Thousands in Zagreb for Croatian nationalist singer's 'record breaking' concert
ZAGREB - Tens of thousands of people flocked to Zagreb of Saturday to attend a show by controversial Croatian nationalist rock singer Marko Perkovic Thompson, which was being billed as the world's largest-ever paid concert.
Police said more than 450,000 tickets had been sold for the concert at the Zagreb Hippodrome. Most of the streets in the Zagreb city centre were closed for traffic and some 6,523 policemen had been deployed.
Thompson, who has had concerts banned in several European countries including the Netherlands, Switzerland and Bosnia, is accused by critics of flirting with the ideology and iconography of Croatia's Nazi-backed World War Two Ustashe government.
The singer, who takes his nickname from the U.S. Thompson submachine gun and rose to popularity in the 1990s during and after the war that followed break-up of Yugoslavia, rejects accusations that his songs glorify the Nazi-backed state.
Historians say the Ustashe systematically persecuted and murdered Jews, Serbs and Roma between 1941 and 1945.
Thompson has previously said that his songs simply represent a love of God, family, homeland and people.
His fans, many young and carrying or wearing Croatian flags, agreed.
"I expect it to be good, great fun, lots of people and an unforgettable experience," said concert-goer Josip Gelenger. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, July 9, 2025
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Steep copper tariffs to come as Trump broadens trade war US President Donald Trump broadened his global trade war on July 8 as he announced a 50 per cent tariff on imported copper and said long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals were coming soon. One day after he pressured 14 trading partners, including powerhouse US suppliers like South Korea and Japan, with sharply higher tariffs, Mr Trump reiterated his threat of 10 per cent tariffs on products from Brazil, India and other members of the Brics group of countries. He also said trade talks have been going well with the European Union and China, though added he is only days away from sending a tariff letter to the EU. Mr Trump's remarks, made during a White House Cabinet meeting, could inject further instability into a global economy that has been rattled by the tariffs he has imposed or threatened on imports to the world's largest consumer market. READ MORE HERE Trump criticises Putin after approving Ukraine weapons US President Donald Trump talking to the media at the July 8 Cabinet meeting, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left). PHOTO: EPA President Donald Trump said on July 8 he had approved sending US defensive weapons to Ukraine and was considering additional sanctions on Moscow, underscoring his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the growing death toll in Russia's war with Ukraine. Mr Trump, who pledged as a presidential candidate to end the war within a day, has not been able to follow through on that promise and efforts by his administration to broker peace have come up short. 'I'm not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now,' Mr Trump said at a Cabinet meeting, noting that Russian and Ukrainian soldiers were dying in the thousands. 'We get a lot of bulls**t thrown at us by Putin... He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.' READ MORE HERE US banning Chinese investors from purchasing farmland The Trump administration announced July 8 that the United States would start restricting purchases of farmland by Chinese nationals and other 'foreign adversaries,' citing security concerns. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the move was needed to address what she called a 'massive threat' to national security. Foreign purchases of US farmland were being used as 'weapons to be turned against us,' Ms Rollins said, unveiling the National Farm Security Action Plan along with other Cabinet officials. READ MORE HERE Former British PM Rishi Sunak joins Goldman Sachs Mr Rishi Sunak was Britain's prime minister between October 2022 and July 2024. PHOTO: REUTERS Former UK Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has joined investment bank Goldman Sachs as a senior adviser, the company said in a statement on July 8. Mr Sunak, who was prime minister between October 2022 and July 2024, has returned to the bank where he began his career. 'I am excited to welcome Rishi back to Goldman Sachs in his new capacity as a senior adviser,' said Goldman Sachs chairman and chief executive David Solomon. He will advise clients 'on the macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape'. READ MORE HERE Italian dies after being sucked into plane engine at airport Flight operations were temporarily suspended at Milan's Bergamo Airport when a person ran onto the runway towards an aircraft preparing for take-off. PHOTO: REUTERS A man died after being sucked into the engine of a plane preparing to take off at Bergamo Airport in northern Italy on July 8, an airport spokesperson told AFP. The victim, who was 'neither a passenger nor an airport employee', forced his way onto the runway, where he was 'pursued' in vain by airport security, according to the spokesperson for airport management company SACBO. According to Italy's Corriere della Sera daily, the man was a 35-year-old Italian. It said he burst into the airport, then used an emergency exit to rush onto the runway toward an aircraft preparing for take-off.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
French intelligence chief: no certainty on whereabouts of Iran's uranium stocks
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox PARIS - France's intelligence chief said on Tuesday that all aspects of Iran's nuclear program have been pushed back several months after American and Israeli air strikes, but there is uncertainty over where its highly-enriched uranium stocks are. "The Iranian nuclear program is the material, it is highly-enriched uranium, it is a capacity to convert this uranium from the gaseous phase to the solid phase. It is the manufacturing of the core and it is the delivery," Nicolas Lerner, who heads the DGSE intelligence service, told LCI television. "Our assessment today is that each of these stages has been very seriously affected, very seriously damaged and that the nuclear program, as we knew it, has been extremely delayed, probably many months." Lerner, who was speaking for the first time on national television, said a small part of Iran's highly-enriched uranium stockpile had been destroyed, but the rest remained in the hands of the authorities. "Today we have indications (on where it is), but we cannot say with certainty as long as the IAEA does not restart its work. It's very important. We won't have the capacity to trace it (the stocks)," Lerner said. Other intelligence assessments have also suggested that Iran retains a hidden stockpile of enriched uranium and the technical capacity to rebuild. Lerner echoed those comments saying there was a possibility Iran could press ahead with a clandestine programme with smaller enrichment capacities. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore NDP celebrations to be held at 5 heartland sites, including Bishan and Punggol, on Aug 10 Singapore Keep citizens at the centre of public service, Chan Chun Sing tells civil servants Singapore Man arrested for allegedly throwing bottle at SMRT bus, injuring passenger Asia As Trump plays tariffs hard ball, Asean has little choice but to play on Asia PM Anwar called out by his own lawmakers as Malaysia's judicial crisis heats up Singapore SIA flight from Brisbane to Singapore diverted to Perth due to technical issue Sport Speeding likely cause of Diogo Jota car crash: Police Business Great Eastern could resume trading after delisting vote fails to pass; OCBC's exit offer lapses "That's why France is so attached to finding a diplomatic solution to this nuclear crisis," he said. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Is Donald Trump unstoppable?
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The US President is powering ahead with the One Big Beautiful Bill passed. Congress and the courts have had little effect against his blitz of executive orders. The secret of Mr Trump's success lies in understanding earlier than most other US politicians how technology changed the nature of politics. On June 16, 2015, Donald Trump descended the golden escalator at Trump Tower in New York to launch his presidential bid with the memorable pledge of 'we are going to make our country great again'. Soon after , he refined the slogan to 'Make America Great Again' (Maga). And always the businessman, he got the slogan registered on July 14, 2015, as a service mark with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
