Croatia News - CroatiaPress.com

Zagreb, April 19 (CP) – Veljko Miljevic, the lawyer representing Ivo Pukanic has confirmed that a substance which has as yet not been tested has been found in the family safe at the home of the journalist Ivo Pukanic’s home and that the substance might be cocaine.

Miljevic said that the search of the flat was conducted following an initiative by Pukanic, himself who was informed by the housekeeper that she had found a suspicious packet in the home.

Although the police conducted a detailed search earlier, they were unable to detect anything first time around.

Miljevic said that substance was found among personal items not belonging to Pukanic and said that forensic analysis will soon match the substance to the owner.

Dinko Cvitan, the anti-corruption agency (USKOK) director confirmed a search was conducted in the Pukanic home and the substance found taken for analyses the results of which will be known in a couple of days.

The media have been churning out articles galore during the past week about the alleged cocaine-enhanced lifestyle of the Pukanic family and speculating on the drugs being kept in the family home safe.

The wife of Ivo Pukanic, Mirjana had filed for divorce a few days ago after she was illegally forced into a mental asylum, a move that even the Health Minister Darko Milinovic admitted was not in line with the law.

Zagreb, April 19 (CP) – The electoral convention of the Croatian Peasants’ Party (HSS) is in progress in Zagreb with current leader Josip Friscic being the only presidential candidate, ridding the elections of any excitement.

This reflects the recent events in the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) which both put forth only one candidate (the current leader) for the presidential post.

Also attending the HSS convention were Croatian Democratic Party (HDZ) leader Ivo Sanader and deputy presidents Jadranka Kosor and Damir Polancec, coalition partner Djurdja Adlesic from the HSLS and SDP member and Zagreb mayor Milan Bandic.

Friscic said in his speech that the party managed to reach one of its goals i.e. to become a member of the ruling coalition.

No surprises are expected in the vote for the presidential position, while six HSS members are running for deputy president position.
 

Zagreb, April 19 (CP) – Croatia is being shook by lottery fever as the players are looking at a potential win of 10.5 million kuna.

The Croats are expected to flock to the Hrvatska lutrija, the local lottery outposts on Saturday and one of the luckiest places to buy tickets is allegedly a Velika Gorica branch some 20 kilometres from the capital Zagreb.

Two winning tickets were bought there about a year ago, one the largest jackpot in the Croatian lottery history of 12.5 million kuna and another of 3.3 million kuna, so players in the know make sure than buy their tickets there if at all possible.

Zagreb, April 18 (CP) – The multi-talented Croatian soccer team coach Slaven Bilic has taped a new Croatian football team anthem at the EURO 2008 with his Rowbau band, the song titled Fiery Madness (Vatreno ludilo)

He is the sole author of the lyrics and music and plays the guitar, but he decided to leave the vocals to the guys from his band.

The song is to soon hit the Croatian radio waves and the band is hoping that it will surpass the success of the Heart of Fire (Srce vatreno) tune by Nered, which was a hit during the 2006 Germany World Soccer Championships.

Zagreb, April 18 (CP) – The ruling in the case of the former employees of Rijecka Banka bank accused of embezzling $96.2 million has been announced with the Bank’s chief foreign currency trader Eduard Nodilo being sentenced to 6.5 years in prison and the other five accused including the Bank’s director acquitted.

Nodilo will also have to replace all the missing money and will not be allowed to working with foreign currency for five years.

Nodilo had been charged with making high-risk transactions and counterfeiting documents and the other five of assisting in closing bad deals and misuse of authority.

The scandal broke in 2002 when Nodilo ended up in custody, followed by four others and all were released after six or nine months.

The trial began in 2004 and had been dragging on due to expert findings being annulled on several occasions.

Zagreb, April 18 (CP) – Unofficial reports claim the Dubrovnik police tried to ignore and avoid informing the media of a recent attack on American students.

After receiving queries from journalists interested in the case, the police denied there had been an incident and the American students from the Emerson college from Boston, who were the victims of the alleged attack were unavailable for comment.

Allegedly the students were attacked by two separate groups of Dubrovnik natives, both attacks happening the same night at two different venues.

The students were not robbed, but they were attacked for no apparent reason and had not received serious injuries.

One of the attacked students, Brock Pisciotta said he had been attacked by a group of locals as he was exiting the Fresh bar in Dubrovnik. He claimed some eight youths were beating him up and he remembered receiving a blow with the foot to the head, but was luckily not seriously injured. Another group of students was attacked at the Fuego nightclub, but by a different group of attackers.

The news of the attack had been published in several US media and the web page of the college and it is still not clear why the Dubrovnik police tried to sweep the unpleasant event under the carpet and the authorities had not at least sent an apology to the victims of the incident.

Although the Emerson College is organising trips for its students each year, it does not seem likely they’ll pick Dubrovnik as their destination next year.

Zagreb, April 18 (CP) – A branch of Zagrabacka Banka bank was robbed on Friday morning with armed gunmen attacking security guards moving the money from the branch.

The gunmen robbed the guards who later shot at them, but did not stop them in fleeing the scene in a car where an accomplice was waiting for them.

The car was later found torched in a different part of Zagreb.

Police patrols immediately dispersed all over the city in a bid to find the robbers.

Zagreb, April 17 (CP) – The police are investigating allegations made by Mirjana Pukanic the wife of journalist and co-owner of the Nacional weekly Ivo Pukanic against him.

The wife has accused Pukanic of rape, long-term molestation and drug abuse.

The charges were filed a few days ago when Mirjana Pukanic was released from a mental hospital she was forcibly and illegally place into.

She is being cared for the Croatian Helsinki Committee (HHO) and the B.a.B.e. NGO.

The state institutions should now establish what was really behind the forcible hospitalisation of Mirjana Pukanic.

Zagreb, April 17 (CP) – The Crobex Zagreb Stock Exchange index has continued its rise for the third day running by the afternoon it rose by 3 percent on Thursday.

Due to the increase in prices the trading of shares of some 30 firms was temporarily halted, apart from the Croatian Telecom (HT) shares the trade of which was put on hold due to a sharp drop on prices of nearly 10 percent.

The Crobex share index hovered between minus one and three percent and ended the day on Thursday at 3.519,68 points.

Zagreb, April 17 (CP) – Three members of the US military are to give their account of events in operation Storm as part of the Ante Gotovna defence at the ICTY operation Storm trial of Croatian generals Ante Gotovina, Mladen Markac and Ivan Cermak.

This is the first time the US Defence Ministry has given the green light for its own people to take part on the side of the defence at the ICTY in The Hague.

The three were performing duties as military and diplomatic representatives of the US in Croatia during the Homeland war.