ZAGREB, 30 Dec 2021 - An earthquake measuring 3.2 on the Richter scale was registered west of Sisak at 2.47 pm on Thursday, Croatia's Seismological Survey said.

The epicenter of the tremor was five kilometers west of Sisak.

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December the 17th, 2021 - A group of Sisak residents were left disgruntled and likely with weakened immune systems after attempting to do their civic duty and get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus but being told to go home after two hours standing in the cold and rain.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, a rather embarrassing situation occurred regarding vaccines for some Sisak residents recently when coronavirus vaccines ran out at one of the vaccination points on Saturday. This means that a good part of the people who came home for their second dose went home unvaccinated, as was told by an angry Sisak resident. The County Public Health Institute explained what happened.

Some people who came to get vaccinated at the mass vaccination point near in Sisak received a cold shower instead of their coronavirus vaccination. After more than two hours of waiting in the rain and cold, they were told the vaccine was gone.

"I was waiting for two hours only to finally come to the door and they tell me - there are no more vaccines. I didn't want to leave until they brought out a vaccine for me,'' a bitter young man from Sisak, who was supposed to receive his second dose on Saturday, told Dnevnik.hr. He arrived at the time he was given to come and be vaccinated, but it made no difference as he went home with still just the first dose having been injected.

"I told the lady who was vaccinating people there that they had written to me telling me to come that day. I had been waiting in the rain, wind and cold only to find out that there would be no vaccine. If I got my first dose on November the 13th, how can it be that ''my'' second dose wasn't waiting for me on the date they wrote down themselves? She told me it's not her fault, alright, but am I to blame either?'' asked this irritated Sisak local rhetorically.

Vaccination was eventually postponed

The epilogue of the story, says the young man, is that the vaccine for them will arrive - only next weekend.

"About ten of us are still standing here, I said to the epidemiologist - come on, here we are, just ten of us, write down our names, surnames and phone numbers and let us know when the vaccine comes for us. Tell these people to come at 08:00, 08:15 (it starts at nine otherwise) and we'll come. She said she can't do that. I said you see you can help us, but you don't want to. One of the people said the vaccine is coming on Wednesday, the other said they don't know if there will be a vaccine until Saturday,'' he concluded.

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December 11, 2021 - Croatian ice skating pair Lana Petranović and Antonio Souza Kordeira broke their personal record for the second day in a row at the 53rd Golden Pirouette in Sisak. 

American pair Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov and Georgian Anastasia Gubanova won the first gold medals at the 53rd Golden Pirouette hosted by the Zibel Ice Hall in Sisak.

The Americans jumped from third place to the top of the podium and celebrated with a convincing 195.32 points ahead of Georgian pair Anastasia Metelkina and Danilo Parkman (189.60) and bronze Russians Julia Artemeva and Mikhail Nazarichev (189.29).

Croatian pair Lana Petranović and Antonio Souza Kordeira broke their personal record for the second day in a row in Sisak. After a short time, they had a record number of points in the free program and improved their personal record by 10 points (163.29), which brought them the final 11th place at this year's Golden Pirouette, but also another confirmation for next year's World Championship.

"We repeated the performance from the day before and hit a new personal record. The jumps did not go according to plan today, but everything else was very good. I'm just not happy with the jumps. But it can be worked on. We are returning to Russia and working for the European Championships in early January. The atmosphere tonight was great, a lot of people came, they supported us throughout the program," said Lana Petranović after the performance.

The best skater of the 53rd Golden Pirouette is Georgian Anastasia Gubanova, who won silver in this competition in 2018 but then skated for Russia. She has now won her first major medal under the new flag. She was the best in the short program and third in the free skate, which was still enough for gold (184.29). The current vice-champion of America, Amber Glenn, won silver with 183.36 points.

Estonian Niina Petrokina won the best free program, and with her results from the first day, she won the bronze (182.57). 

Lithuanian couple Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius (75.81) had the best rhythm dance, and in the final on Saturday, they will fight for gold against the equally great Americans, Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker (74.60), but also Russian pair Elizabeth Shanayev and David Narizhny (70.59) and Armenians Tina Garabedian and Simon Proulx Senecal (70.57).

Source: HRT

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October 22, 2021 - The 53rd Golden Pirouette international skating competition will be held from December 8 to 11 at the Zibel Ice Hall in Sisak. For the first time in the 54-year history of this competition, the Golden Pirouette will be held outside Zagreb.

As the Ice Hall at the Zagreb Sports Hall has been out of order since the Zagreb earthquake, for the first time since 1967, and the first edition of the Golden Pirouette skating competition, Zagreb will not be the host, reports T.portal.

Across its over five-decade-long history, many international skaters have visited Zagreb and many have made their debut in the competition program in the Croatian capital. Fortunately, only the host city has changed this time around, and the Golden Pirouette will go on!

Thus, this year's edition of the legendary skating competition will be held in Sisak from December 8 to 11, 2021. 

"Sisak was also damaged in the earthquake, but the local Ice Hall is newer, and there is no damage, so we had the option to come here or postpone the competition. With the help of the City of Sisak and the Sports and Recreation Center, we managed to solve all the technical issues needed to organize this competition, and we are glad that the people of Sisak will enjoy top skating," said Morana Paliković Gruden, president of the Croatian Skating Federation and vice president of the COC.

"I hope that this is the beginning of cooperation between Sisak and the Croatian Skating Federation and that the Golden Pirouette will attract visitors, but also encourage many Sisak citizens to get into ice sports. That is why we built the Ice Hall," added the mayor of Sisak Kristina Ikić Baniček.

The best competition is expected at this year's event as well, mainly because there are fewer skating competitions due to the pandemic. Many will use Sisak as an opportunity to qualify for the World Championship, which is scheduled for January 2022.

Five to seven Croatian competitors will perform at the first Golden Pirouette in Sisak, including the promising Croatian sports pair Lana Petranović and Antonio Suza.

Given the poor condition of the Zagreb Sports Hall, it is to be expected that the Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy will be held in Sisak from February 3 to 5, which they are working on intensively.

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ZAGREB, 31 Aug, 2021 - The Green Action and the "Sisak isn't a waste disposal site" civil initiative have called on the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development to discard the plan to build a waste and residual sludge incinerator in Sisak, which is a seismologically active area.

The NGOs said that citizens had stood in defence of public interest in Zagreb and Konjščina when they stopped the construction of a waste incinerator there and that they will do the same for Sisak.

They are disgruntled because an environmental impact study justifying the construction of the incinerator in Sisak was put up for public debate from 2 to 31 August, a period of summer holidays.

They warned that waste from all over Croatia would be brought to the incinerator in Sisak that will have a capacity of 100,000 tonnes of waste and 50,000 tonnes of residual sludge, and it could have unforeseeable economic, ecological and health hazards.

They further pointed out that Croatia was turning to outdated solutions while the EU's Green Deal stimulates refraining from incinerators and encourages the use of sustainable solutions to use waste as a secondary crude material for industrial production.

Incineration would pose a potential threat to the environment and health of Sisak's residents because the environmental impact study ignored the fact that fires have erupted at waste incinerators throughout the EU as have excessive levels of hazardous gas emissions.

"The incinerator must not be an alternative for waste as a consequence of the failed attempt with waste management centres. It is necessary to change the way combined waste is managed and follow the principles of circular economy that treats waste as a resource and not as rubbish transformed into toxic waste," the NGOs said.

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ZAGREB, 27 Aug 2021 - War Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved, who heads the task force dealing with the aftermath of last year's earthquakes in Sisak-Moslavina County, said on Friday that priority in the reconstruction process would be given to houses whose owners were now accommodated in prefab containers.

So far, roughly 400 family houses have been rebuilt, next week over 1,500 contracts will be signed with property owners for the reconstruction of their family houses. By 15 September, we will have about 6,000 active contracts on reconstruction, Medved said in Sisak.

He said that priority would be given to the reconstruction of properties whose owners had been relocated to container settlements so that they could move in their rebuilt homes before the winter.

Medved said that the authorities also planned the reconstruction of other damaged structures and construction of a number of apartment buildings in the quake-hit area.

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ZAGREB, 24 Aug, 2021 - The 30th anniversary of the establishment of the first Croatian military police unit was commemorated in Odra near Sisak on Tuesday.

A memorial plaque was unveiled on that occasion at the Odra Community Centre by the head of the Croatian Armed Forces Military Police Directorate, Lieutenant General Mate Laušić, and Brigadier Ivica Kranjčević, an envoy for President and Armed Forces Commander in Chief Zoran Milanović.

Addressing the event, Laušić recalled that military police had a special role in the 1991-95 war and that their work had been characterised by professionalism, education and resolve.

Kranjčević said that the first military police unit comprised a small group of honourable men with a strong feeling of patriotism, great resolve and professionalism, who knew how to act appropriately at any time during the Homeland War.

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ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - The government on Thursday decided to set aside an additional 7.6 million kuna for grants to micro and small businesses in Sisak-Moslavina County to help them to cope with the consequences of the 29 December devastating earthquake.

Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić recalled that on 29 January the government had decided to allocate ten million kunas for the support provided to the quake-affected businesses.

He said that as many as 872 applications had been sent since then and of them, more than 600 were eligible for funding.

The ministry established that the initial amount of the money would not suffice and therefore the allocation for grants for this purpose was today raised by an additional million euros.

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July 16, 2021 - Continuing to improve education, a new and improved FOI course is open for the academic year 2021/2022. Meet the program of Business Applied Information Technologies.

With a fantastic display of informatical knowledge and growing interest in the field observable among Croatian pupils, it is only logical that the education system follows the demand.

Faculty of Organization and Informatics (FOI), based in Varaždin but part of the University of Zagreb, is already one of the more known high-education institutions for computer-sciences-inclined. But, as Srednja.hr reported, starting next academic year this autumn, an improved bachelor's study program will take its first students.

„By process of revision, and by following trends and modern markets, FOI successfully innovated a professional bachelor's program called Business Applied Information Technologies (PITUP), says Srednja.hr.

The article adds that the program has a multidisciplinary approach in combining information technologies and digital business. The program also develops in two directions: app development and informatics support aimed to allow students to progress in their preferred area. The education for the new and improved PITUP apart from Varaždin will also be available in cities and towns such as Varaždin, Sisak, Križevci, and Zabok.

As stated by Faculty's official website, FOI is active for more than 50 years and spent that time well in educating the most qualified experts in information technology, economy, organization, communicology, and other fields of similar direction.

„To educate our students, all the needed infrastructure is secured: equipped laboratories, videoconference halls, electronic learning system, wireless network for Faculty buildings and modern equipped library and reading room“, says FOI.

In addition, FOI has two buildings, with building two being within a five-minute walk from the center of Varaždin, and from building one directed towards Varaždin Student Dorms and the newly built Student Restaurant.

„Employers recognized the knowledge and skill of our students. From this year, ecx.io digital agency, that does business as part of IBM iX Group, collabs with FOI to give scholarships to three freshmen year students that will take the PITUPeducational program in Sisak Educational Centre“, added Srednja.hr

The city of Križevci also offers scholarships for three students from Križevci that stay in their town to study the new program.

Learn more about Varaždin on our TC page.

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ZAGREB, 22 June, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at the Antifascist Struggle Day commemoration on Tuesday that this year the government was organising the observation of that public holiday and that it would be the same in the future, noting that the turbulent time of war should be viewed in all its complexity.

"I am pleased to greet you on behalf of the government on the occasion of Antifascist Struggle Day here in Brezovica forest," said Prime Minister Plenković in his speech at the central Antifascist Stuggle Day commemoration at Brezovica Memorial Park near Sisak, adding that the holiday was established in 1991 at the initiative of then president Franjo Tuđman.

The prime minister recalled that at the beginning of summer 1914 Hitler's Germany had taken control of most of Europe and had begun its senseless and criminal policy in which about six million European Jews had been killed and that after the occupation of Yugoslavia, "the Quisling NDH regime" had been established in Croatia.

Croatia had largest resistance movement in Europe relative to its population

"In reality Croatia was divided into German and Italian occupation zones, while most of Dalmatia, Gorski Kotar and Primorje were annexed to Italy after NDH authorities ceded them to fascist Italy, and racial laws were passed against Jews, Roma and Serbs," Plenković said.

He pointed out that 80 years ago about 70 fighters, mostly Croatian, had established the first Sisak Partisan resistance movement in Brezovica forest.

"Among them was a young Janko Bobetko, who would become a Croatian Army General and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces in the 1990s," the prime minister said.

He added that the Partisan movement in Croatia had 7,000 members, including many Croatian Serbs.

Plenković underscored that Croatia had had the largest resistance movement in Europe relative to its population.

"Last year we marked the 25th anniversary of the great victory in Operation Storm and the Homeland War, and then I said that we also mourned the victims of crimes committed by Croatia, which unfortunately happened, because a legitimate right to defence is not an excuse for crimes," the prime minister said.

Totalitarian regime in Yugoslavia betrayed antifascists

He added that regardless of the merits of Croatian Partisans, that turbulent time should be viewed in all its complexity.

Plenković said he was thinking primarily of the post-war crimes of the JNA (Yugoslav People's Army) near Bleiburg, Austria and the mass executions of disarmed soldiers and civilians along marches back to Yugoslavia, which he said was traumatic for many families, and which deepened the disastrous divisions in post-war Croatia.

He also underscored that the totalitarian regime in Yugoslavia had betrayed antifascists.

Here I'm thinking of post-war purges of political dissidents, such as the persecution of the Blessed Cardinal (Alojzije) Stepinac, who in his sermons publicly opposed the persecution of Serbs and Jews, and saved many of them from death, Plenković said.

Close divisions still present in society

Plenković said that the time had come for us Croatia a society to take a more sober view of the events of that time and to better evaluate the contribution of the Croatian antifascist resistance to Nazism.

"Only in that way will we close the divisions still present in our society and build the unity necessary to face the challenges ahead of us. Today we finally have a free democratic Croatia, a member of the EU and NATO, whose foundations are in the democratically expressed will of citizens and the victory of the defenders in the Homeland War, which also implies the value of antifascism," Plenković stressed.

He said that after the pandemic and last year's earthquakes, and in the context of increasingly rapid climate change, which would be by far the greatest challenge for the world in the future, Croatia needed unity and to look to the future more than ever.

"Therefore, it is up to all of us to rise to the task that awaits us," Plenković said.

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