January 7, 2019 – Did you know that Total Croatia News sends out a weekly newsletter highlighting our top stories?
If you didn’t, don’t fret – but here’s a taste of what you missed last week.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said goodbye to 2018 with a New Year message wishing the Croatians in the country and abroad a happy and successful 2019. He also recalled the measures his cabinet has taken in the outgoing year to raise the living standards.
The 2019 political forecast shows political leaders and voters will have an exciting year, as there are the elections for the European Parliament in May, followed by presidential elections next winter, which will be just a warm-up for parliamentary elections no later than 2020.
Some of the first news we heard in the new year was that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not find a solution for the sale of Israeli F-16 fighter jets to Croatia at their meeting in Brazil. Serbian tennis star Novak Đoković called for reapproachment with Croatia, calling the country neighbours and the people his own.
And to end this week in politics, the new Franjo Tuđman statue in Zagreb was desecrated with controversial hammer and sickle graffiti, which was sprayed by unknown vandals. Zagreb’s new monument dedicated to Dr. Franjo Tuđman was officially unveiled on the 19th anniversary of the death of the first Croatian president.
Croatian Prime Minister Promises Successful 2019
Croatia’s 2019 Political Forecast
USA and Israel Fail to Agree on Sale of F-16 Fighter Jets to Croatia
Serbian Tennis Star Đoković Calls for Rapprochement with Croats
Zagreb’s New Franjo Tuđman Statue Desecrated with Hammer and Sickle
2018 ended with the news that the Agrokor group will get new names. Specifically, the companies in the Zagreb-based Agrokor Group will add the word plus to their names as of 2019 – for instance, the retail chain Konzum will become Konzum Plus, or the mineral water and soft drink producer Jamnica will be Jamnica Plus.
A company to build the cable car on Sljeme in Zagreb has finally been chosen. The Sljeme cable car will come with a price tag of an enormous 299,790,853.96 kuna, which is the VAT-free cost, and the company chosen to go forth and construct the cable care is GIP Pionir, which removed Sljeme’s former, old cable car years ago.
The love of cycling and knowledge of CAD programming are the primary tools that Nino Dušak, the entrepreneur and owner of the HardCore Industry company from Varaždin, used to create a unique bicycle frame model. His project implements an innovative approach to solving the problem of constructing downhill bicycles and brings advanced aeronautical and naval technology into bicycle production
The Banker, a magazine which belongs to the Financial Times group and is issued monthly, gave two prestigious awards of recognition to the Governor of the Croatian National Bank, Boris Vujčić, for the year 2018 – one as the best European governor, and the one for the best central banker on a global scale.
And to end this week in business, HZZ is conducting a survey among Croatia’s unemployed population on their intentions and readiness to work along the coast in various tourist destinations. Croatian employers, more specifically hoteliers from numerous tourist resorts up and down the Croatian coast are already searching out potential seasonal staff from continental Croatia, and they’re even promising higher wages.
Agrokor Group Companies to Get New Names
Company to Build Zagreb’s Sljeme Cable Car Chosen
Varaždin Company Introducing Advanced Technology to Bicycle Production
Boris Vujčić Proclaimed Best European and International Governor in 2018
Croatian Employers Already Searching for Staff and Promising Higher Wages
It’s a new year with a slew of new sporting events for Croatian sport. Even though there won’t be any major football competitions in the summer, or the Olympic Games for that matter, what can we look forward to in sport this year? Check out our forecast for 2019.
The dream season continued for Luka Modrić, the best athlete in Croatia and the best footballer in the world in 2018, as he added yet another admirable accolade to his collection for 2018. Modrić has thus been named the world’s best athlete in the selection of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS).
Just one month before his 40th birthday, Croatian tennis player Ivo Karlović came to his 19th career final at ATP tournaments, making him the oldest finalist of an ATP tournament since 1977. Karlović advanced to the final of the Tata Open in Pune, India, where he lost to Kevin Anderson.
After defeating Montenegro 34:22, the Croatia men’s handball team overcame Italy in their second match of the HEP Croatia Cup in Poreč. The Croatia handball team took first place in the HEP Croatia Cup, which served as the team’s last check-up before the upcoming World Cup in Germany and Denmark.
To end this week in sport, the Snow Queen Trophy was held on Zagreb’s Sljeme over the weekend. American skier Mikaela Shiffrin won the female race while Austrian Marcel Hirscher won the men’s race.
Croatian Sport 2019: What Awaits Us this Year?
Luka Modrić Named World’s Best Athlete Ahead of Djokovic and Federer!
Ivo Karlović Does it Again, Becomes Oldest ATP Finalist Since 1977!
HEP Croatia Cup: Croatia Handball Defeats Italy, Wins Tournament
Snow Queen Trophy Kicks Off at Zagreb’s Sljeme with Female Skiers!
Social networks across Croatia shared a photo of an unbelievable poster which was photographed in one of Zagreb’s trams. The “educational” poster in question was supposedly meant to warn users about the harmfulness of drinking alcohol. However, many believe that the posters actually spread sexism. The poster was ultimately removed.
Preparations for the next Ultra Europe Music Festival are underway. Hundreds of people have been tirelessly working on the project that has changed Split – from finalizing and arranging performances to logistics, meetings with city authorities, police, utility services, and more. Joe Bašić, the owner of MPG Live, the alpha and omega of the Croatian Ultra, revealed everything we need to know about the upcoming edition, and just how Ultra got there in the first place.
A rather odd story out of Croatia this week comes from the Bjelovar-Bilogora Police Administration. In the last six months, they have reported two cases of fraud against women in Croatia, aged about 60, by unknown perpetrators, by using false Facebook profiles, representing themselves as US soldiers serving somewhere in the world
This week we met Krešimir Ivančić, the experienced and inspired, talented and successful winemaker from Plešivica, who promoted their winery’s new sparkling wine – the Coral Griffin. The Ivančić winery currently has nine labels, including five sparkling wines, three white wines and one red wine.
To end this week, the Inland Dalmatian town of Trilj is giving their residents a rather enticing offer. Since only eight building permits were issued for the construction of family homes in 2018, in Trilj’s budget for 2019,300,000 kuna has been allocated to stimulate the construction of family houses.
Sexist Posters in Zagreb Trams Cause Controversy
Joe Bašić: Ultra Europe Expects 160,000 Festivalgoers in 2019
Fake US Soldiers Use Facebook to Steal from Women in Croatia
Coral Griffin, Sparkling Wine from the Adriatic Sea with Unique Label Created by Nature
Trilj Offers Free Building Permits to Encourage Citizens to Stay
Great news for Irish tourists and the ever larger Croatian diaspora in Ireland, as Croatia Airlines announced it will operate its Zagreb to Dublin service all year.
If you’re driving in Split, we’ve just made your life a whole lot easier. Learn the ins and outs of parking in the Dalmatian capital with our updated 2019 parking guide.
More good news coming out of Split as the deputy mayor announced that a new measure will be introduced following the model of Dubrovnik: the fees for tourist buses entering the center of Split will double, to 700 or 800 kuna, while an hour of parking at the future Kopilica bus station will amount to only ten percent of that amount.
From the beginning of 2019, Korean Air introduced the Dreamliner Boeing 787-9 aircraft for winter operations on the popular Zagreb-Seoul route.The airline thus became the first to fly the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on a scheduled flight to Zagreb.
And to end this week in travel, Imotski recorded yet another stellar year in tourism. While 260 accommodation facilities were registered in the area of Imotski last year, most of which were holiday homes, in 2017, there were 173, meaning that 90 new objects appeared in just one year. 2019 should be even better, with the region expecting to reach 300.
Croatia Airlines Turning Zagreb-Dublin to Year-Round Service
Split Parking 2019: Your Guide to Getting Around the City
Split to Increase Entry Fee for Tourist Buses into City Center
Korean Air Introduces Dreamliner for Zagreb-Seoul Winter Operations
Imotski Region Expects Overnight Stays to Increase 25% in 2019
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