Croatia on Tuesday celebrated the opening of a long-awaited bridge that links its southern Adriatic coast, including Dubrovnik, with the rest of the country, bypassing a narrow strip of Bosnian territory.
The 2.4-kilometre span stretches from the Croatian mainland to the Peljesac peninsula that connects with the southern part of Croatia's coastline nestled between the sea and the Dinaric Alps.
Festivities lasted from the early morning into the evening, with boat races, fireworks and pedestrians gathering along the bridge to take pictures as musical performances added to the air of celebration.
“This bridge represents the unification of Croatia, joining of the south and the north,” said Ivan Vranjes, 45, a native of Split, who was visiting from abroad.
As the sun set, a formal ceremony inaugurating the bridge took centre stage, which included a speech by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and a video address by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Mr Plenkovic said the opening of the bridge marked a “historic day for Croatia” and lauded the new infrastructure as a “project of a generation, a project of pride”.
The link will bring an end to the untold hours spent by commuters, merchants and tourists at the Bosnian border and is one of the country's most ambitious infrastructure projects since Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.
A bloody dissolution of the federation, however, left a patchwork of divisions across the Balkans, with the frontiers between its six former republics transformed into international borders.
Bosnia maintained its coastal access in the end, but its small outlet leading to the Adriatic Sea cut right through Croatia.
As a result, about 90,000 people, including residents in the country's tourism hot spot of Dubrovnik, were cut off from the rest of the country until now.
The hard border brought lines and red tape for traders, and headaches for tourists hoping to get south by road.
Inhabitants of the picturesque region of red wines, pebble beaches and oyster farms are looking forward to the end of their geographic isolation caused by the Bosnian border.
The lengthy waits at the border and fears about missing the day's last ferry will now become a thing of the past, they say.
“It was really exhausting and made people living here bitter,” said Sabina Mikulic, owner of a hotel, glamping site and winery in Orebic, the peninsula's largest town
The opening of the bridge has been a long time coming and not without controversy.
Croatia took its first stab at building the bridge in 2007, only for the project to stall five years later owing to budgetary constraints.
In 2017, the European Union, which Croatia joined in 2013, allocated €357 million ($365 million), about 85 per cent of the cost.
A Chinese company was selected in 2018 to build the bridge, marking the first significant Chinese involvement in an infrastructure project in Croatia.
On Tuesday, China's premier said the completion of the bridge marked a new era of cooperation between Beijing, Zagreb and Brussels.
“The bridge also reflects co-operation between China and the EU,” Mr Li said in his video address.
But not all were happy with the construction of the bridge, with officials in Bosnia claiming it would hamper its maritime access by preventing high-tonnage vessels from entering its only port.
Zagreb eventually agreed to increase the height of the bridge to 55 metres in an attempt to quell the dispute.
The opening of the bridge comes with Croatia angling for a tourism rebound this year as it hopes to attract pre-pandemic levels of visitors.
The country of 3.8 million people attracts millions of tourists every year hoping to soak up the sun along its stunning coast, dotted with more than 1,000 islands and islets.
As well as tourism, the bridge will be a boon for businesses and traders.
For decades, oyster farmer Mario Radibratovic was subjected to hours of extra travel to bring his perishable shellfish north to market because of waiting times at the border.
But with the opening of the bridge, the journey time north will shrink dramatically.
For the 57-year-old, the opening of the bridge will bring “immeasurable relief”.
“We are finally becoming part of Croatia,” Mr Radibratovic, who farms oysters and mussels in the village of Mali Ston, told AFP.
“Until now we felt like second-class citizens.”
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Abu Dhabi GP Saturday schedule
12.30pm GP3 race (18 laps)
2pm Formula One final practice
5pm Formula One qualifying
6.40pm Formula 2 race (31 laps)
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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