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 Tuesday, 23rd March, 2010
THE SECOND CROATIAN CONGRESS ON RURAL TOURISM
"The Concept of Long-Term Development of Rural Tourism"
Mali Lošinj, Aurora Hotel****, 21 - 25 April 2010
The functional and organised development of rural tourism in the Republic of Croatia started in 1996. The foundation for such a development was the adoption of the Book of Rules for Providing Catering Services on Family Farms in the same year, which created the framework and legal regulations for this type of tourism.
In ten years that followed, rural tourism became one of the most recognisable forms of tourist service. Its significance was particularly evident in the complexity of its services as well as in the development of rural areas, that is, the implementation of tourism in areas where it had not been present before.
The value of rural tourism lies primarily in the importance of interactions between agricultural production, traditional products, and presentation of tradition, traditional cuisine and tourist services, or rather in the exploitation of the existing resources. The development of rural tourism is based on sustainable development, which is implemented through revitalisation of the existing traditional buildings, that is, heritage, which is being given the new purpose - the tourist one. In times when many speak of, write about, and discuss the upper limits of constructing tourist facilities, and when there is a lot of area-related pressure on the same subject, rural tourism offers a completely different approach to area unification, restoration and organisation. Rural tourism need not construct new facilities. On the contrary, it is challenged to utilise the existing buildings the best it can, at the same time meeting high quality standards.
Stakeholders in the process of development of rural tourism have been meeting numerous difficulties in administrative, bureaucratic, organizational, financial and other areas.
The difficulties can also be recognized in the completely undefined category of rural tourism as an activity, followed by a significant number of rules and regulations that are obstructing prosperity growth and substantial investment cycles in this sector.
For all the above-mentioned reasons, there was a great necessity for the organisation of the First Croatian Congress on Rural Tourism, which was held on the Island of Hvar in October 2007. In a scientific and expert manner, it summarised all the activities existing at the time, recognised all difficulties, and set new challenges through practical implementation conclusions thus offering the satisfying framework and simplified procedures for further development. The Conclusions to the First Congress contributed to the solution of various presumptions and enhanced the cooperation at all relevant levels. The Declaration on Rural Tourism was signed in April 2008. In the same year, the three committees of the Croatian Parliament (the Committee for Reconstruction and Development, the Committee for Tourism, and the Committee for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development) held a session in June entitled Current state, prospects, presumptions, and guidelines for rural development in the Republic of Croatia. The cooperation with relevant authorities in tourism, agriculture, regional development, culture, and economy, as well as with regional and local self-governing units and various institutions has intensified thus leading to the common goal, which is the Strategy for the Development of Rural Tourism.
By all means, it is necessary to take into consideration a great challenge imposed on family farms and entrepreneurs involved in rural tourism. It lies in the process of European integration and harmonization with the standards of the European Community.
On the basis of all that has been said, and the conclusions to the first congress, we have started organizing the second international congress on rural tourism, which is going to be held on 21 - 25 April 2010. The intention of introductory speeches, specialised topics, examples of the good practices and the roundtable Towards the Strategy for the Development of Rural Tourism is to join forces and make the first giant step forward. Foreign institutions and European Union experts have also been invited to the Congress.
The Congress is open to all who are directly or indirectly involved in rural tourism: stakeholders, family farm owners, existing and future entrepreneurs, professional associations, cooperatives, and other associations, relevant national authorities, regional and local self-governing units, tourist boards, international, scientific and expert institutions.
With all your help you can give, we hope to organise a high quality and useful Congress that will for the second time gather all relevant stakeholders that have something to say about rural tourism, and offer new guidelines in faster and easier development and business practice.
ORGANISERS:
Hrvatski farmer d.d.
Ruralis - a consortium for the development of agro-tourism and rural tourism of Istria
Klub članova "Selo" - the professional association (Member Club "Village")
Friday, 19th March 2010
President wants leaks about his security stopped
Croatian President Ivo Josipovic has asked for an investigation of who has been illegally disclosing information about Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor's and his security measures.
Josipovic disclosed the news in an interview on Croatian national television on wednesday.
The president said such reports could endanger the prime minister, himself and their families.
The Croatian media have reported that Josipovic has reduced his security and has less than former President Stjepan Mesic had.
Josipovic said he had only reduced the number of members of his security team to the allowed minimum, the same as many other senior European highly officials had done.(croatiantimes.com)
Friday, 19th March 2010
Cervar to remain Croatian national handball team coach until 2012
Croatian national handball team coach Lino Cervar will remain in his position until 2012.
Croatian Handball Federation (HRS) management made the decision at its regular meeting yesterday (Thurs).
Cervar will be Croatian national handball team coach until the end of the London Olympic Games.
HRS head Sandi Sola said a contract would be signed soon as both parties had agreed on the details. Sola refused to talk about Cervar's compensation.
Cervar's current contract expires on 31 July.
(croatiantimes.com)
Tuesday, 16th March, 2010
HUMANITARIAN ACTION
Collecting funds for the purchase of an endoscope to Mostar Clinic in Bijeli Brijeg, Mostar
Croatian Woman- Branch 1, Chicago, a charity organization, in cooperation with all Croatian parishes in Chicago, has undertaken a fundraising drive for purchasing of the much needed endoscope/bronchioscope/colonoscope equipment for the pediatric department at Mostar Clinic, Bijeli Brijeg, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (more)
 Monday, 15th March 2010
Croatian minister to visit Syria
Croatian Minister of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship Djuro Popijac will visit Syria from 13 to 16 March, the ministry announced on Friday.
Popijac will be received by Syrian Minister of Economy and Trade Lamia Assi and meet several other high-ranking officials during his visit.
Possible topics for discussion include enhancement of economic cooperation between the two countries, especially in the energy sector, and tourism. The Croatian minister will also discuss investment opportunities and possibilities for Croatian firms to participate in infrastructure projects in Syria.
With his Syrian counterparts, Popijac will share Croatia's experience in development of small- and medium-sized enterprises and public-private partnerships. Together with Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Dardari, he will open the Syria-Croatia economic forum at which some 30 Croatian companies will be present.
The Croatian ministry said that Croatian businessmen would have an opportunity to exchange their experiences and knowledge with their Syrian colleagues at the forum and added that one of the reasons for the visit was the strengthening of cooperation between Croatian and Syrian firms.
Just last year, trade between the two countries amounted to 28 million Euros, a 173 percent increase from the previous year. Croatia's exports rose by 212 percent from 2008 to 27,2 million euros. Imports from Syria, however, shrank by 48 percent to only 800,000 Euros, Croatian business portal Busines.hr has reported.
(croatiantimes.com)
Friday, 12th March 2010
Split event raises 9, 500 Euros for Chile
A humanitarian event yesterday (Thurs) evening at Split's Luxor cafe bar raised 69,300 kunas or 9,500 Euros for Chilean earthquake relief.
The humanitarian action featuring an art auction was organized by Chilean Consul General Juroslav Buljubasic in Split with the help of Chileans and Croats connected through family relationships or friendships to Chile.
The highest price was for the painting "Brodovi" (The Boats) by Zvonimir Mihanovic, which was bought by Dragan Banovic for 12,000 kunas or 1,651 Euros.
He also bought a Bible published in 1868 in the southern city of Makarska.
(croatiantimes.com)
Friday, 12th March 2010
Cemex building awards competition begins
The Cemex Building Awards annual international competition that recognizes outstanding construction work has begun and will remain open until 10 April in Croatia.
The competition is open to all architects, construction workers , engineers and investors who wish to submit projects finished in 2008 and 2009.
The awards are given in the categories of housing and institutional and commercial building and infrastructure and a special prize is awarded in the category of sustainable building and accessibility.
Only structures in which at least 50 per cent of materials used came from Cemex may be submitted.
The winning project will be announced on 6 May in Mexico at the 19th Cemex building awards ceremony.
Cemex Croatia board member Zlatko Jelic has called on all Croatian architects and engineers to use the financial crisis to promote quality projects.
Cemex Croatia is a holding company engaged in the production, distribution and marketing of cement. It has been a subsidiary of Mexican company Cemex for the past five years. (croatiantimes.com)
Friday, 12th March 2010
Majority of Croatians happy with their new president
Sixty-eight percent of Croatians are satisfied with their new president Ivo Josipovic two months into his term, according to the findings of marketing research agency GfK.
The survey of 1,000 people showed that a majority of contented citizens are concentrated in the north of Croatia, in Istria and in Slavonija. The 19 percent who are not satisfied with Josipovic live mostly in capital Zagreb and Dalmatia.
The president enjoys large support among those older than 55 (80 percent) and those with higher educations (75 percent), the Croatian daily Vecernji List has reported.
Josipovic was elected in January with 60.3 percent of the popular vote.
(croatiantimes.com)
Tuesday, 9th March, 2010
Kosor to meet with Pope Benedict XVI
Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor will meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Saturday.
Kosor will have a private audience, and it is not known what they will discuss.
The first Croatian president, Franjo Tudjman, met with Pope John Paul II in 1991 and former President Stjepan Mesic met with Pope Benedict XVI in November 2009.
As opposed to private audiences, official audiences feature the playing of the national anthem of the country the guest or guests are from. (croatiantimes.com)
Tuesday, 9th March, 2010
Croatian American Charitable Foundation helps Haiti
The Croatian American Charitable Foundation (CACF) in New York has donated 5,000 US dollars to Doctors Without Borders to help the Haitian hurricane relief effort.
Allison Morris, head of the Donor Services Department of Doctors Without Borders said: "We thank CACF for its generous donation. The money will be used primarily for surgical care and post-operative recovery"
John Peros, a CACF board member, said CACF was committed to helping those in need after the devastation in Haiti.
Peros added: "We wanted to make sure that our donation went to the people who needed it most. Doctors Without Borders has an impeccable track record in helping those in need, and we are honoured to be working with them".
CACF is a registered charitable organization based in New York. More information is available at their website at www.croatiancharities.com.
(croatiantimes.com)
Monday, 8th March 2010
Dalekovod to build shopping centre in Buzin
Austrian real-estate holding Gruppe-Supernova is planning to start construction of a new shopping centre in Buzin, Zagreb soon.
Croatian construction company Dalekovod will build the centre costing 80.7 million Euros.
The centre will have an area of 270,000 square metres, and construction should take 20 months. It may be open by Christmas 2011.
There will be around 200 shops, restaurants, café bars, casinos, and cinema and bowling complexes on three floors.(croatiantimes.com)
Monday, 8th March 2010
Free Zagreb tour on International Women´s Day
The "Zagreb Inside" tour-guide association will celebrates International Women's Day by organizing a free-of-charge theme tour of the city called "Women of Zagreb".
The tour will begin at 11am on 7 March at the meeting point in front of the Tourist Information Centre on Ban Jelacic Square.
A team of 10 tourist guides will entertain guests with interesting stories about famous and not-so-well-known Zagreb ladies.(croatiantimes.com)
The tour will be in Croatian. Friday, 5th March 2010.
Croatian economy will shrink further, warns think tank
It will take until 2012 for all the countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to recover from the global economic crisis, according to an Austrian think tank.
The Vienna Institute for Comparative Analysis (WIIW) said today (Fri) some CEE countries will experience economic growth this year. But the body warned it will be another two years before the entire region is back on track.
WIIW said Poland - the only European Union (EU) member state with a positive gross domestic product (GDP) last year - will lead the way among the new EU member states. The think tank expects the Polish economy to grow by 2.5 per cent in 2010.
WIIW also said there was light at the end of the tunnel for struggling Ukraine as the country's economy would expand by around three per cent this year.
It said growth in Slovenia, Albania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic would be around one per cent this year, and Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary would see zero growth.
WIIW's research also suggests the economies of Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina will shrink further this year, Austrian Times has revealed.
WIIW was more optimistic for 2012. It said the economies of the CEE region would see two per cent more growth than those of western European countries.
The predictions come the day after the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (Wifo) revealed that the country's companies have drastically reduced investment in the CEE region.
The institution said the companies spent only 0.7 billion Euros on investment activities in the region in the first nine months of 2009.
It said Austrian companies invested 7.6 billion Euros in CEE in the same time span for the previous year.
Wifo said this was a throwback to 1998 figures. (croatiantimes.com)
Thursday, 4th March 2010
Austrian chain Baby and Children Hotels expand to Croatia
Austrian chain Baby and Children Hotels has announced it will expand to Croatia.
The chain has 53 hotels at present in Austria and Germany.
The chain will open a new hotel, the "Vespera," in Mali Losinj, Croatia this Easter, which will be the first children's hotel in the country, and follow up with another in Prague, Czech Republic in the near future.
Siggi Neuschitzer, who founded the chain 20 years ago with Gerhard Stroitz, said: "We have international customers from throughout Europe and abroad who want holidays by the sea, and we would like to attract them to Carinthia in the winter."
Stroitz said: "We have unbelievable demand for the coming summer, in some instances up by 100 per cent."
Some 100,000 families holiday annually at the chain's hotels, which produces annual turnover of more than 200 million Euros and has created 3,000 jobs. (croatiantimes.com) |
Tuesday, 2nd March, 2010
"You came at the right time," Putin tells Kosor
Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor met with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin today (Tues) in Moscow.
At the beginning of their meeting. Putin told Kosor she had come at the right time because it was the best time to see what the two countries could do together to improve bilateral economic and commercial relations.
Putin added that economic cooperation between the two countries had been very successful during the past ten years but had declined in 2009 owing to the financial crisis.
Putin said: "That is the reason why I believe you came at the right time. We need to see what we can do to return our cooperation to its past level and keep going forward."
Hina news agency has reported that Kosor had said that Croatia as a future EU member stare would support cooperation between Russia and the European Union.
Former Croatian Presidents Stjepan Mesic and Franjo Tudjman visited Russia. (croatiantimes.com)
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24th February 2010
Egyptian businessmen looking into Croatian investment opportunities
Twenty Egyptian businessmen have accompanied Egypt's Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid to Croatia.
In Croatia to look into investment opportunities, they met with Croatian businessmen on Monday, the first day of their visit.
Croatian Economy Chamber (HGK) Vice President Dunja Konjevod said they were wealthy Egyptians interested in investment in finance, tourism, especially health tourism, energy, transport and the pharmaceutical industry.Miroslav Karamarkovic from HGK added that they were primarily interested in the purchase of Croatian banks, but, considering that there were no banks for sale, they were interested in opening new ones.
The Egyptian businessmen are planning to meet with Croatian National Bank (HNB) Governor Zeljko Rohatinski.
Cairo Chamber of Commerce official Ali Moustafa Moussa said they had not come to Croatia to buy or sell anything but to set up new partnerships. croatiantimes.com
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Monday, 22nd February 2010.
Lufthansa dismisses rumours of purchase of Croatia Airlines
German airline Lufthansa has dismissed media allegations it may take over Croatian national air carrier Croatia Airlines.
Croatian web site Tportal has been informed by Lufthansa that it has not been negotiating the purchase of Croatia Airlines.
Lufthansa added would refuse to comment about additional media speculation about such a deal.
It said: "We have very good cooperation with Croatia Airlines that we hope will continue. At present, we are concentrating on integration of Austrian Airlines (AUA), British Midland Airways and Brussels Airlines into the Lufthansa Group."
Croatian daily Jutarnji list reported that Lufthansa was interested in Croatia Airlines after an interview with Croatia Airlines board chairman Ivan Misetic, who said his company had financial problems and can be saved only by its sale to another airline.
(croatiantimes.com) |
Wednesday, 17th February, 2010
Real-estate agency starts discount sale of exclusive villas
"My home nekretnine" real-estate agency has started a special discount sale of exclusive villas with swimming pools in Crikvenica.The agency is claiming it is offering "two villas for the price of one," an exclusive villa for the price of a flat in better locations.The price of one of their villas is 290,000 Euros plus VAT.The agency said the price was unique because the modern villas included complete exterior design, parking for several vehicles and gardens with Mediterranean plants.The villas have 290 square metres of living space and land with an area of 1,050 square metres.The discount sale will continue until 15 March.
(croatiantimes.com)
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Tuesday, 16th February, 2010
Alkar Knight Association to sell its gold and silver
The Alkar Knight Association in Sinj has decided to sell its gold and silver to raise money for construction of its building "Alkarski dvori" (Alkar Castle).
The daily Slobodna Dalmacija has reported it is planning to sell 20 kilos of gold and 160 kilos of silver.
Ante Delic from the association said it would announce a public tender for the sale and seek the advice of the Ministry of Economy and the Croatian National Bank.
The building of Alkar castle started in 2007 and has cost 39.6 million kunas (5.4 million Euros).
The project has been financed mostly by the Sinj government and Split-Dalmatian county.
Alkar Knight Association needs eight million kunas (1.09 million Euros). With the gold and silver sale, it believes it can raise three million kunas (411,000 Euros). (croatiantimes.com)
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 Monday, 15th February, 2010
President of Croatia honors work of Stanford oncologist
BY MICHELLE L. BRANDT
Branimir Sikic, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Oncology, has been awarded the Presidential Medal for Science and Medicine from Croatia's president. The award recognizes his achievements in cancer research and his contributions to medical education and cancer care and prevention in Croatia.
Sikic is also associate director of the Stanford Cancer Center and is a leading expert in the pharmacology of anticancer drugs. His lab studies mechanisms of drug resistance and predictive therapeutic biomarkers; his clinical research team develops new cancer therapies.
Sikic, who called the award "unexpected and wonderful," has strong ties to Croatia. His family emigrated from the country to the United States when he was 8 years old, and many family members still live and practice medicine in the Balkan country. (He counts 16 physicians in his extended family.)
Sikic's work in Croatia began in the mid-1990s, when it "was economically devastated," he said. "Their national health system was in disarray."
Croatian physicians lacked the resources to attend medical meetings, so Sikic organized and led the Central European Oncology Congress, a continuing medical education meeting there. The biennial conference draws hundreds of doctors from central and western Europe, with oncologists from the United States, Canada and Europe presenting the latest in cancer therapies and multidisciplinary cancer care.
In 2007, Sikic joined a delegation of medical experts, including Elias Zerhouni, MD, then-director of the National Institutes of Health, to advise Croatian officials on strategic planning in clinical oncology. In addition to spawning projects between the National Cancer Institute and Croatian investigators, a key outcome of the meeting was a 2008 law that banned cigarette smoking in public places in Croatia. Given the prevalence and acceptance of cigarettes-even physicians commonly smoked-Sikic considers this one of his proudest accomplishments.
"Now when you go to Croatia and eat at a restaurant you don't have to inhale cigarette smoke," he said. "It's been a major contribution to public health."
President Stjepan Mesic gave the medal to Sikic, as his wife and three sons watched, on Jan. 19 in Zagreb. (Stanford School of Medicine)
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 Thursday, 11th February, 2010
Blanka wins Stockholm high jump meeting
Croatia's best high jumper Blanka Vlasic won the women's high-jump GE Galan indoor meeting at the Globe Arena in Stockholm yesterday (Weds).
Vlasic cleared 2.01 metres on her second attempt to win.
Second-place Swede Emma Green cleared 1.92 metres, the same as third-place Lavern Spencer from St. Lucia.
The Stockholm win is the third for the Croatian athlete this season.
Her next appearance will be at an international high-jumping competition that will be held at Split's Spaladium Arena on 21 February.
The Stockholm high-jump record of 2.03 metres was set by Kajsi Bergqvist in 2003(croatiantimes.com)
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Wednesday, 10th February, 2010
Croat scientist warns ice age could start in five years
A top scientist in Croatia has warned Europe to prepare for an ice age instead of talking about global warming.
Physician Vladimir Paar suggests one would not need to cross the sea when travelling from Ireland or UK to Croatia via the rest of Europe.
"A majority of Europe will be under ice, including Germany, Poland, France, Austria, Slovakia and part of Slovenia", Paar said in an interview on Croatian news website Index.
"Ice ages in the past lasted about 70,000 years. That's a fact, and a new ice age will occur. It is a question what will happen to people in Central European countries. They might migrate south or might stay put, but with a huge increase in energy spending", the scientist said.
"What I am warning is that global warming is natural. Some 130,000 years ago, the temperature was the same as now, the level of CO2 was almost the same, and the level of the sea was four metres higher".
Asked when the ice age would begin, he said: "That could happen in five, ten, fifty or a hundred years, or even later. We can't predict it precisely, but it will come".
Paar cited America as an example: "They keep talking to people about global warming, but 50 per cent of Americans do not believe it any more as they keep freezing". (croatiantimes.com)
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Tuesday, 9th February, 2010
Zagreb Auto Show cancelled owing to bad car market
Zagreb Auto Show 2010, an international fair for automobiles, motorcycles and supporting industries, has been cancelled because of the extremely-bad situation in the auto market.
The show was supposed to have been held from 18 to 28 March.
In 2009, 44,891 new cars were sold in Croatia - 49.1 per cent fewer than in 2008.
In January 2010, 2,601 new cars were sold in Croatia - 37.5 per cent fewer than in the same month last year.
There is some chance the show may be held in the second half of this year. (croatiantimes.com)
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 Monday, 8th February, 2010
Austrian embassy to sponsor lace festival in Croatia
The Austrian embassy in Croatia will be the main sponsor of the Festival of Lace on northern Pag Island this June, it was revealed over the weekend.
The embassy reportedly became interested in the event since women from Pag prepared lace for the Vienna court for 500 years.
Lace from Pag is a very well-known cultural heritage of Croatia.
The festival will start on 10 June with the participation of lace masters not only from Croatia but also from Austria, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
(croatiantimes.com)
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Monday, 8th February, 2010
Radimir Cacic has resigned the post of tennis-federation president
Croatian politician Radimir Cacic has decided to leave his post as president of the country's tennis federation after a traffic accident he caused near Budapest, Hungary that cost two people their lives on 8 January.
"I left the post of Croatian Tennis Federation president on Tuesday", Cacic said yesterday (Sun) on Croatian national television (HTV). He gave no detailed explanation but linked his resignation and the accident in Hungary.
However, he reiterated that he did not intend to leave the post of president of the Croatian People's Party (HNS). He said he would resign as party leader only if he ended up in a prison due to the accident.
Cacic said he was in contact with his attorney in Hungary and ready to go to court there.
(croatiantimes.com)
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Thursday, 4th February, 2010
HGSS Zadar winding up expedition in China
The Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS Zadar) has taken part in an expedition in the Chinese province of Sichuan along the border with Tibet for the last three weeks.
Neven Zrilic, Sinica Primozic, Sime Soric and Sime Jukic, guided by Bogdan Brakus, wanted to climb 5,666-metre-high Yagmantai mountain but was could not because of a government ban because of an alleged danger of fire.
Instead, the HGSS Zadar team reached the summit of Daguniang shan at 5,025 metres in 7.5 hours, a record time according to local guides.
The HGSS Zadar team is planning to screen a film about their expedition and Tibetan culture and tradition after it returns home next week.
(croatiantimes.com)
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 Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010
Police confiscate Italian fishing boat
Croatian maritime police confiscated an Italian fishing boat for illegal fishing last night (Mon/Tues) night near Palagruza, some 160 kilometres east of Pescara, Italy.
At 11:30pm, police stopped a boat named "Destriero" sailing under the Italian flag with four crew members 2.2 nautical miles inside Croatian territorial waters. All men are Italian residents.
Police will press charges against them for violation of state territory and illegal fishing.
The boat was brought to Vis port.
The border between the territorial waters of Italy and Croatia is defined by a treaty. (croatiantimes.com)
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 Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010
Lora Vidovic is new head of UNICEF´s office in Croatia
Lora Vidovic has been named the new head of UNICEF's Office in Croatia.
Vidovic has been deputy ombudsman for children since 2006 and before that worked in the Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Croatian embassy in Oslo.
She will start to work in her new position this month.
Vidovic succeeds Tanja Radocaj, who was named head of UNICEF's Office in Bulgaria in October 2009. (croatiantimes.com)
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Monday, 1st February, 2010
New bulk carrier launched at Brodosplit Shipyard
A new bulk carrier was launched at Brodosplit shipyard in Split.
It was the first launching of a ship in Brodosplit this year.
The news ship was ordered by Croatian firm Jadroplov.
The new bulk carrier is 190 metres long and 32 metres wide and has a capacity of 52,000 tonnes of cargo. (croatiantimes.com)
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 Friday, 29th January, 2010
Rijeka Alpinists climb Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America
A team of Croatian mountain climbers has climbed Cerro Aconcagua, at 6,962 metres the highest mountain in South America, located in the Andes mountain range in the Argentine province of Mendoza.
Rijeka climbers Bojan Prokop, Zorana Tezak and Nenad Ljubicic started the climb on 21 January and reached the summit at 4pm that day.
Aconcagua was also a preparation for the second part of their expedition during which they will try to be the first Croats to climb Nevado Ojos del Salado, a massive strato-volcano on the Argentina-Chile border and the highest volcano in the world at 6,893 metres.
(croatiantimes.com)
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Friday, 29th January, 2010
Dalekovod gets six million Eurocontract in Norway
Croatian construction company Dalekovod will do six million Euros worth of business in Norway.
Dalekovod has won a contract for a long transmission line structure traversing 90 kilometres for Statnett, Norway's national main grid owner and operator responsible for all high-voltage electricity transmission and distribution.
Dalekovod won an international competition participated in by three companies.
The deadline for completion of the work is November 2011.
Dalekovod also hopes also to get a contract for long transmission line installation.
(croatiantimes.com)
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Tuesday, 26th January, 2010
Croatia Airlines cuts only flight to Rijeka
National airline Croatia Airlines has cancelled its only flight to Rijeka Airport located on Krk Island.
Management has decided to cancel summer flights from Zagreb to Rijeka to London to cut costs.
They claim the flights are not profitable, and they do not plan to introduce any new flights to Rijeka for the time being.
Rijeka airport head Mladen Pasaric believes the decision will harm the airport.
In an interview in the daily Novi list, he said: "This flight was a connection to Croatia for our emigrants in London and the USA. I believe the flights' cancellation will harm us, especially because they were always full. To be honest, I was expecting they would introduce additional flights, not cancel the only one."
Pasaric has asked the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure to reconsider the decision to cancel the flight.
Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel also hopes Croatia Airlines will reconsider it. (croatiantimes.com)
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 Friday, 22st January, 2010
´No one will be exempt in the fight against corruption,´ Interior Minister says
Croatian Interior Minister Tomislav Karamarko and General Police Director Oliver Grbic have claimed no one involved in crime will be exempt in the fight against corruption.
Karamarko said it would not be a problem for him to disclose the names of people in the country suspected of having engaged in criminal acts, including high-ranking officials.
Karamarko said: "Considering that we are expanding our investigation, we find new names and new crimes and further investigation will tell us more."
Asked about new President Ivo Josipovic's security, Karamarko said he would be guarded by the ministry of interior's special security department.
Karamarko dismissed allegations that Josipovic had been in a dispute with him over his body guards.
Karamarko added that after Josipovic's inauguration on 18 February his security team would be comprised of experts. Until then, he will be guarded by members of President Stjepan Mesic's security team. (croatiantimes.com)
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 Friday, 5th February, 2010
Injury may have ended Biscan´s football career
Dinamo Zagreb player Igor Biscan had to stop training with his team in Slovenia yesterday (Thurs) because of an injury to his pelvis.
Biscan went immediately to Zagreb to be examined by Doctor Bozidar Sebecic, who had operated on him a few months ago. He then returned to Maribor, Slovenia, where he expects local doctors to help him.
It is assumed that Biscan, 31, will not be able to play during the upcoming spring season.
Some media have reported that the injury may have ended his career. (croatiantimes.com)
Friday, 5th February, 2010
Croatian wines to appear in the Chinese market
Croatian wine producers Franjo Toljanic and Mirjana Zelenika have engaged in a long-term deal to export their wine to the Chinese market.
The daily Novi list has reported that Toljanic and Zelenika are ready to export their wine to the city of Gulin, where they also plan to open a joint branch office.
Toljanic said: "We believe we can do a great job in the Chinese market, and that is not just because our products are good and high in quality but also because that market has a lack of wine, especially white wine."
The Zelenika family's Source of Life estate at Ilok in the eastern part of Croatia and the Toljanic family's wine cellar "Gospoja" at Vrbnik on Krk Island are well-known Croatian wine producers.
They have been cooperating for the past few years. They said exporting to China demanded a lot of hard work but they would succeed.
Zelenika and Toljanic plan to export their wine in a limited edition. The first wines to be sent to China will be the quality dry white wine Zlahtina and sparkling wines. (croatiantimes.com)
Friday, 22nd January, 2010
Animal Friends protests against whaling
Animal Friends' activists are joining in protests against whaling and in support of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society around the world.
Animal Friends held a protest in front of the Japanese Embassy in Zagreb today (Thurs) against the attack by Japanese security vessel Shonan Maru 2 on the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's high-tech stealth boat Ady Gil on 5 that cut it in half and sank it.
There were four New Zealanders, one Austrian and one Dutchman on destroyed boat Ady Gil, but no one was hurt.
Animal Friends' activist laid down a poster with the words "speared by a harpoon" in front of the Japanese embassy in protest against whaling.
Sea Shepherd regularly obstructs Japanese whaling ships in Antarctic waters, where whaling is completely banned by international law.
On 10 January 2007, the Republic of Croatia became a full member of the International Whaling Commission that globally protects whales.
Animal Friends is inviting individuals and organizations to join protests against the lawlessness of Japanese whalers.
It said: "No matter where we live, every one of us, through nutrition and general lifestyle, has an impact on world oceans and seas and all their inhabitants." (croatiantimes.com)
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Thursday, 21st January, 2010
Croats want to own real-estate
Real-estate website CentarNekretnina.net, which had surveyed more than 1,000 residents, said today (Weds) 67 per cent of them owned their own real-estate.
Ninety-one per cent of them are older than 46, and nine per cent are younger than 25.
Also, 73 per cent believe it is much harder to buy a flat or a house today than it was 30 years ago.
Despite the bad financial situation, 78 per cent expect to own real-estate in the future.
The aim of the research was to find out how many Croats owned real-estate.
Thirty-eight per cent live in households with monthly income lower than 10,000 kunas (1,371 Euros).
Most of them bought their real-estate together with their husbands or wives or other family members, but 38 per cent bought it on their own, and 33 per cent inherited it. (croatiantimes.com)
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Thursday, 21st January, 2010
Vlasic cancels New York meet
Croatia's best high jumper Blanka Vlasic has cancelled her participation in the famous meet at Madison Square Garden in New York on 29 January.
Vlasic has been invited to take part but has been forced to cancel doing so because of a slight flu. The daily 24 sata has reported that Blanca and her professional staff decided the long flight would only exhaust her.
Blanka will start the indoor competitions season in Trinec in the Czech Republic on 26 January and then return to Split
She will then compete on 2 February in Goteborg, on 6 February in Arnstadt and on 10 February in Stockholm.
On 17 February, she will go to Athens and then return home to Spaladium Arena where she will perform in front of her home audience in Split on 21 February.
The highlight of the indoor season will occur in Doha at the World Indoor Championships from 12 to 14 March.
(croatiantimes.com)
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 Wednesday, 20th January, 2010
Kosovo president to attend Croatian president´s inauguration
Kosovo President Famtir Sejdiu's spokesman Xhavit Beqiri has confirmed he will attend new Croatian president Ivo Josipovic's inauguration on 18 February.
Beqiri told Croatian website Tportal Sejdiua had already reserved a room at a hotel in Zagreb.
But, a problem could occur because Serb President Boris Tadic has said he will not attend the inauguration if the president of Kosovo will be there. He said doing so would mean Serbia indirectly recognised Kosovo's independence, which it would never do.
The Kosovo president's office has refused to comment on that.
Tadic is also angry with Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, who visited Kosovo at a time when Serbs were celebrating the Christmas holidays at the beginning of January. (croatiantimes.com)
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Wednesday, 20th January, 2010
Biograd to host 2012 World Ploughing Contest
The World Ploughing Contest will be held in the central Dalmatian city of "Biograd na moru" (Biograd by the sea) in September 2012.
The agreement on the site of the contest was confirmed and signed by Croatian Minister of Agriculture Petar Cobankovic and World Ploughing Organization (WPO) General Secretary Hans Spieker yesterday (Tues).
Cobankovic said the 59th competition would promote Croatia as an agricultural and tourism country.
Croatia joined the organization in 2007. Currently, 31 countries are WPO members, and four more are expected to join it before the 2012 competition.
A Croatian team has taken part in the last six championships. The best result, 20th place, occurred last year in the Czech Republic.
This year's competition will be held in New Zealand. (croatiantimes.com)
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 Tuesday, 19th January, 2010
Austrian minister wants EU to ´use momentum´ of settled Croatia - Slovenia border row
By Thomas Hochwarter
Austrian ÖVP Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger yesterday (Sun) called for "using momentum" after noticing an "end of blockade" in the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia.
The People's Party minister said on TV show "Pressestunde" he was hoping for a positive end of the negotiations between Croatian and EU leaders over Croatian EU membership by the end of the year.
The minister - regarded as a driving force in attempts by Croatia and Albania to join the European Union - also said he would launch a "West Balkans' initiative" with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.
Spindelegger said he could imagine countries like Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Macedonia as well as other Balkan countries joining the EU by 2020.
(croatiantimes.com)
 Tuesday, 19th January, 2010
New zooplankton species discovered near Dubrovnik
The Institute for Marine and Coastal Research at Dubrovnik University has discovered a new zooplankton species named Fritillaria ragusina.
The zooplankton was discovered in January 2008 in the southern Adriatic in the framework of a project led by scientist Mirna Batistic, but the news was presented to the public today (Mon).
Batistic and her colleague Rade Garic said the new species belonged to the class Appendicularia.
The millimetre-long plankton eat bacteriae and algae and live in the open sea.
Institute head Nenad Jasprica said the new discovery showed how sparse knowledge of the Adriatic Sea was.
The first Fritillaria ragusina will be placed in a Dubrovnik Museum collection.(croatiantimes.com)
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Monday, 18th January, 2010
Croatia donates 137,000 Euros to Haiti relief
The Croatian government will donate one million kunas (137,000 Euros) to the Croatian Red Cross for victims of the Haitian earthquake and earthquake relief efforts.
The government has also decided to donate 520,000 kunas' worth of equipment (71,329 Euros) to the central and southern parts Croatia hit by heavy rain and floods.
The money will go for equipment necessary for pumping water from buildings.
Croatia will help also Albania, which was hit by floods in the northern part of the country.
The government will donate 60,000 litres of fuel to Albania. (croatiantimes.com) |
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Monday, 18th January, 2010
Adolf Pinter becomes first Austrian football coach in Croatia
Adolf Pinter has become the first Austrian football coach ever to coach in Croatia.
He has been named coach of the league's bottom-ranked team, Croatia Sesvete, from the northern town of Sesvete. It has only seven points after 17 matches in the Croatian Football League, the top one in the country.
It is expected Pinter will take over the team as of tomorrow (Tues) and lead it during preparations for the second part of the season starting on 20 February.
Pinter joined the team yesterday on the same day when an unknown person shot at club President Zvonko Zubak's house. He was there with his family at the time, but no one was injured. Police are investigating the case. (croatiantimes.com) |
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 Friday, 15th January, 2010
Croatia celebrates its majority
Croatia celebrates today (Friday) its 18th anniversary as international recognized country.
Croatia was internationally recognized on 15 January 1992 by the European Union country members. During that time, Croatia controlled less than two thirds of its legal territory. The first country to recognize Croatia was Iceland on 19 December 1991.
The 15 January is held for one of the most important dates in Croatian history.
Two days earlier on 13 January Croatia was recognized by Vatican and the day after by San Marino.
In 1991 Croatia was also recognized by Slovenia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia, but those countries were not recognized also at that time. (croatiantimes.com) |
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Friday, 15th January, 2010
Zadar cathedral gets organ costing Euros 915,000
Zadar s St. Anastasia Cathedral has received a new organ worth 915,000 Euros.
The instrument was played for the first time yesterday (Thurs) and was also blessed by Zadar Archbishop Ivan Predja. The organ was made at Eisenbarth workshop in Passau, Germany.
It is the third-biggest organ in Croatia. The two bigger organs are in the Zagreb and Djakovo cathedrals.
The new organ has 4,026 pipes. The previous one was damaged in the Homeland War in the 1990s and needed to be replaced.
The money was contributed by the Croatian Catholic mission in Europe, Zadar companies and individuals. (croatiantimes.com) |
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 Wednesday, 13th January, 2010
Twenty-one candidates for the position of HRT head
There have been 21 applications for the position of head of Croatian national television (HRT).The deadline for applying ended at midnight yesterday (Mon). According to HRT, not one candidate is from abroad.All names will be announced on 19 January when all applications will be opened by HRT's programme council.The new HRT head, who will have a term of four years, should be selected within 45 days after the opening of the applications.If there is no suitable applicant, the council will announce a new competition.HRT is searching for a new head after the dismissal of former HRT chief Vanja Sutlic. (croatiantimes.com) |
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Wednesday, 13th January, 2010
Croat Repesa candidate for Bilbao basketball coaching job
Serb Bozidar Maljkovic and Croat Jasmin Repesa are two candidates for the job of Bilbao basketball coach.The Basque news website Dei.com has reported Maljkovic is the first choice and former Croatian national team coach Repesa the second.The Croatian daily Vecernji list has reported club management has already started negotiations with both candidates after coach Jesus Bidorreta resigned on Sunday.Bidorreta said: "Whoever comes here needs to think about continuity and long-term coaching at the club. Other options, for example, only six months, are unacceptable. It will be good if the new coach shares the city and club's philosophy."CB Bilbao Berri plays in the ACB (Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto), the premier professional basketball league in Spain.Although Basque media believe Maljkovic has the best chance to become the new coach, they consider Repesa to be a great candidate. But they add his problem is that he has not coached in Spain.(croatiantimes.com) |
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 Tuesday, 12th January, 2010
Domain JadrankaKosor.com for sale
A domain with the name of Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, www.JadrankaKosor.com, was put up for sale on the Aukcija.hr auction website on 8 January.The beginning price was 400 kunas or 55 Euros because, as domain owner nicknamed BalkUn said, it was an "historic auction object" that was expected to fetch a much higher price.The price has reached 787 kunas (108 Euros), and the auction will be open until 18 January.The domain owner stressed he would not sell "such worthy space" if he did not need money urgently for car registration. (croatiantimes.com) |
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Tuesday, 12th January, 2010
Olympique Lyonnais still negotiating Lovren´s transfer
French football club Olympique Lyonnais has denied allegations it has already signed an agreement on Zagreb Dinamo defender Dejan Lovren's transfer.
The Croatian media have reported that Lovren, 20, who is also a member of the Croatian national team, has signed a four-year contract with Olympique Lyonnais, but the French club still refuses to confirm that.
Olympique sports director Bernard Lacombe said on the club's official website that nothing had been concluded.
He said: "Lovren is a quality player, but we are still negotiating. We heard in Zagreb that Chelsea and two Spanish clubs are interested in him. If he comes to Lyon, we believe he will fit in well because he reminds us a lot of Edmílson, a Brazilian footballer."
According to the Croatian media, Lovren has signed an 8.5-million-Euro contract and should join the French team soon. (croatiantimes.com) |
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 Monday, 11th January, 2010
Ivo Josipovic (SDP) is the new Croatian president
Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate Ivo Josipovic was elected the third president of Croatia yesterday (Sun).
Josipovic got 60.29 per cent of the vote and independent candidate Milan Bandic 39.71 per cent votes in the second,
run-off round of the presidential election.
In the election, 50.28
per cent of the 4,478,456 eligible voters
went to the polls.
Josipovic won all counties except Lika-Senj and abroad and got 62.19 per cent of the vote in Zagreb.
During the campaign, Josipovic pledged to make progress in the battle against high-level corruption in Croatia.
In his first address to the public, Josipovic thanked everyone, including those who had not voted for him.
He said: "I will be also be the president of those who did not vote for me, because I do not want to be a president who divides people. I will serve all of you. Every Croatian resident is a winner because I deeply believe we all want a better and more-righteous Croatia. I believe we all want to live in a country in which people get paid for their work and corruption is punished. We want to live in a country of social stability and justice."
President Stjepan Mesic and Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor congratulated him.
Mesic said: "He will have a lot of work. He needs to consolidate relationships with neighbours and to play a role in our EU accession negotiations because the president can help a lot."
Kosor suggested that the government and the president start building bridges between each other. (croatiantimes.com) |
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