Croatia News - CroatiaPress.com

Zagreb, February 22 (CP) – According to Croatian Ambassador to Belgrade Tonci Stanicic, the Croatian Embassy has been awarded police protection following Thursday’s attempts at demolishing the building by protestors taking part in an anti-Kosovo independence rally.

Stanicic said that last night’s damage to the embassy building was the result of bad assessment by the Serbian Interior Ministry, something the Croatian side has sent a protest note about to the Serbian Foreign Ministry.

The damage to the building has not been fully assessed yet, but the embassy was open on Friday, its opening hours cut short.

In Thursday night’s riots, the Croatian Embassy has had some of its windows smashed and its metal fence destroyed, due to inadequate police protection.

Zagreb, February 22 (CP) – European Commission veterinary experts have arrived in Croatia in a bid to assist the fight against classical swine fever cases or which have been recorded in northern Croatia’s Medjimurje region.

A total of more than 50 pigs are to be slaughtered as part of the efforts to stop the disease from spreading.

Zagreb, February 22 (CP) – Croatian tennis player Ivo Karlovic has advanced to the semi-finals of the €824,000 ATP ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.

Karlovic beat the German Mischa Zverev 6-3, 6-1 in just 54 minutes.

Karlovic is awaiting the winner of the Michael Llodra - Robin Haase match and is currently the highest-ranking player of those left in the game.

A win would propel him among the top 20 players in the world.

Zagreb, February 22 (CP) – Troubled former Croatian tennis star Goran Ivanisevic has reported to the police following his return from Monte Carlo. He has been charged with bodily assault on a tabloid photographer whose camera he smashed.

Ivanisevic now faces a fine of 1,400 kuna ($270) or 30 days in jail.

The camera he smashed with a golf bat is worth some 50,000 kuna and if the photographer files a private suit, which he has not done so far, Ivanisevic will have to foot the bill.

Ivanisevic lost his cool last week when he was stalked by paparazzi photographers as he was being thrown out of the flat he shared with his partner model Tanja Dragovic and two children, following revelations of adultery.
 

Zagreb, February 22 (CP) — At the ATP tennis tournament underway in Rotterdam, Croatia’s Ivo Karlović advanced to the quarter-finals on Thursday after defeating Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6:4, 6:4.

Karlović will face Mischa Zverev of Germany today.

Zagreb, February 22 (CP) – A total of 187 paedophiles were located in the largest anti-paedophile operation in Croatia to date.

The preparations for the operation began in September 2007 when the police was informed by an Internet provider of paedophiles from Croatia downloading content from a hacked Internet site containing illegal children’s porn.

Following the IP addresses’ trail, the police tracked down 187 people from 19 Croatian counties.

So far 133 searches have been conducted and a number of computers confiscated.

Zagreb, February 21 (CP) – The Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic has in a telephone conversation with Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic protested against the attack on the Croatian embassy building in Belgrade on Thursday evening.

Jeremic expressed regret over the attack and said all would be done for something like this not to be repeated in the future.

Jandrokovic has demanded swift action by the relevant Serbian bodies and detailed information on the measures undertaken.

There are reports of Serb police not reacting swiftly enough in the attack on the Croatian embassy.

The attacks on the Croatian and US embassies happened during a rally in Belgrade against the independence of Kosovo on Thursday evening.

Zagreb, February 21 (CP) – A Croatian woman from the Koprivnica area gave birth to a baby boy in the toilet of a train, as she was travelling home from a visit to her obstetrician.

The 31-year-old mother of five was returning from a check-up from the town of Koprivnica to her village of Reka accompanied by her five children on the train, when she felt the urge to go to the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom she went into labour and screamed for help.

She was immediately assisted by the train conductor who also called an ambulance.

The birth was completed at the Koprivnica hospital where a healthy baby boy weighing in at 3.6 kilograms was born.

Zagreb, February 21 (CP) – A group of people from Vukovar have set alight the Serbian flag in the heart of Zagreb, the Ban Jelacic Square.

The protest happened just after 9 p.m. allegedly in retaliation for the torching of the Croatian flag during the unrest that took place at the Kosovo independence protest rally in Belgrade tonight.

Soon after the Serbian flag was torched, some 10 police cars arrived at the scene and arrested 44 protestors for causing public unrest.

A thorough investigation is under way and more will be revealed at a police press conference planned for Friday.

The Trogir police confiscated an Albanian and a US flag from a Croatian national of Albanian descent, who placed the two flags on his windowsill and explained he had committed a misdemeanour.

Celebrating Kosovo’s independence declaration, the man had placed side by side on his windowsill the flags of Croatia, Albania and the US.

The man filed charges against the act saying Feb. 17 was a historic day for all Albanians.