News

April 17, 2022 - In addition to the obvious religious aspects of the time around Easter, this Spring the Croatian community in the Boston area decided to reenergize around the preparations for this holy time, including the traditional art of decorating Easter eggs with wax and candle flame. The Croatian School of Boston, a not-for-profit organization focused on educating adults and children about the Croatian language and culture, has one more time organized the “Pisanice Workshop” for children and adults. Biserka Ralić, Lidija Ortloff, Irena Matulić, and Irena Rašin have been, as usual, the driving forces behind the school and the…

April the 17th, 2022 - A decade ago, HZ (Croatian railways) purchased 44 new trains for the mind-boggling price of 1.66 billion kuna, but where are they today? As Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes, in order to procure seven new diesel-electric motor trains, the Croatian Government gave the "green light" to HZ Putnicki prijevoz (CR Passenger transport) to sign pre-financing and lease agreements with EUROFIMA - the European Society for Financing the Procurement of Railway Materials. The value of this financing stands at a massive 31 million euros. When it comes to the renewal of HZ Putnicki prijevoz's fleet, ten years…

April the 17th, 2022 - The much more rapid and efficient listing of HZZO medicine could end up saving the already enfeebled Croatian healthcare system another billion kuna. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the Croatian healthcare system could save an additional one billion kuna per year if the policy of putting generic and biologically similar drugs on the lists of the Croatian Health Insurance Institute (HZZO) was improved and accelerated, according to Croatian pharmaceutical generic companies within the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP). Currently, the system saves about 300 million kuna a year with the use of this HZZO medicine, but…

April the 17th, 2022 - Could the Sibenik bridge become a cultural monument? Maybe. The bridge was the first in the whole world to be completely built with a revolutionary cantilever construction technique and stands out from the crowd of similar structures for several reasons. As Morski/Ivo Glavas writes, when the Sibenik bridge was inaugurated on July the 27th, 1966, spanning 246 metres, it was one of the five longest arch concrete bridges in the whole world. However, only one such bridge in northern Sweden was built before the end of World War II in 1943, and the remaining three…

ZAGREB, 16 April 2022 - Justice Minister Ivan Malenica said on Saturday that President Zoran Milanović would set a precedent if he pardoned Josip Perković and Zdravko Mustač because, since taking office, he had not responded to the 274 pardon applications sent him by the ministry. Speaking to Hina, Malenica said that in a little over two years the ministry had sent 274 pardon applications to the President's Office, enclosing reports prepared by the ministry based on the Pardons Act. Until now, the president has not exercised his constitutional power to pardon someone and if this happens now, it would be a precedent…

ZAGREB, 16 April 2022 - The Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, on Saturday wished a happy Easter to all believers and people of good will, saying that all people in the depth of their hearts want peace. "We feel this desire especially in these times, strongly marked by the war suffering and victims in Ukraine. We are witness to the spread of suffering in order to create, bring and support unrest and fear," he said. "In this frightening war noise, everyone is saying that they advocate peace and want to establish peace. But how?" the cardinal said, calling for prayer. "While we sympathise with the victims…

ZAGREB, 16 April 2022 - World Hemophilia Day, observed on 17 April, is taking place under the theme "Access for All: Partnership. Policy. Progress" this year and in Croatia it will be marked by the Croatian Hemophiliacs Society. World Hemophilia Day has been observed since 1989 to raise awareness of this condition and other bleeding disorders. Thereby the World Federation of Hemophilia wants to encourage every country to include inherited bleeding disorders in national strategies and to raise awareness of this condition so as to bring about sustainable and equitable access to care and treatment, Croatian Hemophiliacs Society president Marko Marinić has said. The Croatian Hemophiliacs Society…

April 16, 2022 - Petra Martić brought Croatia a key second point against Serbia at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tournament in Antalya, Turkey on Saturday.  In a dramatic and long match against Aleksandra Krunić, the 116th player in the WTA ranking, Martić won 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, which gave Croatia its second singles victory, enough for the play-offs of this competition, which will be to be held in November this year, and for a spot in the 2023 World Group. In the first match, 16-year-old Croatian tennis player and the world's best junior Petra Marčinko defeated Lola Radivojević 6-1, 2-6, 6-0,…

April 16, 2022 - KK Split and Skopje will surely be in the top tier next season, while Borac and Zlatibor may now need to wait for new regulations in the ABA League. It's not every day that teams don't know what the rule will be for relegation at the end of a season but it's probably only once in a lifetime that they don't even know which regulation will apply by the end of the season. It looked well on paper that the last team in ABA League 1 will drop out (KK Krka from Novo Mesto), winner of…

ZAGREB, 16 April  2022 - Local artists have placed large Easter eggs, which are 2.5 metres high and 1.6 metre wide, in the centre of the Argentinian city of Mendoza, following the Croatian tradition of putting on display big Easter eggs in town squares, the Argentinian news agency Telam reported on Saturday. Nora Vicario, the head of the city department for culture in this western Argentinian city, was quoted as saying that they had learnt about this beautiful custom from the local Croat community. Representatives of the Croat community are included in the jury that will declare the best three Easter…