October 25, 2020 - The coronavirus permeated throughout the Croatian First League and disrupted the HNL schedule. This weekend, only two of the five games of the 9th round are being played, though the HNS commissioner claims that everything is under control.

"Obviously, we live in such a time that it had to happen," said Josip Brezni, adding: "So far, there is no reason to panic."

Gol.hr reports that five matches were postponed in the first two months of the new season because of COVID-19, and three more due to the European obligations of individual clubs.

"Thus, after the 9th round, only Varazdin and Sibenik will have the maximum number of games played. Dinamo, Slaven Belupo, Gorica and Istra will have one game behind, Osijek and Hajduk are two matches behind, and Rijeka and Lokomotiva are three," he said. 

As the Europa League continues in autumn, Rijeka could see even more delays.

"Even before the start of the Championship, we knew that if any of our clubs qualified for the group stage of Europe and postponed any match, as Rijeka postponed two due to the UEFA competition and now one due to the coronavirus, they could only make up games in the spring," says Brezni.

The regularity of the championship is not in question, for now.

"If we are possibly held back from the Headquarters or anything, and the situation worsens, resulting in further interruptions, of course, we will then adjust and possibly think about some next steps," Brezni points out.

Therefore, the HNL is deciding on possibly shortening the championship; however, the deadline for such a decision is strict.

"The last option for possibly changing the way this year's championship is played would be to play two more rounds in the spring part of the Championship."

Even if the situation worsens, Brezni does not see a realistic option for the HNL to be played in the same city, without spectators, and for the teams to be in a "bubble" modeled on the NBA or the Champions League final.

On Saturday, the Istrian headquarters received a recommendation to postpone all inter-county competitions, which would mean that Istra 1961 cannot play its HNL matches. 

The HNL commissioner commented:

"I personally think that there is really no reason for professional clubs to be restricted from playing matches. Eventually, it is realistic to think that the stadiums will be closed again and that we will play without spectators for most of the championship," he concluded. 

The worst situation is in Gorica, which has 13 infected players, followed by Osijek with seven coronavirus-positive players. Some postponed matches will start to be played next week.

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October 25, 2020 - Four Croatian tourism films won awards at the Art & Tur International Tourism Film Festival, which just took place in Portugal. 

HRTurizam reports that in the competition of tourist promotional films and documentaries worldwide, Croatian productions thus received recognition for promotion in the year in which tourism was most affected by the coronavirus crisis. Croatian films have already won several awards at international festivals, so the latest success is certainly no accident.

The Art & Tur International Tourism Film Festival was held for the thirteenth time. As a forum to exchange experiences, it has received high international recognition thanks to the quality and quantity of films and integration into the international network of similar CIFFT festivals. Today, CIFFT is the most prestigious initiative for awards and recognitions in the tourism industry's marketing video. With 18 festival members, the CIFFT Circuit Grand Prix is ​​the largest video marketing competition for the travel and tourism industry, spanning 17 countries and 18 cities.

'Croatia Your Next Filming Destination' won first place in the competition ‘Tourist destinations - Film locations.’ The film was shot in cooperation with the Croatian National Tourist Board and the production company Balduči and called on the film industry to choose Croatia as its destination for filming. Producer Spomenka Saraga received the award.

In the ‘Social Responsibility’ competition, the film 'Zagreb Loves You' won second. It is a slightly different promotional film of the Zagreb Tourist Board, which shows the whole spectrum of emotions that the people of Zagreb experienced on March 22, when a devastating earthquake hit the city. The award was accepted by the director of the Zagreb Tourist Board, Martina Bienenfeld.

Second place in the category of ‘Wellness Tourism’ went to the film 'Dubrovnik - Safe Vacation.' It is an animated film by the City of Dubrovnik and the Dubrovnik Tourist Board. The knight Orlando takes viewers to 1377 when the idea of quarantine to fight various epidemics was conceived in Dubrovnik. The award was presented to producer Stjepan Milas.

Finally, the award for the best original soundtrack went to the promotional film of the Rijeka Tourist Board and the production company Balduči film 'Rijeka - I miss you,' in which Rijeka is presented as a year-round tourist and city-break destination.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 24th of October, 2020, a new Zagreb coronavirus testing site was opened in the eastern parking lot of the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebacki Velesajam) this Saturday. The opening was attended by the director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, and the director of the Andrija Stampar Institute, Zvonimir Sostar.

This new Zagreb coronavirus testing location was made possible by the Croatian Institute of Public Health, the Andrija Stampar Institute and the Dr. Fran Mihaljevic Clinic for Infectious Diseases in order to reduce the crowds on Gupceva zvijezda and in Rockefellerova and Mirogojska streets, because in this new Zagreb coronavirus testing location there is a large car park sufficient for everyone who will come for testing.

Testing at the new location will be conducted every day from 08:00 to 11:00, according to a report from N1. Capak said the flow at the new testing site will likely be much higher, meaning there will be less hanging around and crowding.

"Please tell people come here, not to Mirogojska and Rockefellerova. The samples taken here go to the laboratory in Rockefellerova anyway. Feel free to just come here, we'll try to deal with all the swabs that come within 24 hours. Currently, HZJZ has a slightly reduced capacity because we have several positive employees and several of them are now in self-isolation. We have the capacity to cover both this space and the space in Rockefellerova,'' said Capak.

Sostar thanked the Zagreb Fair for meeting the needs for this location and also thanked Krunoslav Capak, who, as he says, organised to put this new Zagreb coronavirus testing location into function as quickly as possible.

"This isn't a joke, nor is it a game. Coronavirus has now also entered our homes for the elderly and infirm. We have reason to worry and as such, we should act accordingly. There are no foci, the virus spreads horizontally. We have more and more families becoming infected. Epidemiologists are working from 7 in the morning until 1 in the morning,'' warned Sostar.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 24th of October, 2020, when it comes to buying real estate and other types of land, the beautiful Lika region, known as Croatia's green heart has become fashionable. There has been a huge interest in the last few months.

Would-be buyers are seeking out and purchasing old homes, demolished rural properties and construction land, business is continuing to run and paperwork is being sorted out. It isn't surprising, when the extremely low price of fertile agricultural land in the Lika region comes into play, which is offered at a price of just one to two kuna per square metre in some cases.

In addition to the availability cheap land, as well as houses for renovation that can be found for as little as twenty thousand euros, the increased interest in the Lika region was accelerated by the ongoing crisis, which led people to invest in the are and in the production of their own food.

It isn't only Dalmatians in the game, lately the people of Zagreb have been fleeing to the Lika region, to whom the devastating earthquake has brought additional fear. For a hundred thousand kuna, they can quickly become the owners of beautiful houses in the mountains, in solitude, for example on the stretch from Gospic to Karlobag, with an abundance of fertile soil and forest at hand.

"I think I'm the only man in the world who wants the coronavirus pandemic to go crazy for at least another five years. Because since it arrived, the business in my real estate agency, the only one left in Lika, has been booming. For some six to seven years, I've been recording an increased interest of Dalmatians in buying real estate or land in the area from Otocac to Gospic, literally across the whole of Lika. But in the last few coronavirus-dominated months in my agency alone, we've closed about eighty sales. Dalmatians are buying agricultural land en masse, they're attracted by the extremely low prices, and all locations are at stake. If I were to make a comparison, agricultural land is doing even better than houses and properties are,'' Ivan Bizanovic, the owner of the Lika nekretnine agency, the only one in the area, and vice-president of the Real Estate Association at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, told Slobodna Dalmacija.

In the Lika region, the first row to the river has an elevated status, much like the first row to the sea in Dalmatia has. Namely, there are no more such localities along the river Gacka, and if any are found for sale, they disappear in the blink of an eye. But even in the Gacka river's general vicinity, the price already ranges somewhere between 20 to 35 euros per square metre, with the price of construction land ranging from five to 25 euros.

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ZAGREB, Oct 24, 2020 - On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, and on the occasion of the UN Day, celebrated on 24 October, Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Ministry stated on Saturday that the UN was seen as a pillar of peace and security, development and human rights.

Considering its foreign policy activities, Croatia strongly supports the main activities of this organisation and is committed to the process of strengthening the UN system in addressing important and topical issues, the ministry says in a press release.

It recalls that Croatia was admitted to this international organisation 28 years ago.

Since then, Croatia has advocated the strengthening of international cooperation and multilateralism, and has achieved pronounced results during its participation and work in the UN bodies including  Security Council and Economic and Social Council, Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council.

The year 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and its founding Charter.  24 October has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948.

October 24, 2020 - As of Saturday, the city of Zagreb and four more Croatian counties are on Germany's red list. Namely, Karlovac, Osijek-Baranja, Varazdin, and Bjelovar-Bilogora counties. 

T.portal reports that other Croatian counties were on the list already. Thus, almost the entire territory of Croatia, with the exception of Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Zadar, and Sibenik-Knin counties, is a risk area.

Returnees from these areas are subject to 14 days of self-isolation after arriving in Germany and reporting to local health services. A negative coronavirus test excludes mandatory self-isolation.

Based on the recommendation of the Central Epidemiological Institute Robert Koch, the German government placed the whole of Poland and Switzerland, as well as almost all of Austria, with the exception of Carinthia, on the list of risk areas.

According to the latest list, almost all of Italy is a high-risk area, while the Canary Islands have been removed from the list.

At the same time, Denmark closed its border with Germany due to the increase in the number of new infections in Germany.

Merkel called on citizens to reduce contacts

In her regular Saturday video message, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated her call on citizens to reduce the number of personal contacts as much as possible and to adhere to hygienic measures and rules for wearing protective masks.

Police in Berlin today is intensively checking compliance with measures such as wearing masks in pedestrian zones and a ban on pouring and selling alcohol after 11 pm.

In recent days, Germany has seen a sharp rise in the number of new infections, which exceeded 11,000 on Thursday and Friday.

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ZAGREB, Oct 24, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Saturday that the national COVID-19 crisis management team was preparing new restrictions which should go into effect as of Monday.

Plenkovic held a news conference in Government House on Saturday afternoon after a meeting of his cabinet on preparations of the national development strategy until 2030 and the national recovery and resilience plan.

He called on the Croatians to show full responsibility in efforts to combat the coronavirus infection.

The premier said that the national COVID-19 crisis management team was preparing the new measures, including the reduction of the number of people in public gatherings.

He recalls that people who are self-isolating are asked to working from home, and added that some more measures would be considered within plans to reduce the risk of infection at work.

Plenkovic informed the news conference of the efforts to prepare the  National Development Strategy 2030 and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

"I expect the document (strategy) to be put for public consultation in early November so as to take into consideration proposed improvements."

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan is a document necessary for the disbursement of the EU funds. That document will serve as a reform basis for the absorption of the funds in the next four years, he added.

This about 22 billion euros that can help boost Croatia's economy, the premier said, recalling that also funds from the EU have been ensured for the reconstruction of the quake-hit Zagreb and its environs.

ZAGREB, Oct 24, 2020 - Croatian 15-year-olds rank eighth in PISA's standings that measure teenagers' ability to understand and act on intercultural and global issues.

In the Global Competence test, conducted as part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) among 27 countries, Croatian students achieved better than average results, according to the findings of the test, which were made public this past Thursday.

PISA’s definition of global competence includes openness towards people from other cultural backgrounds, respect for cultural differences and global-mindedness.

PISA's test of "global understanding" includes background knowledge plus "cognitive skills necessary to successfully navigate global and intercultural issues."

The test was conducted in the spring 2018 among 6,609 pupils in 179 secondary and four elementary schools in Croatia.

Croatia's students scored 506 points in the global competence test, which was above the average of 474 points.

Of the 27 countries covered by the tests, Singapore's 15-year-olds top it with 576 points, Canada follows with 554 points, and Hong Kong (542 points) and the UK (534) make the top four in tjhe list.  On the bottom of the ranking are the  Philippines (371 points), Morocco (402) and Kazahstan and Indonesia both with 408 points.

According to the results of the test Croatia's students have shown greater awareness of  global issues.

Croatia's National Centre for the External Evaluation of Education (NCVVO) has explained that Croatia's students also have greater-than-average understanding of some global issues such as migrations, gender equality and international conflicts.

For instance, Croatian students' attitudes towards immigrants are more positive than the average of OECD countries.

More than 90 Croatian pupils say they can speak two or more foreign languages whereas the OECD average is 68%.

On the other hand, Croatian students seem less ready to take activities in connection with local and global problems.