January 16, 2021 - Bolt, one of the leading European platforms for on-demand transport services, presented a semi-annual pilot project for renting electric scooters in Rijeka in partnership with the City of Rijeka.

HRTurizam reports that as of January 15, an electric scooter can be unlocked in one of the 10 locations in the city center via Bolt's mobile application in Rijeka, and a scooter model designed and manufactured inside Bolt will be used. The scooter's speed is up to 20 km / h, and in certain select areas, such as the Promenade and part of the Riva, the speed is limited to 10 km / h.

Tomislav Lukačević, director of Bolt in Croatia, said their mission was to enable people to move around the city faster and easier.

“Avoiding crowds, especially during the summer season, is a big problem in cities like Rijeka. We noticed that we have many rides in Rijeka up to 3 kilometers, which makes it an ideal city for scooter travel. In this way, we solve two problems: we reduce the number of car rides and save our users time and money."

"Bolt globally has big plans in terms of micro-mobility with an investment of over 150 million euro in the coming period, which includes a plan to introduce electric scooter rental services in over 100 cities across Europe. We believe that the pilot project will show all the advantages of this mode of transport. Other cities will recognize it and cooperate with us to introduce this modern and environmentally conscious service. Thank you to the City of Rijeka for recognizing the value of this project and giving its full support," commented Ivan Begović, operational manager for scooters in Bolt Croatia.

To begin with, 200 scooters will be deployed in the center of Rijeka at 10 locations, traffic hotspots, and frequent locations such as Sušak Bridge, Fiumara Bus Station, Adriatic Square, Žabica, Railway Station, HNK Rijeka, Rijeka Department Store, Mladosti Hall, IGK Student Campus, and the University Campus. Each scooter comes with a built-in GPS device that will provide insight into their pick-up and drop-off locations and is unlocked by scanning the QR code via the app.

During the promotional period, unlocking the scooter will be free, while the price of use will be 75 lipa per minute of driving.

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January 16, 2021 – An incredible Osijek Art Nouveau villa, situated in the heart of the city centre, it took local entrepreneur Branko Ostović almost 10 years to buy the famous, decaying Villa Batory. In just 18 short months he has returned the building to its former glory

Every town has a grand old ruin. It's the place residents drive past and dream of owning. “If I had a million Euros, I'd buy that place, bring it back to its best and live like a king”

Croatia has more of these kinds of buildings than most. For hundreds of years these lands were presided over by elite European families and royalty who used their considerable wealth to build castles, stately homes, hunting lodges and villas. After the Second World War, such buildings were seized by the state and, for numerous reasons, many fell into disrepair. One such building was Villa Batory, a city centre Osijek Art Nouveau villa.

How Villa Batory originally looked, not long after its completion in 1906

The state of disrepair the villa fell into over the last 20 years - it still looked impressive, if unloved © Dvorci, utvrde i stari gradovi Facebook / Aleksandra Petrović

For over 20 years, this incredible Osijek Art Nouveau villa has lain empty. Prominently positioned on the corner of Radićeva and Reisnerova streets, right in the heart of Osijek, the building has drawn admiring stares ever since it was built in 1906. Even while empty and left slowly decaying, its impressive towers, intricate stone and plasterwork and considered architectural details ensured this Osijek Art Nouveau villa was never far from the daydreams of anyone who walked by.

An incredible architectural gem, wasting away, until now... © Croatian Heritage Facebook

One such daydreamer was Branko Ostović. Only, being one of Osijek's successful entrepreneurs, Branko has perhaps more get-up-and-go than many idle dreamers. For him, daydreams were simply not enough. For almost 10 years he tried to negotiate the purchase of the receding Osijek Art Nouveau villa. Progress was difficult, given the listed nature of the property, past disputes over ownership and the building lying within the ownership of the local hospital, who had no funds to renovate and required state permission to sell.

Finally, in 2019, Branko Ostović successfully assumed ownership of the Osijek Art Nouveau villa. In just 18 short months – and a considerable financial investment – he has not only halted the building's decline but has restored its outer facade so that Osijek residents can once again take pride, rather than pity, in this city centre architectural gem. He has renamed the villa 'Mimi', after his wife, a popular local teacher.

The villa exists within grounds that cover an enormous 3000 square metres. This is a considerable tract of land, given it is right in the heart of the city. It was built in 1906 as the villa of the manager of Paromlin Union (one of the largest mill plants in the area) by noted Osijek builder Otto Struppi. It is just one of a series of art nouveau gems that lie in this westerly section of the city.

Throughout his attempts at purchasing the building, Branko Ostović had no real commercial plans of what he could do with the building. Recognised for its architectural worth, there are restrictions imposed by the state on how any renovation may treat the property. The interior cannot be altered in a way that would the property better suited to contemporary living accommodation. Ostović's main motivation for buying it was simply to stop the rot and return it to its former glory.

He has so far invested some 40 million kuna in the restoration and 5 million kuna in the initial purchase. 95% of work on the exterior is complete, although further investment is needed for the interior. Focussed on completing the long-held project, Ostović still has no clear plans for the building and no potential tenants. He imagines the Osijek Art Nouveau villa might make a good home for a polyclinic or a hotel.

All contemporary images of the renovated Villa Mimi © Damir Janković

ZAGREB, 16 January, 2021 - A moderate earthquake, measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale, jolted the Petrinja area of central Croatia at 10.59 am on Saturday, the country's seismological service said.

The epicentre of the tremor was 11 kilometres west of Petrinja, about 45 kilometres southeast of Zagreb. The intensity at the epicentre was IV-V degrees on the EMS scale.

The earthquake was also felt in Zagreb.

ZAGREB, 16 January, 2021 - Croatia has recorded 763 new coronavirus cases and 38 infection-related deaths in the last 24 hours.

Currently, there are 4,711 active cases in the country, including 1,760 infected people who are receiving hospital treatment and 154 of them are on ventilators, the national coronavirus response team said on Saturday.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 224,575 people have been infected with the novel virus, of whom 4,588 have died and 215,276 have recovered, including 667 in the last 24 hours. Currently, 17,861 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 1,113,856 people have been tested to date, including 5,969 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, 15 January, 2021 - The Slovenian energy company Petrol has taken over the Zagreb-headquartered Crodux Derivati, which was owned by businessman Ivan Čermak, Petrol said in a press release on Friday.

This transaction will enable Petrol to acquire 91 filling stations in Croatia, after the deal is approved by relevant regulators.

The agreement on the transaction was signed on Tuesday, however, Petrol did not reveal the price of this deal.

In 2019, this Croatian company, specialised in trade and storage of petroleum products, earned HRK 5.64 billion in sales revenues, and its net profit totalled HRK 143 million. There were 1,150 employees on its payroll that year.

As a result of the takeover, Petrol will operate more than 200 filling stations in Croatia and its share in Croatia's market will rise from 13% to 23%.

This has been also the biggest transaction for Petrol in the last 10 years.

ZAGREB, 15 January, 2021 - At its plenary session next week, the European Parliament will discuss aid to Croatia to alleviate the consequences of a devastating earthquake that struck the country, Croatian MEPs announced on Friday at an online press conference organised by the European Parliament Office in Zagreb.

MEPs Valter Flego, Predrag Fred Matić and Željana Zovko announced the agenda of the plenary session due to take place in Brussels from 18 to 21 January.

One of the topics on the agenda is the provision of relief to the areas of Croatia that were devastated by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck on 29 December.

The basic idea of the proposed resolution on the alleviation of the consequences, initiated by Valter Flego (IDS, Renew), is to draw attention to the fact that recovery from the earthquake will be a long process. The document will be put to a vote on Thursday.

The resolution will bring the Commission's attention to the importance of reducing and overcoming bureaucratic obstacles, monitoring the state of the public and private sectors, the need to revitalise the economy and provide maximum support for the reconstruction of the affected areas. It will also invite the Commission to ensure maximum support for the Croatian government in addressing the consequences of the earthquake, Flego said.

"I am pleased that on Thursday we will get a strong resolution representing the European Parliament's position on aid to Croatia," Flego said, thanking his colleagues for their cooperation.

Željana Zovko (HDZ, EPP) also said that the resolution was a sign of strong parliamentary support for Croatia.

January 16, 2021 - Istria could be the first in Croatia to loosen measures because it has the best epidemiological situation in the country, along with Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

The Chief of the Istria County Civil Protection Headquarters, Dino Kozlevac, announced that communication with the National Headquarters would begin next week about making adjustments. He did not state precisely what should return to normal first, but it will probably be gyms or sports activities.

"We will first restore activities that have an impact on fitness, life, and work—that first, and then gradually the rest. We are cautious because the situation in some neighboring countries is not good, and it is getting worse. We would not like to reduce the measures that would have to be returned very soon," Kozlevac told Nova TV.

Asked if the National Headquarters would agree to different measures in different regions, Kozlevac said he would 'find a common language.'

"I believe that regional specificity and results will be respected. It is not fair to wait for someone who still has work to do. Our citizens, who are most responsible for reducing the number of cases because they adhere to the measures, deserve to be the first to receive concessions," said Kozlevac.

He emphasized that Istria has good numbers, and the number of new cases has been declining for the fourth week.

On Friday, 249 swab samples were tested for COVID-19 at the Istria County Institute of Public Health. 13 newly infected persons from the county were confirmed.

Nine infections came from self-isolation measures or close contact with an already known positive person. One person is an imported case from the area: Italy (1).

Thirty people were cured. There are currently 229 active COVID-19 positive individuals in Istria County and 1109 people under self-isolation measures.

At the General Hospital in Pula, at the Department of Infectious Diseases, 51 people are being treated, of which five are in the respiratory center.

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January 16, 2021 - Croatian mixed martial arts duo Francisco 'Croata' Barrio (7-2) and Daniel Bažant (5-1) have both been added to KSW 58, one of the leading mixed martial arts organizations in Europe, on January 30, 2021, in Lodz, Poland.

This will be Barrio's sophomore appearance in KSW after making his promotional debut last November in a hard-fought decision loss against undefeated star Mateusz Legierski. The ATT Zagreb fighter will face Bartłomiej Kopera (9-6) later this month, and it will take place in the lightweight division.

The 31-year-old was born in Argentina and is the son of Croatian Brigadier Rodolfo Barrio Saavedra, who was involved in the Croatian War of Independence. Barrio moved to Croatia in his youth, and it was in his homeland that he developed his love for martial arts and wrestling in particular. Upon returning to Argentina in his late teens, he began excelling in wrestling and had great success in the Pan American Championships & South American Games, and almost qualified for the 2012 London Olympics.

That same year, he transitioned to MMA and went on to fight in the FFC promotion in Croatia, amassing an impressive 7-1 record en route to joining KSW. 

Pula's Daniel Bažant now also joins KSW and will make his debut this month. The 29-year-old is a student of Croatian MMA legend Zelg Galešić at the Trojan Free Fighters gym. He will be facing the undefeated Polish prospect Robert Ruchała (4-0) in the featherweight division.

KSW 58 will see Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting Szymon Kolecki (8-1) face German veteran Martin Zawada (29-15-1) in the main event, while undefeated French sensation Salahdine Parnasse (14-0-1) will defend his KSW featherweight title against exciting Brazilian Daniel Torres (11-4) in the co-main and it is available for Croatian fans on RTL (please check local listings).

You can follow more about KSW at KSWMMA.com

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