23. 02. 09. - 14:00

• more Around the World news...
• RSS Feed Around the World

23. 02. 09. - 14:00

Beauty Queen dies on stage

Croatian Times

A would-be beauty queen dropped dead on stage after defying doctors' warnings about her weak heart.

Olga Shkolkina, 20, collapsed after starving herself and guzzling slimming pills so she could lose weight for the contest in Saransk, central Russia.

The student fell to the floor after completing an energetic dance routine in the university Miss Economics Faculty pageant which medics fear was too much for her heart, reports Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

"She wanted to win the contest so badly she ignored the fact that she was ill," explained one fellow student.

Serb to make curious protest along Adriatic coast
A Serbian TV station owner has announced an unusual crusade against what he calls the "mediocrity" that does not allow normalization of relations on both sides of the Croatian-Serbian border.

Unions collect enough signatures for referendum, but government withdraws amendments
A sufficient number of valid signatures had been collected to call a referendum on proposed changes to Croatia’s labour laws, the Ministry of the Interior and Public Administration has announced.

Wife attacks cops to prevent hubby´s arrest
Two police officers in Trogir (Dalmatia) were attacked by a raging wife after they tried to arrest her husband.

Croatia Airlines wants no part in former-Yugoslav alliance
Croatia Airline has said it is not interested in joining any sort of former-Yugoslav fleet alliance, in a response to media inquiries after the Serbian Secretary of State’s called for the union.

Activist demand greater protection for women victims of violence
Campaigners from the Autonomous Women’s House have visited various state institutions in Zagreb in order to draw the government’s attention to the plight of women victims of violence.

Donkeys smuggle drugs from Bosnia to Croatia
Drug smugglers are using donkeys to take packets of weed from neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) into Croatia, Split police have said.

PM refutes rumours of IMF´s arrival to Croatia
Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor has refuted recent media claims that the country may need help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the near future.

Thief steals singer´s wheelchair
Croatian singer Zdravko Skender's wheelchair was pinched from a handicapped parking space on Sunday evening in Zagreb.

80 per cent tax returns completed last week
Tax officials have processed 78 per cent of income tax claims, paying 206 million Euros in returns so far.

GDP down less than predicted, analysts say
The Croatian economy can expect a smaller GDP drop of 1.8 per cent compared to earlier estimates of 2.5 per cent, say Hypo bank analysts.