LEN Champions League: Jug Gives Olympiacos First Loss, Mladost Better than Marseille
February 6, 2020 - The eighth round of the LEN Champions League was held on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, featuring Croatian clubs Jug, Jadran, and Mladost.
The Jug Adriatic water polo team has made a big step towards the final eight after defeating Olympiacos 13:9 in the eighth round of Group A of the Champions League group stage, beating the Greek champions for the first time.
The Dubrovnik squad booked a decisive victory against the 2019 European finalist, and the key was the second quarter, which Jug won 5:1.
Olympiakos led 3:1, but Jug woke up and scored six goals in a row to lead 7:3. At half time, Vjekoslav Kobešćak's team had a five-goal advantage (9:4) and, in the continuation of the match, managed to maintain their edge.
Paulo Obradovic, Loren Fatovic and Luka Loncar each contributed to the win with three goals, while Toni Popadic was excellent in goal. The most efficient for Olympiacos was Maro Jokovic and Stefan Mitrovic with two goals each.
In the second match of this group, Jadran lost to Barceloneta 12:16 away and recorded their sixth defeat. The Split team held up well in the first three quarters and were losing 10:11 in the final eight minutes. However, Barceloneta was better 5:2 in the last quarter.
Alvaro Granados was the most efficient for Barceloneta with five goals and Alexandre Bodegas scored four goals, while Rino Buric, Ivan Domagoj Zovic, and Nathan Power were the best for Jadran with two goals each.
Barceloneta and Olympiacos are tied for the top spot in Group A with 19 points, while Jug is in second place with 18 points.
The third Croatian representative in the Champions League, Mladost Zagreb, defeated Marseille 14:11 as a guest in the 8th round of Group B of the Champions League.
Mladost is fourth in the rankings with 16 points, the same number of points as OSC in third, while Marseille is in sixth with nine points. At the top is Pro Recco with 20 points and Ferencvaros with 17 points.
You can see the full LEN Champions League table here.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
Sibenik to Honor Arsen Dedic with House of Art in His Name
February 6, 2020 - With the former Odeon Cinema remodeling complete, which has been transformed into a new public space intended for hosting music and stage events, cinema screenings, theatrical performances, exhibitions and conferences, a new stage is raised - the Arsen House of Art in Sibenik.
Namely, HRTurizam reports that the City has been implementing the reconstruction project of the former Odeon Cinema in phases since 2013, and so far more than HRK 9 million has been invested, of which about 40% has come from the Ministry of Culture grant. Since last year, the Public Institution Sibenik Fortress of Culture has been involved in the completion of the renovation project with the City, while the Institution has been entrusted with the future management of the renovated hall.
It is Sibenik Fortress of Culture that has proposed a name that honors one of the greatest artists of recent Croatian history: academic musician, individual and intellectual, composer, songwriter, painter, translator, silent craftsman and poet, Sibenik musician and artistic genius - Arsen Dedic.
City of Sibenik
"The Arsen House of Art will pay tribute and return love to the Sibenik native who, in his lifetime, was, and still is, the greatest ambassador of the city and his spirit. Through his work through poetry, music, painting, film and theater he embodied the culture and it is difficult to find a more suitable place in Sibenik that would bear his name and operate under the patronage of Arsen and his artistic personality,” said Gorana Barisic Bacelic, director of the Fortress of Culture.
The proposal was accepted by acclamation not only by the owner of the hall - the City, which together with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia financed its reconstruction, but also by all city cultural institutions, the City Council of Culture, as well as representatives of the two oldest Sibenik cultural institutions - the singing society "Kolo” and Sibenik folk music. The city government believes that the citizens, as well as the general public, will welcome this, which will keep Arsen permanently recorded in the collective memory of the town, at the same time marking a new era of its culture.
City of Sibenik
“The mission of the Arsen House of Art is to raise the quality of life of our fellow citizens to an even higher level and enrich the cultural life in Sibenik. We expect that the space will come to life even more strongly under Arsen's name, becoming another favorite place for cultural content for all generations of locals. The Arsen House of Art is certainly opening up new opportunities for cooperation and development of local cultural stakeholders, and I am sure that this hall will have some significance not only in the local but also in the national context,” said the Mayor of the City of Sibenik, Zeljko Buric.
The Dedic family is also thrilled to hear of the news: “I am delighted and moved. I am expecting and welcoming the answer to everything that Arsen has given to our city and why we, the people of Sibenik, give back the love and affection that Arsen gave us with his whole life, for which I thank you all immensely," said Gabi Novak, the late singer's wife.
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INmusic Festival Adds Belle and Sebastian, Rival Sons to 15th Edition Lineup
February 6, 2020 - In addition to The Killers, Beck, Deftones, The Lumineers, and Rival Sons, the beloved Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian are coming to INmusic Festival #15, which will also be their first-ever concert in Croatia.
Jutarnji List writes that Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David founded Belle and Sebastian in 1994 in Glasgow, where they released their debut album, "Tigermilk," in 1996 at the faculty record label Electric Honey in 1996, with a print run of just 1000 copies.
In the same year, "If You're Feeling Sinister" was released for Jeepster Records, which also released their debut album in 1999 as well as the next three studio releases - "The Boy With An Arab Strap", "Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant” and “Storytelling". Four studio albums followed - "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" (2003), "The Life Pursuit" (2006), "Belle and Sebastian Write About Love" (2010), "Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance" (2015). ) - and the rarest 2019 release, that is, the original music for "Days of the Bagnold Summer," starring Earl Cave, Nick Cave's son.
Belle and Sebastian, who chose the band's name after a television adaptation of the French novella about the boy and his dog, are one of the most important indie-pop bands and genre pioneers who have been passionately supported by the audience from the very beginning - even to the point that in 2005, they were officially chosen by the audience for the best Scottish band in fierce competition. The premiere of Belle and Sebastian in Croatia will take place as part of the jubilee fifteenth edition of the INmusic Festival.
Belle and Sebastian join the impressive lineup with The Killers, Beck, Deftones, The Lumineers and Rival Sons.
At the end of last month, INmusic announced American hard rock band Rival Sons as part of the lineup. Rival Sons consist of Jay Buchanan, Scott Holiday, Michael Miley and Dave Beste. They formed in 2009 in Long Beach, California, and in addition to hard rock, they also play blues. Rival Sons have released six studio albums and one EP so far, and their 2019 album Feral Roots was nominated for two Grammy Awards (Best Rock Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance).
The INmusic Festival #15 will take place at the already well known Jarun lake in Zagreb from June 22 to 24, 2020.
Three-day tickets for the 15th INmusic Festival are on sale and can be purchased through the official INmusic webshop for a price of HRK 499 (+ transaction costs) and at Dirty Old Shop (Tratinska 18, Zagreb) for a price of HRK 499. Camp tickets for INmusic #15 are available exclusively through the festival's webshop for a price of HRK 250 (+ transaction costs) until stocks run out.
To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Abortion Is Legal in Croatia But Neither Accessible nor Free
ZAGREB, February 5, 2020 - Social Democrat parliamentarian Sabina Glasovac, who on Wednesday outlined the SDP-sponsored bill on medically assisted pregnancy termination procedures, said that in Croatia abortion was legal but it was neither accessible nor free.
Insisting that the proposal made by this strongest opposition party did not promote abortion, Glasovac said that abortion was often the last solution for women, and therefore the state should do everything to provide necessary health protection for women opting for abortion.
She criticised the government for not doing anything about this topic, although a two-year deadline to upgrade the abortion legislation had expired.
On 2 March 2017 the Constitutional Court delivered a ruling obliging the Croatian Parliament to pass a new abortion bill within two years, noting that it was not possible to ban pregnancy termination.
The SDP demands that all public hospitals should provide abortion procedures free of charge.
Glasovac noted that currently costs for an abortion ranged between 1,800 and 3,500 kuna.
She said that some public hospitals did not provide the procedure at all, due to the freedom of conscience clause whereby medical staff do not give certain medical services for reasons of religion or conscience.
The SDP-sponsored bill envisages penalties for medical institutions that refuse to perform abortion.
The SDP has proposed that the period in which women can have an abortion be increased from 10 to 12 weeks from conception and that minors aged from 16 to 18 be allowed to have an abortion without their parents' permission.
The SDP also proposes that the cost of an abortion, sterilisation and contraception should be fully covered by the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO).
More abortion right news can be found in the Politics section.
Croatian.film - New Free Online Platform for Watching Films
ZAGREB, February 5, 2020 - Croatian.film, a new online platform where users can watch free of charge Croatian short films which more often than not go unnoticed after they appear at film festivals despite their quality, was presented on Wednesday in Zagreb.
The project developer is the Arts Organisation Zagreb Film Festival, which has published 118 films, as well as an array of accompanying texts, at www.croatian.film. The list is expected to expand significantly and to cover all film forms in the future.
The Executive Director of Zagreb Film Festival Hrvoje Laurenta said that the platform was established in order to return short films to the public space, particularly because Croatia had a highly-regarded short film production - the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC) had co-financed almost 450 short films since its establishment.
Laurenta finds the fact that one could watch the films "anytime and anywhere" extremely important, just like the fact that the films were adapted to any device (mobile phones, tablets, computers, and TVs), and that domestic production's visibility would cross Croatian borders due to the fact that films had English subtitles and the accompanying texts had been translated to English.
"Although we have been working on the project for more than a year, we are only just beginning today. In the short term, we want to publish an even larger number of films and secure the platform's sustainability, and in due time we want it to become a referential and relevant basis of the whole of Croatian short, mid-length, and full-length film production. We hope that we could make it happen by the end of summer," stated Laurenta.
Except for films, the platform contains data bases on films themselves, film professionals and productions, and news, columns, interviews with "filmmakers of the week", a list of film festivals, and it also provides for the possibility to sign in and comment on the content.
The croatian.film online platform is co-funded by the Ministry of Culture.
More film news can be found in the Lifestyle section.
Ludbreg's International Young Wine Exhibition Held
The town of Ludbreg hosted yet another edition of the International Young Wine Exhibition Vincekovo 2020 last Friday, and the international jury chose the best young wines of the year.
It was the 28th edition of the festival, and for the first time, the jury was international, consisting of wine experts (oenologists and sommeliers from Croatia, Hungary, and Slovenia), including Croatian Siniša Lasan, several-time Croatian Sommelier champion, and Decanter judge.
Varaždinske vijesti write about the exhibition: Zlatni trsek, the highest form of recognition of excellence (translated as "the gold vine") this exhibition gives to their wines, was awarded to 94 wines. The silver vine (Srebrni trsek) was awarded to 285 wines, and the bronze vine (Brončani trsek) to 106 wines. The champions of the Vincekovo 2020 exhibition are Sauvignon by the Kopjar family from Novi Marof in the white wines, and Tomislav Nadić's Syrah from Nadin (near Zadar!).
The ceremonial opening of the exhibition, which included the presentation of the awards for the best wines, was held on Friday night. Varaždin County Prefect Radimir Čačić said at the opening that the wines of Varaždin county and the Ludbreg region had started to showcase their excellence on the international stage of late and that it's something that needs to be continued.
The county is supportive of the winemakers and of the exhibition itself, and the winemakers need to take full advantage of that, either through education or through going to the most significant international exhibitions. He pointed out the pumpkin seed oil from Varaždin County as an example of how to brand the highest-quality product, which managed to create a fully recognisable brand within two years. The same can be achieved with wines, the Prefect said, but you need to improve and learn, as learning from the best is the only way to show progress.
Ludbreg mayor Dubravko Bilić said that the exhibition, while 28 years old, is still young enough (as young as the young wine!) to adjust and change: "The imperative is to be excellent, and to have the wines from the Ludbreg vineyards among the most recognizable in Croatia!"
Croatia Has Inherited Proposal to Raise Minimum Flight Delay, Minister Says
ZAGREB, February 5, 2020 - Croatia has only inherited the proposal to raise the minimum flight delay for which passengers can receive financial compensation, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butković said on Wednesday.
"This proposal was not put forward by the Croatian EU presidency, a Croatian ministry or the Croatian government. This point is again being raised by the European Commission during our presidency and is yet to be discussed," Butković told the press before an inner cabinet meeting.
"Croatia's position on the matter is logical and normal. We will not be asking for air companies to get richer at the expense of end users, that is citizens," the minister added.
Under EU rules, travellers are entitled to up to €600 compensation if a flight is delayed by at least three hours or cancelled less than 14 days before departure. They can also receive compensation if they are denied boarding.
Some national authorities and courts have criticised the rules, saying member states struggle to process the large number of claims they receive, and airlines' compensation payments have grown because the number of delays and cancellations has risen.
Talks among EU governments on revising passengers' rights, which have been in place since 2005, are due to start in the coming weeks. Any agreement will be considered by the European Commission and Parliament.
The European Commission proposed in 2013 that the minimum flight delay be increased from three to five hours, but negotiations stalled after that.
An informal document circulated among member states has proposed keeping the level of compensation the same as now for passengers, but suggested increasing the minimum flight delay for which airlines must make payments.
In 2018, 17.6 million passengers were affected by flight cancellations and 16.5 million by long delays.
More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.
Croatian Cup: Rijeka Knocks Out Dinamo in Quarter-final
February 5, 2020 - Rijeka and Dinamo met in the quarter-final of the Croatian Cup at 5 pm at Rujevica stadium in Rijeka. The match was supposed to be played on December 3, but was postponed due to Dinamo's commitments in the Champions League.
In the remaining quarter-final game of the Croatian Cup, Rijeka welcomed Dinamo at its home stadium Rujevica at 5 pm. Recall, Rijeka celebrated in the final last year for the 2019 Croatian Cup title, which was one of the few major defeats of coach Nenad Bjelica on the Dinamo bench.
Rijeka was the first to score on Wednesday thanks to a header by Čolak in the 15th minute for 1:0 and the early lead.
Dinamo had a great opportunity to equalize in the 20th minute after a poorly deflected ball found Petkovic on the far post.
The strong bura wind helped neither team for the remainder of the first half, which ended 1:0 for Rijeka.
Both teams kept the same lineup going into the second half.
Rijeka had another stellar opportunity in the 70th minute after a counterattack that started in their defense ended in Štefulj shooting far post, nearly missing the goal.
Dinamo coach Bjelica made two substitutions three minutes later, though, with five minutes to go, Dinamo was still unable to equalize.
The referee added five minutes of injury time to the clock, which could not help the Croatian champion.
As the final whistle blew, it was Rijeka to claim the 1:0 victory.
Today's winner will play in the semi-final against Osijek, while the other semi-final will feature Slaven Belupo and Lokomotiva.
Interestingly, this season, Dinamo had defeated Rijeka three times - 1:0 in Supercup, 5:0 at Rujevica and 3:0 at Maksimir in the Croatian Championship.
The Croatian Football Cup is organized by the Croatian Football Federation.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
Milanović Transfers His Business' Management to Accounting Company
ZAGREB, February 5. 2020 - President-elect Zoran Milanovic has transferred his EuroAlba Advisory consulting company to the Biro Kvaka accounting service owned by Ankica Bajić-Lukačević, Zagreb Commercial Court has informed.
Milanovic has suspended his position as the director of EuroAlba Advisory as of February 3 ahead of his presidential inauguration, transferring the management rights to the Kvaka accounting service, however, he is still registered as the sole owner of the consulting company.
EuroAlba Advisory was entered in the companies register in 2016 as a limited liability company with management consultancy as its sole line of business. Milanović is registered as the sole founder and employee. The company's subscribed capital was 20,000 kuna.
The financial statement of January 24 shows that in 2019 the company's revenue totalled 258,596 kuna and expenditure amounted to 121,538 kuna. Pre-tax profit was 137,058 kuna and profit tax was 17,674 kuna. Thus, net profit came to 119,384 kuna.
By comparison, in 2018 the company generated a higher profit, of 552,952 kuna; revenue was 745,292 kuna, expenditure 115,407 kuna and profit tax was 76,933 kuna.
More news about Zoran Milanović can be found in the Politics section.
Zagreb Patients Being Transported Regularly Despite Strike
ZAGREB, February 5, 2020 - A certain number of ambulance drivers in Zagreb went on strike on Wednesday, but patients are being transported regularly, the head of the city's Department of Emergency Medical Services, Žarko Rašić, said.
The department asked a court to ban the strike considering that the Healthcare Act does not provide for the possibility of emergency medical services staff organising a strike, Rašić told Hina.
"At the moment, everything is operating normally. All patients have been transported for dialysis treatment and there are no long waits. We have about 15 ZET city transport drivers on call if need be and about 30 staff from other institutions - drivers and nurses who are prepared to step in," Rašić said and added that 31 ambulance crews were on the ground.
No one from the union of ambulance drivers was available this morning for a comment. The union announced on Monday that ambulance crews in Zagreb would go on strike to demand a pay rise so that their monthly wages are equated with those of drivers of emergency medical service vehicles, which would require an additional two million kuna (270 million euro) annually.
The union is demanding that the government adopt a regulation to define job titles and job complexity indices so that ambulance drivers be reinstated with their original index which was reduced when the ambulance service was divested from the emergency medical service in 2011.
Talks were held at the Health Ministry on Tuesday with the leader of the ambulance drivers' union Mišel Majetić, and Minister Vili Beroš offered a compromise regarding job complexity indices.
Beroš said on Wednesday morning that the Department of Emergency Medical Services had asked a court to say whether the strike was lawful and that until the court delivered its ruling it was his duty to see to it that emergency services were operating normally.
More healthcare news can be found in the Lifestyle section.
