Unemployment down first time since August

The registered unemployment rate fell slightly in March to 19.3 per cent from the previous month's 19.6, the daily Vecernji List writes.The news is better than expected as most macroeconomists predicted a smaller drop of only 0.1 per cent, the portal Business writes.The number of registered unemployed fell by some 6,200 to a total of 330,130 persons.The first decrease in unemployment since August of last year is attributed in large parts to the beginning of the tourist season, the portal writes.

Source: Croatian Times Online News

Traffic fines drop in 2010

The traffic police have pocketed 299 million kunas (40 million Euros) from fines in 2010, a significant decrease over the previous two years.The record is held by 2008 when law-breaking drivers paid 326 million kunas (44.3 million Euros) towards the state budget.Zagreb residents were the biggest contributors to the fine pot last year, an expected fact considering they form the majority of Croatia's drivers.

Source: Croatian Times Online News

Croat woman becomes a maths professor at home

A woman in Croatia produced a false diploma on her own computer and got employed as a mathematics professor.The 28-year-old woman was interviewed by the police after it was realised she was working as a mathematics professor in the area of the southern town of Zadar since September last year.Police have reported that the woman forged her diploma from the mathematics faculty in Rijeka, Croatia.

Source: Croatian Times Online News

Croatian politician builds house second time at illegal location

A Croatian general and politician has built a new home at the same location as his former house that was demolished due to illegal construction on park land.The new house is apparently the same size with a slightly different roof, the daily Jutarnji List writes.Medvednica Park's borders have not been changed since Ljubo Cesic Rojs had to tear down his old house in 2004. The Ministry of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction has issued a new removal order.Rojs seemed unaware that his new house is again under threat. He claims that he had required permits even in 2004 but

Traffickers try to smuggle 100 kilos of cocaine in Sacher cakes

More than 100 kilograms of cocaine destined for Zagreb and hidden in world-renowned Sachertorte cakes never made it to Croatia's capital after the operation fell apart in Slovenia.The shipment valued at eight million Euros arrived from South America to Germany and was to be trafficked to Zagreb, the portal Dalje writes. Three Croatian citizens were arrested when the undertaking fell through due to paranoia of one of the traffickers.The cocaine-laden cakes were loaded into cars but never made it to their destination.

Source: Croatian Times Online News

Woman tries to rob post with plastic gun

An allegedly homeless woman has tried to rob a post office in Karlovac with a plastic gun, the daily 24 Sata reports.The woman came into the office with a wool hat covering her face entirely. She used a gun which many passer-bys saw it was fake.A post office worker contained her just moments after she entered the building. Many who saw the incident described her as an impoverished woman often seen on the nearby benches or around the trash cans.The police have arrested the would-be robber, the daily writes.

Source: Croatian Times Online News

Americans advised to avoid Zagreb´s central square tomorrow due to expected protests

The American authorities have warned their citizens to avoid the capital's central square tomorrow (Sat) where protests are expected following a guilty verdict for two Croatian generals tried in The Hague.The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has sentenced Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac to 24 and 18 years in prison, respectively, for crimes against humanity during Operation Storm, a military action that reclaimed parts of the Serb-occupied Croatia in 1995. The third general on trial Ivan Cermak was aquitted.Even though many Croatians were hopeful the generals would be released following the verdict, those less optimistic

Croatian judge issues no verdicts in five years

A judge in Croatia has not written a single verdict in five years.Nela Sostera, the judge of the Municipal Court in the southern town of Trogir was running different cases, some of them were brought close to the end, but she still did not decide on a verdict in the five year period, the news website Index has reported.The website states, the judge went crying when an inspector called on her, but her eventual explanation why she did not hand out a single verdict in five years, was not given.

Source: Croatian Times Online News

Charges raised against ex-JNA major general for war crimes

Osijek State Attorney's Office has raised charges against former Yugoslav army (JNA) major general Aleksandar Vasiljevic, 73, and his subordinate colonel Miroslav Zivkovic, 62, for war crimes committed in Serb-held concentration camps during Croatia's war of independence from former Yugoslavia (1991-1995).Vasiljevic is accused of sending his subordinates to question and torture civilians and captured soldiers in Serb-held concentration camps in Begejci, Stajicevo and Sremska Mitrovica in northern Serbia, Nis in southern Serbia and Stara Gradiska in Croatia.The prosecution claims that Vasiljevic was aware of the torture that had led to the deaths of many of the camps' inmates. He is

Thief kidnaps mouflon from wild animal shelter

An unknown thief has stolen a wild mouflon from a shelter in the area around the Adriatic city of Senj, renowned by hunters as being this prized animals' habitat.Hunters from all over Croatia come to Senj during the mouflon hunting season, but so do apparently thieves looking to get their hands on the tasty meat without having to do much work.Last Thursday, a thief stole a mouflon from a fenced in shelter for wild animals near the village of Guslice that belonged to a hunting society called Jarebica from Senj.The police is looking for the mouflon kidnapper, the portal Index

Thief kidnaps mouflon from wild animal shelter

An unknown thief has stolen a wild mouflon from a shelter in the area around the Adriatic city of Senj, renowned by hunters as being this prized animals' habitat.Hunters from all over Croatia come to Senj during the mouflon hunting season, but so do apparently thieves looking to get their hands on the tasty meat without having to do much work.Last Thursday, a thief stole a mouflon from a fenced in shelter for wild animals near the village of Guslice that belonged to a hunting society called Jarebica from Senj.The police is looking for the mouflon kidnapper, the portal Index

Thief kidnaps mouflon from wild animal shelter

An unknown thief has stolen a wild mouflon from a shelter in the area around the Adriatic city of Senj, renowned by hunters as being this prized animals' habitat.Hunters from all over Croatia come to Senj during the mouflon hunting season, but so do apparently thieves looking to get their hands on the tasty meat without having to do much work.Last Thursday, a thief stole a mouflon from a fenced in shelter for wild animals near the village of Guslice that belonged to a hunting society called Jarebica from Senj.The police is looking for the mouflon kidnapper, the portal Index

Thief kidnaps mouflon from wild animal shelter

An unknown thief has stolen a wild mouflon from a shelter in the area around the Adriatic city of Senj, renowned by hunters as being this prized animals' habitat.Hunters from all over Croatia come to Senj during the mouflon hunting season, but so do apparently thieves looking to get their hands on the tasty meat without having to do much work.Last Thursday, a thief stole a mouflon from a fenced in shelter for wild animals near the village of Guslice that belonged to a hunting society called Jarebica from Senj.The police is looking for the mouflon kidnapper, the portal Index

Croatian state to subsidize mortgage rates

The Croatian state has decided to subsidize a part of the mortgage loan interest rates for first time buyers in order to perk up the slumping real estate market.The state will subsidize 66 per cent of the interest rate for the first four years for credits that do not exceed 100,000 Euros (in kunas).The loan rates would not exceed five per cent and with the state's subsidies this would mean that clients could be paying as little as 1.7 per cent of interest at the start. The state plans to approach banks with a public tender and choose the institution

Textile worker Zagreb´s 'woman of the year'

The leader of the workers at the Kamensko textile factory that staged a hunger strike over months of unpaid salaries last October, has been honoured as Zagreb's "woman of the year."The Zagreb City Assembly awarded the recognition and 50,000 kunas (6,742 Euros) to Djurdjica Krnjak for her role in leading a group of women "who became the synonym of the fight for women's equality" in the labour market. The employees from the textile factory went on a 14-day hunger strike during the night while continuing to work during the day.The members of the committee giving the award recognized that this

Croat reports seeing a fireball

A man in Croatia felt as if he was in the middle of a science fiction movie when he saw what he has described as a fire ball falling from the sky and landing in the woods close to northern town of Bjelovar.Darko Hresic alarmed the fire brigade and the fire got soon stopped."I noticed flames in the sky. The ball was falling to the ground. It was within a walking distance of two to three kilometres from me. Thoughts about science fiction movies kept going through my mind and I could not believe what I was seeing", Darko Hresic

Pranksters try to dodge traffic fine by reporting vehicle stolen

A pair of pranksters from Otocac has tried to get out of paying a traffic fine by reporting their vehicle stolen while they were still driving it. The 19 and 20-year-olds reported the theft of their car after police tried to stop them for committing a traffic offense. The two then left the parked vehicle. The police suspect the duo of fraud and will press charges against them for spreading false and disturbing rumours, the daily Jutarnji List writes.

Source: Croatian Times Online News

Croatia to host three NATO excercises in 2011

Croatia will host three international NATO military and Partnership for Peace programme exercises, the Croatian government has decided in a closed meeting.Croatian soldiers will also participate in five exercises abroad, the daily newspaper Vjesnik writes.In the same meeting, the government has also decided to send 314 Croatian soldiers on a seven-month International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission to Afghanistan.

Source: Croatian Times Online News

HRT refuses to comment on 'controversial' MP´s critique of censure

Croatian Radio Television (HRT) has tried to distract attention from member of the EU parliament Roger Helmer's critique of the public broadcaster's alleged censuring activities by pointing out that the British politician is no stranger to controversy.HRT's spokesperson Dorotea Lazanin Jelenc said that the broadcaster does not wish to enter polemical conversations based on falsehood and half-information."This letter from Mr. Helmer is a textbook example of the pressure on public media. In order to better inform the Croatian public, HRT would like to point out that Mr. Helmer's political career has been marked by controversial public statements. For example, less

Radio station to help Croatia´s 'baby boom'

Radio Soundset has decided to up Croatia's disappointing birth rate with a promotion called "Soundset Baby Boom" that includes a romantic dinner, a party and a year-long supply of diapers should one of the selected couples have a baby within nine months after Valentine's Day.The radio will select 50 couples from all over Croatia that will receive royal treatment for this special day. The couples will dine by candlelight in restaurant Piccolo Mondo in Zagreb, party with a DJ and spend what the night in hotel Dubrovnik.The couples can register as of February 7 and more information can be found