be raised again. With the hope that this will be the end of this element, I wish as quiet a night as possible to the firefighters who did a great job today and prevented the fire from spreading significantly. I stay in touch with our DVD and hope for better news," Bilic said.

A total of eight firefighting aircraft were engaged in the fire near Seget Gornji on Monday, August 2, namely four air-tractors, three Canadians, and one helicopter from the Firefighting Special Forces of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense announced.

During the afternoon on Monday, August 2, 26 fire-fighting forces from the Knez Trpimir barracks in Divulje were sent to the fire, the Ministry of Defense reported. Due to the fire, the landing of planes at Split Airport was suspended for about an hour on Monday afternoon, and the planes were diverted to the airports in Zadar and Zagreb.

For more on breaking news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

August 3, 2021 - Croatian wrestler Ivan Huklek advanced to the semifinals of the Olympic Games in Tokyo!

Huklek defeated Uzbekistan's Rustam Asakalov 4-1 in the Greco-Roman quarter-final in the 87kg category,  reports HRT.

Huklek thus reached his national team colleague Božo Starčević, who also achieved the greatest success of Croatian wrestling by placing in the semifinals of the Olympic tournament. Starčević did not win a medal in Rio, and Huklek will have two chances to win a medal in Tokyo.

After achieving his first Olympic victory in the round of 16 against US Marine John Walter Stefanowitz by 5-3, he dominated Uzbekistan's Asakalov, a bronze medalist from the 2016 World Champs, in the quarterfinals.

"The first fight against the American was difficult because it was the first fight. Against the Uzbek, I felt I was superior; I realized that superiority and deservedly won. I fought him in Poland two or three months ago and lost, but I wanted him in Tokyo. So the coach and I agreed on excellent tactics against him," said the 24-year-old from Sesvete, who will meet Ukrainian Zhan Belenyuk in the fight for the final.

The 30-year-old Ukrainian is a big favorite for the gold because he is a two-time world champion and Olympic medalist from Rio.

"I've fought him twice already. He's a fighter just waiting for a fight on the ground, and I’m better at standing, so it’s going to be interesting and tense," Huklek said.

At the end of the fight, Ivan looked up and kissed the sky, paying tribute to his sister Marta (11), who passed away this spring, just a few days before Ivan's qualifications for Tokyo.

Ivan Huklel will compete in the semifinals around noon Croatia time.

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August 2, 2021 - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced that he has nominated Croatia for the Visa Waiver Program.

"Today, I nominated Croatia to join the Visa Waiver Program. This step towards visa-free travel recognizes Croatia’s tremendous progress to meet the rigorous standards for participant countries. We look forward to an even stronger U.S.-Croatia relationship."

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković responded with two tweets:

"We confirm the partnership between Croatia and the United States, and the greatest benefit of abolishing visas will benefit Croatian citizens who will be able to travel freely to America. We look forward to further developing economic cooperation and business ties!"

"I thank Secretary of State Blinken for inviting Croatia to the Visa Waiver Program, which is one of the last steps to abolish visas for citizens. With the intensive work of the Croatian Government, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and Ministry of Internal Affairs to fulfill the conditions, we will realize one of the foreign policy priorities." 

Recall, visas for the United States should be abolished no later than September 30 - the end of the US fiscal year, reports Index.hr.

Croatia has been working on the visa waiver since 2007. While the abolition of visas has often been linked to the rate of refusals, there has been - and continues to be - intense communication and work to meet strict security criteria.

In the last few years, the Ministry of the Interior has been cooperating intensively with the US Department of Homeland Security to strengthen security capacities such as border security, migration, and international protection, collect and analyze data on cross-border passengers and air passengers, fight terrorism and exchange data on foreign terrorist fighters and information exchange.

Before the evaluation visit to Croatia, the Ministry of the Interior is conducting virtual pre-evaluation meetings with the US Department of Homeland Security to exchange information.

The abolition of visas has been an unresolved diplomatic issue in relations between the two countries for almost 30 years. Several preconditions need to be met to enter the visa-free program, and the last that Croatia had to meet was less than three percent of rejected applications.

Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Cyprus are the only EU members whose visas have not yet been abolished by the United States. Back in 2014, the European Commission asked the United States to abolish visas for Croatia and other EU countries whose citizens still had to have the document to enter the United States. They even threatened reciprocal measures, but it did not happen.

Poland was excluded from the regime only late last year, after conducting a campaign to encourage business people and officials who were almost certain to obtain a visa to apply.

A similar campaign was conducted this year by Croatia, which already on September 30 last year, when the fiscal year in America ended, lowered the number of rejected requests to four percent and was no longer far from achieving the goal.

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