ZAGREB, 30 June 2022 - In the last 24 hours 1,148 coronavirus cases, out of 3,532 tests, and five related deaths have been registered in Croatia.

There are 5,261 active cases, including 245 hospitalised patients, five of whom are on ventilators, while 2,682 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 1,148,528 coronavirus cases, the death toll is 16,065 and 70.82% of the adult population has been vaccinated.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated sectionand select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 30 June 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday the US Supreme Court ruling, which leaves the legality of abortion to the federal states and has led to big divisions, would not impact Croatia as banning pregnancy termination would be contrary to a Constitutional Court ruling.

Speaking at a cabinet session, he said pregnancy termination was an extremely complex legal, ethical and medical issue on which it was often impossible to reach a consensus, but that it was necessary to consider the matter.

"This ruling won't impact Croatia. In Croatia, the right to pregnancy termination is regulated by law and the Constitutional Court has found that the law is in line with the Constitution."

As the Court's president Miroslav Šeparović said recently, banning pregnancy termination would be contrary to the Court's ruling, as would a referendum to restrict or ban pregnancy termination rights, Plenković said.

"In the political sense, there's no need to misinform people with the goal of scoring political points and there's no need to include in the Constitution regulations on an already existing right. We won't agree to such changes."

He called on the opposition to be constructive about this issue and to support changes to the constitutional law on the Constitutional Court, which he said were aimed at additionally protecting constitutional rights, those that cannot be decided in referenda.

Plenković said the ruling HDZ was a Christian Democrat centre-right party advocating the protection of life from conception, while also respecting a woman' right to choose and health.

"Our wish is that there are as few pregnancy terminations in our society as possible, that they are the exception, but statistics and other countries' experience show that this is not achieved by bans. Bans don't lead to fewer abortions, but can make them unsafe and dangerous for a woman's life and health."

Politics: For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 30 June 2022 - An exhibition called "Azulejo - the Art of Portuguese Ceramic Tiles" was opened at the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral in Rijeka on Wednesday.

The exhibition was organised in cooperation with the Zagreb Museum of Arts and Crafts and the support of the Croatian Foreign Ministry, which donated the exhibits to the Zagreb museum in 2015.

The exhibition shows products of Lisbon workshops from the first half of the 18th century on 11 display boards containing compositions of blue-white, glazed and painted ceramic tiles which have become a distinctive symbol of Portuguese culture and tradition.

Portuguese Ambassador to Croatia Maria Paula Vieira Leal Da Silva attended the opening.

The exhibition can be seen until 6 September.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 30 June 2022 - The first electric vehicle charger in a lamppost has been installed in the Zagreb suburb of Buzin, and trial chargers will be installed in 200 lampposts in several cities next year as part of a pilot project, while more than 100,000 will be installed across Croatia in the next decade.

This is part of a project aimed at expanding the electric vehicle infrastructure launched by the Strujni krug e-mobility association.

Taking part in the pilot project are Zagreb, Velika Gorica and Osijek.

The Smart Energy company, which is part of the M SAN group, designed the first 3.5 kW charging station. Since it is still being tested, its use is possible, free of charge, via the PlugSurfing app. Although this is the first prototype that can be used this way, three or four other operators are expected to install their trial chargers in lampposts in the weeks ahead.

There is a considerable number of charging stations in Croatia and the number of electric vehicles is increasing by the day, which calls for increasing the number of chargers.

A Strujni krug survey shows that 60% of electric vehicle owners charge them at home, in their garages or backyards, but people who live in flats, notably in city centres, cannot do it without the adequate parking spaces.

For more, check out our business section.

June 30, 2022 - The Vlaka Bay fire broke out this morning just before 9 am. Around 25 firefighters and two Canadairs are at the scene. 

Boats sailing around Hvar this morning noticed a fire in Vlaka Bay, on the Pakleni Islands, not far from Hvar Island. Thick smoke billowed over the middle of the bay, reports Jutarnji List.

The first report of the fire arrived at 8:47 am. The dense pine forest, low vegetation, and grass are burning. There are 25 firefighters from the Voluntary Fire Brigade (DVD) Hvar on the ground, and two Canadairs came to their aid. Although it is burning near houses, they are not currently endangered.

The fire is high on the hill, and it is partly difficult to access, which is why two Canadairs came to the aid of firefighters, said the duty officer of DVD Hvar. 

"Around three hectares have burned. We hope that the Canadairs will solve the majority of the fire this morning. There is no threat to people and facilities," said DVD Hvar.

According to first-hand accounts, the southerly jugo wind had turned the fire to the north side of the island instead of closer to the restaurants in the bay.

Vlaka Bay on the island of Sv. Klement is a traditional Hvar resort with several restaurants in a small village where there is a church from the 14th century dedicated to Sv. Klement. There are also Roman dwellings in the area as well as Illyrian mounds. 

More soon...

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

June 30, 2022 - Border controls should be lifted at Croatian airports from March 26, 2023, as Croatia becomes part of the single Schengen area. This means that the 2023 Croatia summer flight schedule will kick off with new rules. 

When the Republic of Croatia becomes part of the single Schengen area on January 1 next year, travel from or to Croatian airports will be significantly easier, writes Croatian Aviation. 

On Wednesday, the EU Council proposed that border controls at Croatia's land and sea borders with Schengen countries be abolished from January 1, 2023, and at airports from March 26 next year. Thus, at the beginning of the new year, Croatia should become a member of the Schengen area, which will simplify travel to and from Croatian airports.

If all goes well, border controls will be lifted on January 1 at seaports and road border crossings, while the same should take effect on March 26 at all Croatian airports.

Namely, with the stated date, the summer flight schedule comes into force, so it is logistically easier to make the change just then, and at the same time the airports are given enough time to prepare.

At Croatian airports, it is necessary to change the existing passenger flows, given that currently there are fewer departures at airports for flights within the Republic of Croatia, while now flights to and from all Schengen member states will be treated as "domestic".

This means that passengers traveling from Croatia on direct flights to destinations in the member states of this area (26 European countries), after checking in for the flight and security control, will go to the exit for their flight without crossing the border or police control.

All Croatian airports must have the infrastructural possibility of separating passengers arriving or departing to destinations in the Schengen area, as well as to destinations outside it.

This means that, for example, when traveling from Zagreb to Split, Osijek, Vienna, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or any other destination located in a Schengen member country, the exit to the aircraft will go without checking your identity document, but the border control still exists when traveling to Istanbul, London, Doha, Dubai, Sarajevo, Belgrade or other destinations outside Schengen. The same, of course, applies to all other Croatian airports.

Croatian airports have enough time to prepare and change passenger flows until the spring of 2023 when Croatia finally feels another advantage of membership in the European Union, and preparations have been underway for months.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

June 30, 2022 - The Croatia basketball team's last training before leaving for Slovenia was held on Wednesday night. The upcoming matches decide whether Croatia will qualify for the second round of FIBA World Cup qualifications. Croatia's NBA stars Bojan Bogdanović and Ivica Zubac spoke about their chances against Luka Dončić and Slovenia. 

Croatia captain Bojan 'Babo' Bogdanović emphasized: “Both victories are very important to us because the points are transferred to the second round. I hope we will play well, first in Stožice and then in Rijeka, and try to achieve both victories. I'm looking forward to the atmosphere in Stožice; I think it will be great basketball. But we are not complete, we lack a lot of good players, especially players on the ball. We miss Simon, Krušlin; Šarić has not yet recovered… We are quite handicapped by that, but even with those absences, we are strong and quite good, and there are a lot of young players." 

Bogdanović gave his thoughts on Luka Dončić: “He is one of the best players in the world; there is also Goran Dragič, they are very good at pick and roll, and I think we will have a hard time defending one on one, so we have prepared several team defenses that we will try to play against the two of them, and I hope we get results. If we come out with the right energy, I think we have something."

The match in Rijeka is certainly no less important than in Slovenia. Moreover, this match is crucial for entering the second round of qualifications.

"I hope we will come to the match in Rijeka in a good mood and atmosphere. I hope for a great game in Stožice, and then against Finland, it is imperative to win regardless of Thursday's game."

Ivica Zubac, who has not been with the national team for a long time, spoke about what he expects from the upcoming matches: "Victory! We have been preparing for several days. Unfortunately, Bojan and I did not have much time, but we prepared individually and worked well these days. If we stick to what we did in training, both offensively and defensively, we have a chance to win." 

About Luka Dončić: “The plan is to make it as difficult as possible for him, to be as aggressive as possible, to make him work in defense and to attack him in that way. We will not stop him for sure; we can try to slow him down and hope for the best." 

And how does Zubac see himself for Croatia? "I think I've made a lot of progress in the last three or four years, I have more games in my legs and I think I can help a little more than last time."

Coach Damir Mulaomerović, despite his proverbial objectivity, is optimistic: “For me, the most important thing is that we are as ready as we can be. My only regret is that we didn't have Bojan and Zubac for longer. The guys are ready; we know what awaits us - a great game, a strong Slovenia, Luka Dončić… we know what awaits us. I believe in these guys, and what I ask of them is to give their maximum, in the wake of what we did against Sweden for the last twenty minutes and two overtimes, to leave our hearts on the court, and that is what can put us in a positive situation. We were already in a tough situation; we got out, and now we have Bojan, Zubac, and Žiža. We can hope for a good game, and what is important to me as a coach is that we are compact on the court and react well defensively. It is certain that Slovenia also has the pressure to win because each of these matches can decide who goes next."

How to stop Dončić?

"He is a great player, so everyone is asking that question. With individual and team defense, we will try to stop him or force him to shoot as many bad shots as possible. Because of his talent and all that he gives in the NBA and his national team, he is getting better and better. It won't be easy, but we are very motivated. Maybe it is more important that we do not let the rest of their players develop. There are a lot of strong individuals, so I would not say that only Dončić should be stopped."

All 16 players from the preparations went to Slovenia, but only 12 will play at Stožice.

Croatia player list:

• 1 Toni Perković
• 2 Goran Filipović
• 4 Roko Prkačin
• 8 Mario Hezonja
• 10 Lovro Gnjidić
• 11 Tomislav Zubčić
• 17 Dragan Bender
• 23 Mateo Drežnjak
• 32 Roko Rogić
• 40 Ivica Zubac
• 41 Ante Toni Žižić
• 44 Bojan Bogdanović

Both matches are broadcast live by Sport Klub televizija. Tickets for Croatia - Finland can be found at ulaznice.hr.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated sports section. 

June the 30th, 2022 - Croatian railways aren't usually praised by many users of their services, with complaints about the trains being slow frequent and even situations in which the train drivers not bothering to turn up for work occurring. Could all that change with some new acquisitions?

There is an enormous amount to see all over this extremely geographically diverse country, which, while small, packs a punch from the sparkling Adriatic Sea and its impressive rugged coastline to its imposing, karst mountain ranges, luscious green rolling hills, picturesque lakes and seemingly endless Eastern vineyards. Seeing it all by train would be the preferred choice of many if things ran a little more smoothly, and it seems like that's going to happen.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, recently, the Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butkovic, visited the Koncar factory hall in which brand new electric trains are being produced as part of the project entitled The Reconstruction of the Croatian Railways (HZ) Passenger Transport fleet.

The new trains are being co-financed from the Competitiveness and Cohesion Operational Programme 2014-2020 in the amount of 85 percent, and the total estimated value of the project stands at a whopping 1.29 billion kuna.

Croatian Railways is continuing modernising its entire fleet with eleven brand new electric trains for urban-suburban transport and ten other new electric trains for regional transport, and by the year 2024, it should have almost seventy new trains in use across the country, which makes up more than fifty percent of the current fleet.

These brand new and much more modern trains set to take to Croatian railways will reach a speed of 160 kilometres per hour and will be equipped with ramps for people in wheelchairs, and there will also be proper bicycle space and free internet access for passengers.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.