croatian times
02. 11. 10. - 16:00
Government to form organizational committee for Pope´s visit
The government will form a committee that will organize the Pope’s visit to Croatia scheduled for next year, Prime Minister Kosor said.Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival to Croatia is a historical event of great importance, she said."This is big and an important news for all of Croatian citizens, and for Croatia’s faithful."President Ivo Josipovic said that Pope’s visit will also send a message to the European community."The visit of the Holy Father will be an additional encouragement to all of us to persevere in the reforms," Josipovic said adding that the visit will also be a "message to Europe that Croatia is a European country and that – with its culture, tradition and economy – will contribute to EU’s progress."
Buried bones found near mass grave at Ovcara
02. 11. 10. - 15:30
Croatian Times
Human bones that were discovered some 500 meters from the mass grave at Ovcara (Vukovar) are not from the Homeland war fought between 1991-1995, analysis has confirmed.Several bones discovered during an irrigation dig are believed to be a couple of decades old, the daily Jutarnji List writes.It is believed that the site contains the remains of more than one person and the excavation will continue once the exact age of the bones has been determined.
Pessimism about country´s state up 50 per cent in three years
02. 11. 10. - 15:00
Croatian Times
The vast majority of Croatians see their country's current situation as "very bad," bringing the number of pessimists up by 49.7 per cent in just the last three years.
Some 11.8 per cent of Croats thought the same three years ago at the beginning of the current government's mandate. Today, 61.5 per cent share this belief, research carried out by the Meidana Fides agency shows. The survey was conducted between October 26 and 30 of this year on a representative sample of 743 people.
When those considering the current situation as "predominantly bad" are added to these numbers, the total of the county’s dissatisfied sky rockets to 90.9 per cent.
The number of optimists who believe the situation is "predominantly good" has dwindled to a meagre 8.5 per cent from 48.5 per cent three years ago, the daily Jutarnji List writes.
The most popular of the current government’s ministers is the Interior Minister Tomislav Karamarko, who, while far from receiving great praise, is credited for tackling the country’s corruption problems. He received a modest 2.8 points on the scale of one to five.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Finance Minister Ivan Suker, considered the worst minister largely due to the fact that he has continued taking on new debt, the daily Jutarnji List writes.
Almost a third of those surveyed (29.4 per cent) considers neither of the two primary politicians – the Croatian Democratic Union’s (HDZ) Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) head Zoran Milanovic – as capable of leading the country in its current condition.
Milanovic still remains ahead of Kosor, however, with a 4.8 per cent lead.
When asked to name a politician that would be capable of governing the country, 16.6 per cent of those surveyed mentioned Milanovic, 13.3 said Kosor, 12.6 favoured the country’s president Ivo Josipovic, while 10.5 per cent put their faith into the Croatian National Bank’s (HNB) governor Zeljko Rohatinski.
croatian times
Unions demand meeting with PM over labour laws referendum
03. 11. 10. - 16:00
Croatian Times
Croatian trade unions want to meet with the Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor to look for a solution for a labour law referendum that has been demanded by over 717,000 of Croatia’s citizens, but which the Constitutional Court has judged no longer necessary.
In a letter to the PM the unions said they had asked Ivo Josipovic to mediate the current situation after the Croatian political and judiciary institutions "obstructed the right of Croatian citizens to hold the referendum."
They urge the authorities to find a way to respect the will of more than 717,000 people who had demanded the plebiscite, the portal Business writes.
Croatia’s Constitutional Court had declared the referendum unnecessary after the Croatian government withdrew the proposed amendments to the labour laws that had angered the unions which had collected 717,149 signatures in favour of holding the vote.
PM Kosor awarded Glamour Magazine´s 'Women of the Year' recognition
03. 11. 10. - 16:15
Croatian Times
The Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor is one of the 18 world leaders honoured this year by the Glamour Magazine’s "Women of the Year" Award.
"Female Heads of State: The Chosen Ones" is the title that brings together this year’s winners, the list of which includes German PM Angela Merkel, president of Argentina Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, president of Lyberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite, Slovakian PM Iveta Radicova, president of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla, PM of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, PM of Iceland Johanna Sigurqardottir, President of Kirgistan Roza Otunbajeva, Presidents and PM of Finland Tarja Halonen and Mari Johanna Kiviniemi, Australian PM Julia Gillard, president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bojana Kristo and others.
The award has existed since 1990, and these women have been chosen for the latest honour as "they have remained focused on the issues of women’s empowerment" said Condoleezza Rice, former US Secretary of State and recipient of the 2008 title.
"Thanks to them, girls now have powerful models at the very top. With these women leaders inspiring the next generation, perhaps the concerns of today — for example the under-education of girls, maternal mortality, rape as a weapon of war — will, by the fortieth Glamour Women of the Year Awards, have been resolved" the American politician added.
The magazine calls them "quite literally, the most powerful women on the world," changing the course of history.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "Women have a fresh outlook on our most difficult problems, whether it’s climate change or peace in the Middle East."
In the article, the magazine quotes Croatia’s PM commenting on the continued existence of sexism despite the progress that has been made so far.
"The media continued to ask ‘feminine’ instead of ‘political’ questions," said Kosor. "When I became prime minister, the question that I had to answer most often was ‘Are you afraid?'" she said.
She can hardly have been too frightened, the magazine writes, as Kosor " fearlessly battled government corruption, domestic violence and even gender stereotyping in school."
The awards will be presented in New York next week, the internet portal Business writes.
croatian times
