Croatia Airlines join Star Alliance

FRANKFURT (AFX) - Global airline group the Star Alliance said Slovenian
national airline Adria Airways and Croatian national airline Croatia Airlines
have joined the alliance.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG will play a supporting role in helping the two
airlines to integrate into the alliance, Star Alliance said.
Other Star Alliance members are Air Canada, Air New Zealand, All Nippon
Airways, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines Group, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines,
Mexicana Airlines, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, Thai
Airways, International, UAL Corp's United Airlines and Varig Brazilian Airlines.
mb/jsa

http://freeserve.advfn.com/cmn/news/afxfreea.php?article=8695970

Governor Honors Thrower Nedzad Mulabegovic

Mulabegovic presented with Sagamore of the Wabash Award

Nedzad Mulabegovic received the Sagamore of the Wabash award Tuesday. He begins training for next season on Monday.

An Olympic-Sized Experience
Sept. 9, 2004

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - 2004 Olympian Nedzad Mulabegovic was presented with the Sagamore of the Wabash Award Tuesday in ceremonies hosted by Indiana Governor Joe Kernan.

"The Governor's office sent me a notice after I competed at the Olympics, saying they wanted to honor me," said Nedzad. "I was one of over 30 athletes to receive this award, and it's an accolade I'm very honored to receive."

According to the Indiana State Information Center web site, the award is highest honor, which the Governor of Indiana bestows. Among these who have received Sagamores have been astronauts, presidents, ambassadors, artists, musicians, politicians, and ordinary citizens who have contributed greatly to Hoosier heritage.

"This is quite an honor for Nedzad," said Purdue assistant coach John Zera. "He is more than deserving of this award, which is Indiana's highest civilian honor. The state's recognition of his accomplishments not only benefits him, but the entire university."

Mulabegovic recently returned to Purdue after competing in the shot put at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The Boilermakers' record holder in both the indoor and outdoor shot put placed 29th with a launch of 19.07 meters (62 feet, 6 3/4 inches).

A native of Zagreb, Croatia, Mulabegovic automatically qualified for the Olympic Games last summer, winning the Croatian National Championship with a then-career best launch of 20.15 (66-1 1/2). Mulabegovic's current lifetime best mark stands at 20.31 (66-7 3/4), which he registered at a Croatia-based meet prior to the Olympics.

Nedzad's indoor record stands at 19.64 (64-5 1/4), which was registered last January against Indiana State.

http://purduesports.collegesports.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/090904aaa.html


2004: (Outdoor) Finished runner-up in the shot put at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with a season-best launch of 64-4.75 ... placed fourth in the discus at the conference championships with another season-best throw of 178-9 ... earned victories in the shot put at the Purdue Invitational, Indy Relays and against Indiana ... recorded a second-place showing in the discus against the Hoosiers with a launch of 173-1.

2004: (Indoor) All-American ... placed fourth at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., with a throw of 63-10 1/2 in the shot put ... placed first in the shot put in three of six chances ... finshed as the runner-up in the shot put at the Ohio State Triangular and Big Ten Championships, both times placing behind Ohio State's Dan Taylor ... recorded a varsity record and NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 64-5 1/4 in the shot put against Indiana State ... won shot put titles at the New York Armory Collegiate Invitational and Purdue Invitational.

2003: (Outdoor) Received first All-America citation after placing fourth in the shot put at the NCAA Championships ... shot put throw landed at the 64-8 mark, then a school record ... improved on his school record by nearly two feet at the Croatian National Championships in August ... his winning throw at the national championship meet was measured at 66-1 1/2 ... competed in the shot put at the World University Games in Daegu, South Korea ... his third-place throw traveled 65-7 ... missed most of season due to injury ... returned to action at the Penn Relays and placed third in the shot put, recording a launch of 61-9 1/2 ... broke his own school record in the shot put three times during the season ... broke record a first time with a toss of 63-11 1/2 against Indiana ... improved on this mark by a centimeter for second-place honors at the Big Ten Championships ... again improved on his school record by a centimeter at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, where he placed third with a toss of 64- 1/4 ... recorded a personal record of 176-4 in his lone discus attempt against Indiana ... qualified for regionals in the discus ... (Indoor) Just missed becoming All-American after placing 10th in the shot put (61-5 1/2) at the NCAA Championships ... finished runner up in the shot put at the Big Ten Championships launching a season-best effort of 62-10 1/2 ... won shot put titles at the Indiana State dual meet and at the N.Y. Armory Invitational ... earned second place honors in the shot at the Indiana/Ohio State triangular.

2002: (Outdoor) Threw the shot put at the NCAA Championships, finishing 11th with a throw of 61-11 3/4 … runner-up in the shot put and third in the discus at the Big Ten Championships with throws of 60-8 1/2 and 169-3 respectively … won five straight shot put competitions leading up to the Big Ten meet … top shot put mark of the season was an automatic qualifying and school record toss of 63-3 1/4 at the Hurricane Invitational … won the shot put title at the Boilermaker Open, Indiana Quad and Clemson and Purdue invitationals … best discus throw of the season (171-10) came in winning performance at Purdue Invitational … (Indoor) Broke school record in the indoor shot put by nearly two feet with an automatic qualifying mark of 64-1 to win the event at the Armory Invitational … was runner-up in the shot at the Ohio State Invitational… finished ninth in the event at the NCAA Championships … earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors on Feb. 12 after breaking the school record at the Armory Invitational … named Freshman of the Year.

High School: Won the national high school championships in the shot put during sophomore, junior and senior years … threw 66-2 1/2 in the 5 Kg. shot as a senior, earning Athlete of the Year honors … finished first at the national high school meet with tosses of 63-11 and 61-6 1/4 in sophomore and junior seasons respectively … was runner-up in the shot at the high school championships with a heave of 57-5 as a freshman.

Personal: Given name Nedzad Mulabegovic … born Feb. 4, 1980 … parents are Fazila and Sulejman Mulabegovic … has one sister, Amra … majoring in communication.

 

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to

CUKELA, LOUIS

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, 66th Company, 5th Regiment. Place and date: Near Villers-Cotterets, France, 18 July 1918. Entered service at: Minneapolis, Minn. Born: 1 May 1888, Sebenes, Austria.(Sibenik ?, Croatia) G.O. No.: 34, W.D., 1919.
Citation:

ARMY
When his company, advancing through a wood, met with strong resistance from an enemy strong point, Sgt. Cukela crawled out from the flank and made his way toward the German lines in the face of heavy fire, disregarding the warnings of his comrades. He succeeded in getting behind the enemy position and rushed a machinegun emplacement, killing or driving off the crew with his bayonet. With German handgrenades he then bombed out the remaining portion of the strong point, capturing 4 men and 2 damaged machineguns.


NAVY
For extraordinary heroism while serving with the 66th Company, 5th Regiment, during aciton in Forest de Retz, near Viller-Cottertes, France, 18 July 1918. Sgt. Cukela advanced alone against an enemy strong point that was holding up his line. Disregarding the warnings of his comrades, he crawled out from the flank in the face of heavy fire and worked his way to the rear of the enemy position. Rushing a machine-gun emplacement, he killed or drove off the crew with his bayonet, bombed out the remaining part of the strong point with German hand grenades, and captured two machineguns and four men.


Received BOTH the Army and Navy Medal of Honor for the same action

http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1918_wwi/cukela_louis.html

Dobri vojak Lujo

U Spomen-knjizi americkih nacionalnih junaka na istaknutom je mjestu upisano i ime jednog Hrvata: Spliæanin Vjekoslav (Louis) Lujo Cukela u Prvom se svjetskom ratu borio pod americkom zastavom i bio odlikovan cak dvjema medaljama casti


Koliko je veliko i ugledno to priznanje najbolje govori podatak da je u americkoj povijesti dosad bilo dodijeljeno svega 19 dvostrukih dobitnika toga najvišeg odlicja u SAD-u. Premda je Cukela u Sjedinjenim Americkim Državama slavljen kao nacionalni junak, on je u vlastitoj domovini ostao gotovo nepoznat.

Roðen je 1888. u Splitu. Otac Ðuro je iz sela Koljane kraj Vrlike, a majka Ivanica (roðena Bubriæ) iz Kaštel Lukšiæa. Osim najstarijeg sina Luje imali su još tri kæeri: Maricu, Zorku i Ružu. Neko su vrijeme živjeli u Šibeniku, gdje je Ðuro Cukela imao malu trgovinu delikatesnom robom.

Mladi Lujo služio je cetverogodišnji vojni rok u austrijskoj vojsci. Nakon toga, 1911. otišao je u SAD, gdje je ubrzo po dolasku stupio u americku vojsku u kojoj je ostao do kraja života. Pocetak Prvog svjetskog rata zatekao ga je kao americkog narednika na Filipinima. Kad je i Amerika zaratila prebacio se na europsko ratište i prijavio u pomorsku pješadiju 1917. Istakao se posebno na ratištu u Francuskoj pa su ispisane cijele legende o njegovoj hrabrosti.

Cukela je 1919. i 1920. bio na Haitiju gdje je zaslužio Medalju Haitija, a potom je od 1921. do 1923. u Dominikanskoj Republici, odakle takoðer donosi jednu medalju. Izmeðu 1927. i 1929. Cukela je kao americki marinac u Kini, odakle donosi dvije medalje. Bogatu je zbirku nastavio popunjavati i za Drugog svjetskog rata. U tom je razdoblju zaslužio još tri americke medalje.

Cukela je u dva navrata 1925. i 1931. posjetio svoj zavicaj. Živio je u Bethesdi u Marylandu, državi Washington D.C.

Vjekoslav (Louis) Lujo Cukela umro je 19. ožujka 1956. godine. Pokopan je na groblju za americke nacionalne heroje, na Nacionalnom groblju Arlington u Washingtonu.
 

Tom delights Croatians

From correspondents in Dubrovnik, Croatia

07sep04
SOME visitors to the ancient Croatian city of Dubrovnik this week brought back an unexpected souvenir: a photo with Tom Cruise, who came for a brief visit after promoting a new movie at the Venice Film Festival.

Cruise told reporters he was "fascinated" with Dubrovnik, a picturesque southern coastal city, whose ancient walls, fortresses and churches have attracted tourists for decades.

"I'll certainly be back," he was quoted by saying by Tuesday daily newspapers.

He toured the city and the nearby wooded island of Mljet, almost unnoticed.

When reporters spotted him, sitting by the monument of Dubrovnik's famous poet, Ivan Gundulic, he briefly spoke to them, signed autographs and posed for a few photos He agreed to be photographed with a couple of tourists, then slipped away.

Several Croatian newspapers published a photo of Cruise with two female tourists, reportedly from the United States.

Cruise, who was accompanied by his mother, came two days after promoting his new movie, Collateral, at the film festival in neighbouring Italy. He left Croatia earlier today.

http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,10701172%255E10431,00.html

Tourist Tom thrills with Croatian surprise

08/09/2004 - 10:52:13

Tom Cruise thrilled fans in Dubrovnik, Croatia, over the Labor Day weekend by spending time site-seeing in the ancient city.

The movie star took some rare time off after cancelling plans to premiere his new movie Collateral in Moscow, Russia, out of sensitivity to last week's hostage crisis in Beslan, which left hundreds dead.

And he used his downtime to visit one of his favourite cities.

When he was spotted by a local journalist and asked about his reasons for being in Dubrovnik, Cruise said he found the city "fascinating" and insisted: "I'll certainly be back."

Cruise was accompanied by his mother and took the opportunity to visit Croatia two days after promoting Collateral at the Venice film festival.

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=116883948&p=yy6884654

Knicks sign Croatian Bruno Sundov

September 8, 2004

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The New York Knicks signed free agent center Bruno Sundov on Wednesday, adding much-needed depth to their frontcourt.

Sundov appeared in five games last season - four with the Cleveland Cavaliers and one with the Knicks. The native of Croatia, who was signed to a 10-day contract by New York on January 21, 2004, averaged 2.2 points and 2.0 rebounds in 6.6 minutes.

A six-year veteran, Sundov has appeared in 81 career games, averaging 1.8 points and 1.2 rebounds for the Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, Cavaliers and Knicks.

"Bruno will add size and depth to our frontcourt," Knicks president of basketball operations Isiah Thomas said. "I have monitored his progress throughout his career. We have seen his improvement and feel we are getting him at the right stage of his development."

http://www.allsports.com/cgi-bin/showstory.cgi?story_id=51043

Macedonia and Croatia agree to cooperate on EU accession

06 September 2004

Croatia and Macedonia signed a cooperation accord Monday to help each other join the European Union as Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader visited Macedonia for meetings with top officials.

The signing ceremony followed talks between Sanader and Macedonian Prime Minister Hari Kostov.

"The region needs peace and development after a crisis of many years," Sanader said after the meeting, referring to the wars which tore the former Yugoslav federation apart in the 1990s.

He said the "project of a united Europe cannot be realised without the countries of southeastern Europe".

The EU recently granted Croatia official candidate status while Macedonia lodged its formal request to join the bloc earlier this year.

http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/040906135745.i7am5s6a

Balkans pact chief says Croatia important for Balkan stability

08 September 2004

Croatia's efforts to join the European Union are important for Balkan stability, a senior EU official, Erhard Busek, said Wednesday.

Busek is coordinator of the Stability Pact for southeastern Europe, launched in 1999 to promote democratisation, economic reconstruction and security throughout the Balkans where a series of wars erupted in the 1990s.

"We are prepared to assist Croatia in every way possible to reach this aim (EU membership) because it is of a great importance for the whole Stability Pact and the situation in the region," Busek said after meeting Croatian Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul.

Croatia was recently granted official EU candidate status and is to start accession talks early next year. It hopes to join the bloc in 2007, along with Bulgaria and Romania.

Busek is also expected to meet Prime Minister Ivo Sanader.

http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/040908120950.eriihzu4

Isolated Croatian island gets teacher for its only pupil
Eugene Brcic (AP)
Zagreb, September 8

Only one day into school and Armando Smiricic Runka is already the teacher's pet.
Little wonder, as he is the only pupil in his class on Premuda - a mid-Adriatic island of just 52 mostly aging residents. But that has not deterred the government from ensuring that a teacher from the mainland, more than 32 nautical miles away, arrives daily to teach 7-year-old Armando the ABC's of life. School started across Croatia on Tuesday.

"Armando is great," 28-year-old Iva Maras told HRTL television Wednesday. "He's open and very communicative."

"I've never had such an experience, nor did I ever imagine being in such a situation, but this is what I am trained to do and I'm sure I'll find my way," said Maras, who had never been to Premuda before she took the teaching assignment.

Unlike countless others, who moved from Croatia's remote islands to the cities, Armando's mother was bent on staying on Premuda, a cedar-dotted haven on 9.2 square kilometers (3.55 square miles). Her family had lived there for generations and her husband, Joachim, is a fisherman, reliant on the rich catch in local waters. "Nobody believed it was possible, but I began sending letters to various addresses a year ago, from local officials to the Minister for Education," Jagoda said on HRTL.

"Everybody tried to dissuade me, but I didn't give up and I was determined to barge my head through a wall for this." The government, which has been eager to stem the flow of people from hundreds of islands along its shores through various other projects, came to the call.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_994649,00050003.htm

One teacher, one pupil

Armando Smircic-Runka, 7, the only pupil in his class on a mid-Adriatic island of Premuda sits outside the school. (Jure Miskovic, AP)
Zagreb, Croatia - Only one day into school and Armando Smiricic Runka is already the teacher's pet.

Little wonder, as he is the only pupil in his class on Premuda - a mid-Adriatic island of just 52 mostly ageing residents. But that has not deterred the government from ensuring that a teacher from the mainland, more than 32 nautical miles away, arrives daily to teach seven-year-old Armando the ABC's of life.

School started across Croatia on Tuesday.

"Armando is great," 28-year-old Iva Maras told HRTL television on Wednesday. "He's open and very communicative."

"I've never had such an experience, nor did I ever imagine being in such a situation, but this is what I am trained to do and I'm sure I'll find my way," said Maras, who had never been to Premuda before she took the teaching assignment. Unlike countless others, who moved from Croatia's remote islands to the cities, Armando's mother was bent on staying on Premuda, a cedar-dotted haven on 9.2 square kilometres. Her family had lived there for generations and her husband, Joachim, is a fisherman, reliant on the rich catch in local waters.

"Nobody believed it was possible, but I began sending letters to various addresses a year ago, from local officials to the minister for education," Jagoda said on HRTL. "Everybody tried to dissuade me, but I didn't give up and I was determined to barge my head through a wall for this."

The government, which has been eager to stem the flow of people from hundreds of islands along its shores through various other projects, came to the call. Officials pledged 100 000 kuna (US$16 390 ) to renovate the island's elementary school, which has been closed for the past 14 years.

"I did all I could to help, but I must admit I didn't think it would all turn out the way we hoped," Branko Matulina, the headmaster of schools in the archipelago, told HRTL. "I'm really surprised and glad it worked out now and that Armando and his family don't have to leave their homes."

Matulina was not immediately reachable by phone, while the Smiricic Runka's number was not listed.

http://www.news24.com/News24/Backpage/Offbeat/0,,2-1343-1347_1585836,00.html