Latest news with #Zagreb
The Independent
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Croatia holds military parade as it marks 30 years since a key war victory
Thousands watched a military parade in Croatia's capital on Thursday marking 30 years since a key war victory as the country looks to further boost its forces with a possible loan from a new European Union defense fund. A flyover in Zagreb by French-made Rafale jets was a highlight of the show that included 3,400 army personnel along with police units, emergency service teams and war veterans. Navy battle ships sailed simultaneously by the Adriatic Sea port of Split. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that 'we have passed a big process of transition from eastern to western technology in order to be compatible with the capabilities of those armies who are our partners and allies.' Croatia joined the EU in 2013, four years after becoming a member of NATO. Back in August 1995, Croatia recaptured lands that had been held by minority Serbs since their rebellion in 1991 against the country's independence from the former Communist-run Yugoslavia. The Operation Storm offensive presented a turning point in the war and also triggered a mass exodus of ethnic Serbs from Croatia. Tensions persist in relations with Balkan rival Serbia, which backed the ethnic Serb rebellion in the 1990s'. Serbia plans to hold a commemoration ceremony for the Serb victims of the offensive, and Belgrade has cautioned Serbian citizens against traveling to Croatia in early August. A military parade in Belgrade is planned for September. Political analyst Zarko Puhovski said he believed the military parade was designed both to garner popular support for further defense spending amid security concerns in Europe fueled by Russia 's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and as a message of strength in the region. 'It's just putting on a show, to put military equipment on display," Puhovski told The Associated Press. "This will be presented as Croatia's effort to join the overall trend of increased militarization in Europe.' Croatia is among eighteen EU countries that have applied for billions of euros from the bloc's program of cheap loans aimed at helping Europe provide for its own security. Plenkovic has said that Croatia could seek 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) from the fund. The 150-billion-euro ($173 billion) Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program was launched after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump signalled that Europe is no longer a U.S. security priority. Some U.S. allies in Europe worry that President Vladimir Putin could target one of them if Russia wins its war on Ukraine.
Associated Press
6 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Croatia holds military parade as it marks 30 years since a key war victory
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Thousands watched a military parade in Croatia's capital on Thursday marking 30 years since a key war victory as the country looks to further boost its forces with a possible loan from a new European Union defense fund. A flyover in Zagreb by French-made Rafale jets was a highlight of the show that included 3,400 army personnel along with police units, emergency service teams and war veterans. Navy battle ships sailed simultaneously by the Adriatic Sea port of Split. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that 'we have passed a big process of transition from eastern to western technology in order to be compatible with the capabilities of those armies who are our partners and allies.' Croatia joined the EU in 2013, four years after becoming a member of NATO. Back in August 1995, Croatia recaptured lands that had been held by minority Serbs since their rebellion in 1991 against the country's independence from the former Communist-run Yugoslavia. The Operation Storm offensive presented a turning point in the war and also triggered a mass exodus of ethnic Serbs from Croatia. Tensions persist in relations with Balkan rival Serbia, which backed the ethnic Serb rebellion in the 1990s'. Serbia plans to hold a commemoration ceremony for the Serb victims of the offensive, and Belgrade has cautioned Serbian citizens against traveling to Croatia in early August. A military parade in Belgrade is planned for September. Political analyst Zarko Puhovski said he believed the military parade was designed both to garner popular support for further defense spending amid security concerns in Europe fueled by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and as a message of strength in the region. 'It's just putting on a show, to put military equipment on display,' Puhovski told The Associated Press. 'This will be presented as Croatia's effort to join the overall trend of increased militarization in Europe.' Croatia is among eighteen EU countries that have applied for billions of euros from the bloc's program of cheap loans aimed at helping Europe provide for its own security. Plenkovic has said that Croatia could seek 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) from the fund. The 150-billion-euro ($173 billion) Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program was launched after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump signalled that Europe is no longer a U.S. security priority. Some U.S. allies in Europe worry that President Vladimir Putin could target one of them if Russia wins its war on Ukraine.
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Croatia holds military parade as it marks 30 years since a key war victory
ZAGREB, Croatia — Thousands watched a military parade in Croatia's capital on Thursday marking 30 years since a key war victory as the country looks to further boost its forces with a possible loan from a new European Union defense fund . A flyover in Zagreb by French-made Rafale jets was a highlight of the show that included 3,400 army personnel along with police units, emergency service teams and war veterans. Navy battle ships sailed simultaneously by the Adriatic Sea port of Split.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Why do I hate umbrellas? How long have you got?
Umbrellas, I don't like them. Don't get on with them, never have. When my aunt in Zagreb was absorbed in some crime drama on the television, she would say it was 'as tense as an umbrella'. The English translation doesn't work, but if I may turn it around, I would like to explain why umbrellas make me tense. There are so many reasons. If I need an umbrella, I rarely have one. If I do have one, I then leave it somewhere. If it's windy, that humiliating inside-out thing might happen. All in all, it is very much not worth the bother. My hairdo isn't changed by rain anyway. Yet so many people don't seem to leave home without an umbrella, and they are only one raindrop away from calling on it. I marvel at this level of organisation, even envy it, but there should be a law against putting up a brolly if significant rain isn't coming down. Late for a hospital appointment last week, I was hurrying along a city street when I felt the merest sprinkle of rain tickle my cheek. In an instant, the umbrella ultras sprang into action. It was as if this was the moment for which they had been waiting, yearning. Their internal rainometers, being set to ultrasensitive, were triggered. And with astonishing speed and economy of movement, umbrellas were retrieved and unfurled. Their reaction times were something to behold. They were like sprinters hearing the B in bang, or Clint Eastwood in one of those spaghetti westerns – so quick on the draw that the journey of the brolly from handbag to hand to unfurling is barely observable to the naked eye. 'Unfurl' isn't quite the right word, implying as it does a more leisurely movement. This is more like a snapping open, as violent as the snapping shut of a Venus flytrap. One moment there are no umbrellas, then there are dozens. I would say a third of pedestrians on this particular street, on the approach to Guy's hospital in London, were now brollied up. This changed everything. I gave in to despair. I was already late, and this was going to hold me up still further. We were now split into two groups: the brolly-holders and the brolly-dodgers. The former move faster than the latter. Shielded from rain and harm by their lethal weapons they can hold a straight line, armed with this contraption featuring at least eight metal ribs, the tips of which can cause untold harm to those they prod. The potential for ripping, tearing and the poking out of eyes is very real. I'm 6ft 1in tall and, I now realise, particularly vulnerable to eye injury. I've just measured my neighbour, Dawn, who comes in at 5ft 4in – roughly the average height of a British woman. I gave her a standard eight-rib weapon to hold and, sure enough, the tips are precisely at my eye-height. Out there, on the pavement, in brolly-battle conditions, you have a choice: pull in behind a brolly-holder and work their slipstream, proceeding at a pace dictated by them. Or, if you are brave, foolish or late enough, the brolly-dodging must commence. There are two key manoeuvres, both tricky. Overtaking a slow-mover ought to be easier than dealing with oncoming traffic, but often they don't know you are there, so could catch you inadvertently. Those striding towards you will see you coming but they will generally hold their line anyway, as they are armed and you're not. On occasion you will be swaying to avoid a sudden deviation from someone you are overtaking, and momentarily lose sight of an oncomer hard upon you. At this point you need to be able to duck and weave like Muhammad Ali in his prime. To develop your technique I would also recommend watching YouTube videos of legendary rugby centres such as Brian O'Driscoll, Sonny Bill Williams or Ma'a Nonu dancing their way through defensive lines. Yes, it is this kind of fleetness of foot you need to develop if you wish to move at speed in even a light drizzle on a busy British pavement. Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist
The Guardian
a day ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Why do I hate umbrellas? How long have you got?
Umbrellas, I don't like them. Don't get on with them, never have. When my aunt in Zagreb was absorbed in some crime drama on the television, she would say it was 'as tense as an umbrella'. The English translation doesn't work, but if I may turn it around, I would like to explain why umbrellas make me tense. There are so many reasons. If I need an umbrella, I rarely have one. If I do have one, I then leave it somewhere. If it's windy, that humiliating inside-out thing might happen. All in all, it is very much not worth the bother. My hairdo isn't changed by rain anyway. Yet so many people don't seem to leave home without an umbrella, and they are only one raindrop away from calling on it. I marvel at this level of organisation, even envy it, but there should be a law against putting up a brolly if significant rain isn't coming down. Late for a hospital appointment last week, I was hurrying along a city street when I felt the merest sprinkle of rain tickle my cheek. In an instant, the umbrella ultras sprang into action. It was as if this was the moment for which they had been waiting, yearning. Their internal rainometers, being set to ultrasensitive, were triggered. And with astonishing speed and economy of movement, umbrellas were retrieved and unfurled. Their reaction times were something to behold. They were like sprinters hearing the B in bang, or Clint Eastwood in one of those spaghetti westerns – so quick on the draw that the journey of the brolly from handbag to hand to unfurling is barely observable to the naked eye. 'Unfurl' isn't quite the right word, implying as it does a more leisurely movement. This is more like a snapping open, as violent as the snapping shut of a Venus flytrap. One moment there are no umbrellas, then there are dozens. I would say a third of pedestrians on this particular street, on the approach to Guy's hospital in London, were now brollied up. This changed everything. I gave in to despair. I was already late, and this was going to hold me up still further. We were now split into two groups: the brolly-holders and the brolly-dodgers. The former move faster than the latter. Shielded from rain and harm by their lethal weapons they can hold a straight line, armed with this contraption featuring at least eight metal ribs, the tips of which can cause untold harm to those they prod. The potential for ripping, tearing and the poking out of eyes is very real. I'm 6ft 1in tall and, I now realise, particularly vulnerable to eye injury. I've just measured my neighbour, Dawn, who comes in at 5ft 4in – roughly the average height of a British woman. I gave her a standard eight-rib weapon to hold and, sure enough, the tips are precisely at my eye-height. Out there, on the pavement, in brolly-battle conditions, you have a choice: pull in behind a brolly-holder and work their slipstream, proceeding at a pace dictated by them. Or, if you are brave, foolish or late enough, the brolly-dodging must commence. There are two key manoeuvres, both tricky. Overtaking a slow-mover ought to be easier than dealing with oncoming traffic, but often they don't know you are there, so could catch you inadvertently. Those striding towards you will see you coming but they will generally hold their line anyway, as they are armed and you're not. On occasion you will be swaying to avoid a sudden deviation from someone you are overtaking, and momentarily lose sight of an oncomer hard upon you. At this point you need to be able to duck and weave like Muhammad Ali in his prime. To develop your technique I would also recommend watching YouTube videos of legendary rugby centres such as Brian O'Driscoll, Sonny Bill Williams or Ma'a Nonu dancing their way through defensive lines. Yes, it is this kind of fleetness of foot you need to develop if you wish to move at speed in even a light drizzle on a busy British pavement. Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist
