Free Republic

By 2030, the European Union expects 80% of its citizens to opt for a digital passport.. For the first time, a nation is allowing travelers to cross its border with a digital passport on their smartphone instead of a physical passport. While the trial is happening in Finland, the European Union wants at least 80% of citizens in the 27-country bloc to be using a digital ID by 2030. The pilot program, which started at the end of August, is available only to Finnish citizens. It is running at Helsinki Airport as a partnership between Finnair, airport operator Finavia and...

Central European countries like Croatia, Hungary, and also recently Austria too are beginning to emerge as voices of reason in the West after their de facto New Cold War bloc’s proxy war on Russia through Ukraine over the past year failed to defeat that Great Power. They rightly realize how counterproductive this NATO-led campaign has been for their collective interests, ergo why they’re urging restraint and even an outright reversal of policy at this point in time. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic is unexpectedly giving Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban a run for his money when it comes to being the...

President Zoran Milanovic has repeatedly criticized Western policies towards Russia and the Balkans Croatia's president on Monday criticized Western nations for supplying Ukraine with heavy tanks and other weapons in its campaign against invading Russian forces, saying those arms deliveries will only prolong the war. Zoran Milanovic told reporters in the Croatian capital that it is "mad" to believe that Russia can be defeated in a conventional war. "I am against sending any lethal arms there," Milanovic said. "It prolongs the war." "What is the goal? Disintegration of Russia, change of the government? There is also talk of tearing Russia...

Croatia on Sunday switched to the euro and entered Europe's borderless zone - two steps Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic called a "historic moment" for his country that joined the European Union nearly a decade ago. At midnight, the Balkan nation bid farewell to its kuna currency and became the 20th member of the eurozone. It is also now the 27th nation in the passport-free Schengen zone, the world's largest, which enables more than 400 million people to move freely around its members. "It is the season of new beginnings. And there is no place in Europe where this is more...

There's been an epic upset at the World Cup in Qatar. Croatia beat tournament favorite and #1 world ranked Brazil 1-1 (4-2) in a gut-wrenching penalty kick shootout. Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković, who blocked three shots in an earlier shootout with Japan, blocked the first kick, by Brazilian forward Rodrygo. From there, Croatia was successful on four straight shots. When veteran defender Marquinhos stepped up for Brazil's fourth attempt, he needed to convert or the match was over. His shot hit the left post, and the Croatian team erupted in joy. Meanwhile, Brazilian fans clad in the team's iconic yellow...

Hansi Flick said German football will "head into a different direction, and very soon" after the four-time world champions suffered a second successive World Cup group stage elimination, described as an "absolute catastrophe" by forward Thomas Muller. Despite a 4-2 win against Costa Rica at Al Bayt Stadium, Japan's 2-1 victory against Spain in Doha ended Germany's hopes of qualifying from Group E. A 2-1 defeat against Japan in their opening game at Qatar 2022 ultimately proved costly for Germany, who are due to host Euro 2024 in just over 18 months. And with that tournament looming large, Flick, who...

A Croatia supporter and model has insisted she feels comfortable wearing her daring World Cup outfits without fear of arrest in Qatar, despite strict modesty rules in the conservative country. Ivana Knoll said she was initially 'super angry' after reading the dress code restrictions for the Gulf state, with both male and female visitors advised to 'dress modestly' in public I heard about the rules and I was shocked. The dress code forbids showing shoulders, knees, belly and everything and I was like 'Oh my God, I don't even have the clothes to cover all of that'. 'I was super...

Searchers have located the wrecks of five B-24 bombers that crashed into the Adriatic Sea during World War II, three of which are associated with 23 still-missing crew members. The search mission – conducted over a two-week period in August off the coast of Croatia – was a partnership between Project Recover and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. It was the culmination of a lengthy process of researching military records and obtaining needed permits from Croatia, Mark Moline, the mission leader and a cofounder of Project Recover, said in a phone interview Thursday. Along with the B-17, the B-24 Liberator...

The United Nations General Assembly's first committee, which deals with disarmament, global challenges, and threats to peace that affect the international community, voted 152-5, on Friday, on a resolution concerning "the risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East". The resolution states that Israel must dispose of all its nuclear weapons and place its nuclear sites under the International Atomic Energy Agency's purview. The resolution, which is submitted every year to the UNGA in New York, was submitted by Egypt and sponsored by the Palestinian Authority and 19 counties including Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates. Canada, Israel,...

"The Americans asked for a meeting I can't make it today and that's it. She's not in the executive branch, and in two weeks she will not hold the office she does now, anyway," said Milanovic.

Pelosi will engage in bilateral meetings with high-level Croatian and Ukrainian officials... will focus on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, including the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the ongoing, unjustified invasion that began in February 2022. Congressman Gerry Connolly, as President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, has also been invited to participate in the Summit. Discussions will be centered on the international community’s efforts to support the Ukrainian people while holding Russia accountable for its documented war crimes and attempted illegal annexations.

Archaeological sensation on Papuk. A Greek silver coin from the end of the 4th century BC was found at an archaeological site near Kaptol. The story doesn't stop there - it's only starting to come together. What wealth and power did the people who lived in this area have, and how long did it last?As RTL reports, a Greek silver coin from the 4th century BC was found after the rain along the forest road on Papuk. It was carved with a depiction of Zeus enthroned with a bird, and on the other side is a depiction of Alexander the...

The researchers were conducting a study of an ancient harbour as part of the "Istrian Undersea" project, an initiative to document and list the underwater sites off the Croatian coast.Barbariga is located on the Barbariga Peninsula, which used to be called Punta Cissana for the legendary ancient city of Cissa. During antiquity, the region was a centre for the production of olive oil, a commodity which was exported throughout the northern Adriatic.Previous studies of the Roman harbour places it in the 1st century AD, which likely functioned as an extension of an olive oil mill in the Barbariga locality for...

Vladimir Putin has approved a 31-page "humanitarian policy" which says Russia should "protect, safeguard and advance the traditions and ideals of the Russian World". The foreign policy concept of a "Russian World" is a notion that hardliners have used to justify intervening abroad to support Russian speakers, such as in parts of Ukraine. It means that the idea is now enshrined in official policy, though it was presented as a soft power strategy. The new policy stated that Moscow should further deepen its ties with the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic - two breakaway entities in...

NEW YORK (AP) — As winter nears, European nations, desperate to replace the natural gas they once bought from Russia, have embraced a short-term fix: A series of roughly 20 floating terminals that would receive liquefied natural gas from other countries and convert it into heating fuel. Yet the plan, with the first floating terminals set to deliver natural gas by year’s end, has raised alarms among scientists who fear the long-term consequences for the environment. Some scientists say they worry that the floating terminals will end up becoming a long-term supplier of Europe’s vast energy needs that could last...

Co-funded by the European Union, the Pelješac bridge, which formally launched on Tuesday, stretches between Komarna on the mainland and Brijesta on the peninsula of Pelješac, providing easier access to popular tourist spot Dubrovnik. The launch of the 2.4 kilometer (1.5 mile) cable-stayed structure is being hailed as a historic moment for the country, with hundreds of people turning out to be the first to cross on foot as the bridge opened to pedestrians and then to motorists. Up until now, both residents and tourists had to cross through Bosnia-Herzegovina when traveling to and from the region of Southern Dalmatia...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Western weaponry pouring into Ukraine helped blunt Russia’s initial offensive and seems certain to play a central role in the approaching, potentially decisive, battle for Ukraine’s contested Donbas region. Yet the Russian military is making little headway halting what has become a historic arms express. The U.S. numbers alone are mounting: more than 12,000 weapons designed to defeat armored vehicles, some 1,400 shoulder-fired Stinger missiles to shoot down aircraft and more than 50 million rounds of ammunition, among many other things. Dozens of other nations are adding to the totals. The Biden administration is preparing yet...

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, fresh off his botched handling of freedom convoy protests of his government's policies surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, may have thought a trip abroad to address the European Parliament would be a nice reprieve from criticism at home. But that's not what he got. At all. Instead, two members of the European Parliament laid into Trudeau, comparing him to a dictator and attacking his gall to speak about threats to Democracy after his own actions in Canada. "It would have been more appropriate for Mr. Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, to address this house according to...

Croatia's defense minister says a military drone that apparently flew all the way from the Ukrainian war zone over three European NATO-member states before crashing in an urban zone of the Croatian capital was armed with an explosive device. ZAGREB, Croatia -- A military drone that apparently flew all the way from the Ukrainian war zone over three European NATO-member states before crashing in an urban zone of the Croatian capital was armed with an explosive device, Croatia’s defense minister said Sunday. The Soviet-made aircraft crossed Romania and Hungary before entering Croatia, slamming into a field near a student dormitory...

A military drone that apparently flew all the way from the Ukrainian war zone over three European NATO-member states before crashing in an urban zone of the Croatian capital was armed with an explosive device, Croatia’s defense minister said Sunday. The Soviet-made aircraft crossed Romania and Hungary before entering Croatia, slamming into a field near a student dormitory late Thursday. About 40 parked cars were damaged in the large explosion, but no one was injured. “Traces of explosives and clues suggesting that this was not a reconnaissance aircraft were found. We found parts of an air bomb,” Croatian Defense Minister...