February the 1st, 2021 - Step back in time to ancient Zadar, or perhaps it's better to call it ancient Jader, back in the times when it was under the iron fist of Roman rule.

As Morski writes, it took Stipan Ujdur from Opuzen in southern Dalmatia six months of intensive work on 3D modelling to complete the video animation and modeling of ancient Zadar/Jader ie today's City of Zadar as it looked back in Roman times.

''Frane Bili from Zadar will programme applications for smartphones and VR glasses in his MediaUp studio, so ancient Zadar will be completely processed for all. The work on the 3D modelling lasted a full six months and it involved daily hard work. The model was made to the maximum authenticity of the original Zadar/Jader back during ancient times. This was really difficult because I had to search the foreign archives for everything about ancient Zadar, Jader. It’s so exhausting that I really wouldn’t do a project like this again. It's important to acquaint your readers with the fact that this is, unfortunately, the work of a pensioner and is not a Hollywood production, and I hope that no one will blame me for any potential inaccuracies or copyright issues,'' explained Stipan Ujdur.

''Ancient Zadar is really a big 3D model with many significant neighbourhoods to process, but the big problem are the documents for that time, drawings, floor plans or illustrations, domestic and foreign sources were used, with locals, a big problem is unavailability, vagueness, incompleteness, all of that, unfortunately is our great pain. Honestly, I couldn’t do anything without foreign sources of documentation, Croatian works can be seen, but if I want to do something concrete then I have to look for other sources. The geolocation of the scenes is located via the Google Earth 3D map, so it is faithful to the original ancient location,'' said Ujdur as he recounted the shots we can see in the video.

The first scene is in front of the entrance to the city, as ancient Zadar was surrounded by ramparts on all sides, there were three gates on the southeast rampart, one door was used for traffic, people used the other for goods and the middle one was for various different purposes. In front of the ramparts was a colony of those who were not Romans by birth, but performed various hard physical jobs, and raised cattle, vegetables and sold them in the city. This scene shows olive, cypress and laurel plantations of typical Mediterranean plants that were in this area in that period. 

Watch the video of ancient Zadar as it once was under Roman rule in the video above.

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January 31, 2021 - Works are currently underway for a modern football stadium in Vukovar, a project worth slightly more than 12.3 million kuna.

Vecernji List reports that in the Vukovar area, works are underway on several capital projects, and one of them is the construction of the city stadium. It is a stadium located on the outskirts of the city center, the construction of which will give sports fans and recreationists essential content. According to information from the City, the project envisions building a public building for sports and recreation purposes, which will consist of grandstands with ancillary rooms on the ground floor and an administrative part.

As part of the project, new parking spaces will be built, of which 10 will be indoor parking spaces for cars and two bus parking spaces, and 24 outdoor parking spaces. The basic idea in creating the conceptual design was to combine sports content for professional activity and recreation in a modern and contemporary way. The focus was placed on the building of the sports facility, and it was given the most importance, i.e., the stands with 186 seats as well as an additional auxiliary playground on the west side and the newly renovated football field.

"The city services made an effort to design a modern stadium intended for both professional sports and recreational sports for citizens. Our goal is to create ideal conditions not only for the youngest but also for anyone who wants to come to the stadium for a walk and run, and access will be provided 24 hours a day. During the night, there will be public lighting at the stadium so that people who come at night for physical activities will be able to feel safe," said Mayor Ivan Penava.

The value of the works is slightly more than 12.3 million kuna, including VAT, and the project is co-financed by the European Union.

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

ZAGREB, 31 January, 2021 - A number of long-time members of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) on Saturday established a new party called the Democratic HSS, electing Mateo Ivanac and Boro Bašljan as president and vice-president.

The new party said in a statement it had members in eight counties, some of whom were municipal heads, with whom it would run in local elections to be held in May.

The party's founders said the reason for breaking away from the HSS was lack of intraparty democracy.

ZAGREB, 31 January, 2021 - Bosnia and Herzegovina Foreign Minister Bisera Turković on Sunday condemned an incident in which an EU flag was torn down from the Croatian Embassy building in Sarajevo, describing it as an act of vandalism and calling on police to investigate it as soon as possible.

"This act of vandalism is unacceptable, it does not represent the views of the majority of our citizens and it has no place in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are firmly committed to membership in the EU as well as to promoting good neighbourly relations with Croatia based on mutual respect and understanding," Turković said.

She added that she expected the competent institutions to investigate the incident as soon as possible.

The Croatian Embassy in Sarajevo earlier in the day sent a protest note to the BiH Foreign Ministry over the incident.

The European Union flag on the building housing the Croatian embassy in Sarajevo was torn down and left lying in the street between 11 p.m. and midnight Saturday.

The Croatian flag on the embassy building was not damaged.

The Ministry of the Interior of Sarajevo Canton said police were looking for the perpetrator.

ZAGREB, 31 January, 2021 - Croatia has many advantages from EU membership, as confirmed by the adoption of the EU budget which guarantees €24.5 billion in the next seven years, but for Croatian farmers it also means that older member states' market surpluses end on the Croatian market at dumping prices, MP Marijana Petir has said.

She was speaking in a debate on the future of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Croatia's adjustment to reforms, organised in Zagreb last Tuesday by the European Parliament's Croatian office in cooperation with the Croatian parliament's Agriculture Committee, which Petir chairs.

She said that after the adoption of the Multiannual Financial Framework, an important part of the €24.5 billion envisaged for Croatia from 2021 to 2027 was the €5 billion envisaged for the CAP.

"But there's the other side of the coin and one should say that Croatian farmers have been faced with many challenges since Croatia joined the EU."

According to Petir, it is difficult for them to keep up with farmers in other member states due to internal reasons and the conditions on the single European market.

We realise that we have to resolve the problem of farmland management on our own, but we believe that the same rules should equally apply to all those participating in the single market, she said.

"It's neither sustainable nor just that older member states' market surpluses end on new member states' markets at dumping prices because that destroys our producers and they are faced with insurmountable differences."

Also, Petir said, the EU should pay attention to relations with third countries, reviewing trade agreements to make sure that imports meet all EU standards.

January 31, 2021 – The Sibenik police issued a statement about the quadruple murder and suicide yesterday in Vodice and Šibenik.

The area of Šibenik and Vodice was shaken by four murders yesterday, and later in the day, the perpetrator of the murders was also found dead. Here we bring a statement from the Šibenik police about the fourfold murder.

"At 12:56 pm, the Šibenik-Knin Police Department received a report that a dead man had been found in a vehicle next to the road in Vodice. Investigations established that it was a 47-year-old man who was found in a car with multiple gunshot wounds on the body.

At 1:23 pm, police received a report from the Emergency Medical Service of finding three dead people, two men and a woman, in a facility on the South Highway. During the investigation, it was determined that they were a 42-year-old man, 62-year-old man, and 61-year-old woman, who, as determined, died a violent death and had gunshot wounds on their bodies.

Considering the collected information, a search for the possible perpetrator was announced, and the public was informed that a gray Škoda Karoq vehicle, registration number ŠI-959-HF, was wanted. The entire operational staff of the Šibenik Police, together with the Zadar and Split-Dalmatia Police Directorates, established checkpoints at the entrances/exits to detect and locate the perpetrator.

During the investigation at both places where the dead bodies were found, led by the Deputy County State's Attorney from Šibenik, at 6:22 pm, we received a report that a personal vehicle was found in the Vodice area, as well as the dead body of a 57-year-old suspect.

The dead bodies of all persons were transported to the Pathology Department of the General Hospital in Šibenik for an autopsy and to determine the cause of death. The used vehicles were transferred to the Police Administration, where inspection activities will be carried out during the day.

Also, during the day, police officers will perform some additional measures and actions to connect all the events that preceded the commission of criminal offenses, after which it will be determined what the motive of the perpetrator was," reads the statement from the Šibenik police.

The police will inform the public about all the new information at a press conference tomorrow.

Although the Šibenik police did not reveal the victims' nor the murderer's identities, Croatian media soon found out who they were.

Jutarnji.hr reports that a well-known Šibenik businessman was first killed in his car in front of the "Djelo" shopping center in Vodice at around 1 pm. The entrepreneur, allegedly killed by a burst from an automatic rifle, was the head of the entire "Djelo" retail chain, one of the largest in the county and Dalmatia and Croatia, a member of the national "Ultra" chain.

Then three more dead bodies were found in Ražine, in the basement of the former Matkol bakery. It was soon learned that those three people were the director of Sabirač company, a well-known Šibenik bankruptcy trustee and HDZ city councilor, and her husband, who happened to be at the scene of the murder, allegedly driving his wife to a pre-arranged meeting.

It soon turned out that the perpetrator, who was eventually found dead next to the car in which he fled to the police, was also a well-known Šibenik businessman. He failed in his bakery business, and his company, which he had been building all his life, went bankrupt before the great crisis of 2008.

January 31, 2021 - Due to the improving epidemiological situation in Croatia, a small portion of the restrictive measures have been eased. Students will return to classrooms, outdoor training for sport is allowed, swimming pools will open, and nursing homes in Croatia will welcome visitors. 

After four and a half months, the Croatian National Public Health Institute has enacted new measures for residents in nursing homes. Namely, from next week, relatives and families can visit residents in nursing homes, and residents can also leave under strict epidemiological conditions, the head of the Zagreb Office for Social Protection and Persons with Disabilities, Romana Galić, told HRT's Dnevnik.

"Upon arrival at the nursing home, the visits will take place in the external premises. Strict epidemiological measures will apply for visits to immobile users, and the visit will take place according to a pre-determined schedule," she said.

The relaxation of measures is possible because, for example, in Zagreb's homes for the elderly and infirm, about 2,200 users have already received the coronavirus vaccine, and 1,600 of them have received the second dose of the vaccine. Also, about 600 users were infected with and have recovered from COVID-19.

"We will enable those who had COVID in the last 90 days and those who received their second dose of the vaccine to leave their homes. So, from Tuesday, they will be able to leave the institutions, after four and a half months," said Romana Galić.

See the full list of all measures in Croatia, currently in effect until February 15, HERE.

To read more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 31 January, 2021 - Over 13,000 children have been affected by the consequences of the 29 December earthquake in Sisak-Moslavina County and those affected the most are children who have been left without a roof over their heads and who were growing up in poverty before the quake, Croatia's children's ombudswoman said.

Experts note that problems to be expected in children who have experienced such a traumatic event include sleep disorders, problems with appetite and strong emotional reactions such as sadness, anger or fear, which manifest themselves depending on the child's age, Ombudswoman Helenca Pirnat-Dragičević, who has visited the earthquake-hit area several times, said in an interview with Hina.

Pirnat-Dragičević said that around 70,000 people, including 13,000 children, had been directly affected by the 6.2 magnitude earthquake which claimed seven lives and caused extensive material damage.

She noted that according to information from the Red Cross, the number of children staying in temporary accommodation was varying on a weekly basis as families were returning to the area close to their homes - to stay in mobile housing units or with their relatives.

She said that she did not have complete data on the number of children who have left the earthquake-hit area, but was aware that many families had found accommodation in the regions of Istria and Primorje, staying with their relatives or friends, and that some had left for other countries.

Pirnat-Dragičević said the most affected were children left without a roof over their heads as well as those who had been growing up in poverty before the earthquake and children in need of special care due to developmental problems or disease.

She said that experts in mental health had prepared ample material for parents with information on what kind of responses can be expected in children who have experienced an earthquake and live in the time of a pandemic and information on how to help them cope.

Parents have also been instructed when to seek professional help and both they and children have been given phone numbers which they can contact for advice on mental health issues, Pirnat-Dragičević said.

She noted that the need for mental health care both in adults and in children was certain to increase in the coming period and underlined the importance of systematic, available and adequate care and support for all who need it.

She pointed to the insufficient number of mental health experts who work with children as well as lack of expert psychological help for children who live outside urban areas, a problem that has existed for years, noting that the recent crises and traumatic events had made those problems visible and that now was the time to address them systematically.

Speaking of the resumption of children's usual activities, including online classes, Pirnat-Dragičević said that one should first establish if all children in the earthquake-hit area had the necessary conditions for online classes.

In some communities, such as those in the areas of Glina and Hrvatska Kostajnica, there are serious problems with signal strength and children would have difficulty following online classes, she said.

The ombudswoman also underlined the importance of psychological assistance to adults who take care of children - parents, grandparents and teachers, noting that webinars had been organised for teachers in Sisak-Moslavina County and the City of Zagreb and that additional workshops were being planned to follow up on their needs. Similar support is planned also for day-care workers, she said.