October 9, 2020 - For the sixth year in a row, Istria is the world's best olive oil region, according to the results of Flos Olei 2021.

HRTurizam reports that in the popular publication Flos Olei, the so-called 'extra virgin olive oil bible,' as many as 71 olive growers from Istria produced such high-quality extra virgin olive oil that it deserved a prestigious award - inclusion in the new, twelfth edition of Flos Olei!

Namely, in the new edition, 73 oils from Croatia are included, of which 71 are from Istria and two from Dalmatia. Simultaneously, several Istrian olive growers achieved better results compared to last year, which is proof of significant work in raising the quality and application of the latest scientific and technological achievements in olive growing.

In 2021, Istria will once again be adorned with the title of the world's best olive oil region, in a winning streak that has lasted six years. This is especially important considering that the publication contains oils from all over the world, or from 54 olive-growing countries, and Istrian olive growers are in the company of the 500 best with a total share of 14 percent.

"It sounds unreal, and I would say pretentious, but for the sixth year in a row, Istria has been declared the best olive region in the world. Since its first edition in 2010, Istria has immediately taken an important role and positioned itself as the second-best olive growing region, just behind Tuscany. However, every year the advantage of Tuscany was smaller. At the end of 2016, it took the leading position that it has maintained to this day, but with a far greater difference than Tuscany previously had in relation to Istria. The fact that Istria has 71 olive growers and Tuscany 43 speaks volumes about what it looks like this year. An even more important fact is that over 1,000 samples from all over the world arrive for evaluation. After that, a selection of the 500 best in the world is made, and that within the 500 best Istria has 71, which is really impressive," proudly points out Denis Ivosevic, director of the Istria County Tourist Board.

It is essential to be aware of the fact that in no discipline, in any industry, sport, or any other important competition in places where reputation is gained and confirmed, does Croatia have as much success as Istrian extra virgin olive oil for six years in a row, Ivosevic emphasizes and adds:

"We are very proud of that fact, but it seems that a lot of work is still needed in our country, and also abroad, so that this primacy gets its full and true value; that we become aware of it first in Croatia and that then all those who promote Croatian gastronomy proudly point it out. In the expectation that next year we will reach at least one grade of 99, I believe that the time has come and that six years of confirmation is enough proof to realize that we are the best in the world in something."

This worldwide success certainly contributes to the branding of Istria and Croatia as a gastronomic destination, given that extra virgin olive oil is the main addition to dishes and the basic food product of Mediterranean cuisine, and due to its organoleptic and medicinal properties, it is appreciated almost everywhere in the world.

Significant investments in olive oil production took place in Istria in this extraordinary year.

The Chiavalon family (Vodnjan) opened a new olive center/modern building that includes a new Mori olive press, with a new cellar, tasting room, sales point, and warehouse, while the Ipša family (Ipši, Oprtalj) also opened a new olive center/refurbished and revalued a traditional building, with a new Mori, cellar, tasting room, point of sale, Istrian tavern and warehouse.

The Vanđelić (Bale) family also opened a new olive center/renovated and revalued a traditional building with a new Mori, cellar, tasting room, and sales outlet, combined with fruit vegetable production.

The Galić family (Kostanjica, Grožnjan) opened a new cellar, tasting room, and sales point, while the Oleum Maris company did the same, and the Beletić family (Novigrad) introduced the PIERALISI.

The guide will soon see the light of day. On 884 pages, it will be published in two language variants (Italian-English and Italian-Chinese) and will present selected countries from five continents and 86 world maps of olive groves. The list of all Croatian award-winning olive growers can be found HERE.

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October 9, 2020 - The latest travel news during the corona era, as Italy removes Croatia from the red list of countries requiring a negative COVID test to enter the country.

Slobodna Dalmacija reports that according to the information that can be read on the website of Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was reported to Slobodna Dalmacija from Milan by Rea Karnincic from Split, who owns the travel agency "Solo Croazia", Croatian citizens can now travel to Italy without a COVID-19 test, which was required from August 12 if they wanted to enter that country.

Specifically, in order to enter Italy, travelers had to bring a COVID test from Croatia not older than 72 hours to enter Italy, or they were required to take the COVID test in Italy within 24 hours of entering the country.

"It is a great thing for everyone in Croatia. Now our people will be able to study in Italy without testing, and also Italians will be able to, say, come to Istria over the weekend and after returning to Italy they will not have to take a test," Rea Karnincic said.

Apart from Croatia, Greece and Malta were removed from Italy's "red list", while Spain was left on the red list, and the whole of France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom were added.

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia also confirmed the news on Friday.

"The Ministry of Health of the Italian Republic abolished the obligation to test for all passengers traveling from the Republic of Croatia to Italy on 8 October 2020."

Likewise, all passengers who have stayed or transited in the last 14 in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic, and Spain are required to a) present a negative swab test not older than 72 hours or b) take a swab test within 48 hours after arriving in Italy, says the Ministry.

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October the 9th, 2020 - The name Ivica Todoric has become synonymous with high level corruption and masked deeds in the weird world of Croatian business in which politics tends to mix a little too closely.

The former boss of Agrokor (now Fortenova) has had a wild ride of sorts. From fleeding Croatia to London, where he lived in a wealthy area and was tried by a British court, to being sent back to Croatia and to Remetinec and then released after somehow finding the huge amount of money in cash needed to secure bail. Things were all quiet on the proverbial Western Front for several months as Ivica Todoric's trial loomed.

The former main man of Agrokor, a previously untouchable and somewhat precarious figure who had built Agrokor from nothing into the enormous, strategically important company it later became, was like a dog with a bone in his fight to shed light on the alleged corruption which surrounded the ''kidnapping of Agrokor'' as he so frequently referred to it. He profusely claimed that the many accusations against him were false and that he had plenty of evidence to prove that. He wrote his later somewhat infamous blog from the comfort of his former London pad and went about exposing all and sundry at the Croatian political top of the time, with former Deputy PM Martina Dalic, a favourite target of his, leaving her position amid the claims. You can read more about Ivica Todoric, the only English language translations of his blog and his varying escapades here.

Finally, Ivica Todoric's trial actually began, and he was proclaimed innocent. But why? The presiding judge offered her reasoning for her passing that verdict.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ivana Jakelic/VL writes on the 7th of October, 2020, the Zagreb County Court handed down the first verdict to the former owner of Agrokor, Ivica Todoric and his co-defendants and former business associates for extracting 1.26 million euros from Agrokor through the account of a Swiss company. Ivica Todoric, Ante Huljev, Piruska Canjuga and Nicole de Rossi were all acquitted.

"After the evidentiary proceedings, it hasn't been proven that the accused would've committed the criminal offenses in the manner in which they've been charged. In order to be found guilty, every allegation in the indictment list must be proven. In this procedure, the allegations from the indictment have not been proven,'' explained Judge Maja Stampar Stipic.

''The Trial Chamber found that the money paid was spent on advisory services. The state attorney's office didn't bring any evidence to the table that would contradict that,'' she added. The Council concluded that the engagement of the consulting company benefited Agrokor and that Mercator was purchased after that deal.

"This regarded the realisation of a very successful business venture," said the judge. The prosecution charged the four with extracting 1.2 million euros from Agrokor through the account of a Swiss company for services that were not performed.

Ivica Todoric's co-defendants denied their guilt and claimed that everything that happened was done to get a job done. The Prosecution, on the other hand, considered that the allegations in the indictment had been proven, ie that it was a job that hadn't been performed. They have since announced an appeal against the verdict.

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As Novac/Andreas Koscec writes on the 8th of October, 2020, Real Grupa, a Croatian marketing communications agency, has done an excellent job in Brazil. The company devised a brand new store concept, redesigned the existing ones and created a new strategic positioning campaign For the Spanish retail chain Dia, which has 900 stores in this huge market of 211 million people. On top of all of the above, it also is continuing Dia's campaigns on a monthly basis.

''I must admit I wasn't ready for Brazil. I worked on markets like Lithuania, Ukraine and Portugal, so I considered myself a cosmopolitan immune to the phenomenon of culture shock. I believed that our client would be similar in temperament, life and business habits to the Mediterranean-Portuguese, and thus to our way of life. Brazil presents itself through football, movies and series as something close to us, but in practice the life of a Brazilian is as similar to ours as the life of someone in Japan. I had to dare to fight with my own Eurocentrism and the perception of everything unknown and different as primitive,'' describes Goran Pecanac, Real Grupa's art director.

''To get to know the customer's habits first hand and help construct what we call the shopping experience, I went with a colleague in the cheapest training clothes with only a printed copy of my passport and several thousand reais in my pocket in the infamous favela Capao Redondo and walked. Only then is it possible to abandon some of the prejudices and truly get to know people and their lives. Communication problems on the market are endless and difficult to explain to someone who hasn't actually experienced it,'' explained Pecanac.

Real Grupa has been working for large international clients for many years, and works on the Brazilian market according to a proven principle - using the knowledge and experience of the parent agency as a driver of creative strategy and local partner agency MRM / OU which is part of McCann Erickson Group.

However, Brazilian marketing campaigns, as it turned out, are conceptually different from Croatian ones. Brazilians love solutions rich in different communication elements. In addition, just one display of an advertisement on TV is enough to make an impressive sales effect in the largest country in South America, which is incredible for Croatian media terms.

''It took some time to get rid of the established visual values ​​to which we're accustomed, which have so far been part of automatism and which haven't been questioned in the previous setting of communication. It was necessary to relax in exaggeration, allow myself to go a few steps further than usual, use a much broader colour scheme, more visual elements, more sound and effects, and then revise and reduce all that if necessary. I managed to make a mascot that was accepted as an element on which to base any further communication suggesting freshness, product variety and bargain purchase, and when I managed to lay it as a foundation for further communication, I knew we'd managed to overcome the initial barrier and that it would all be much easier from that moment on,'' said Matko Jovicin, a fellow art director.

The creative director of Real Grupa, Maro Pitarevic, came to his senses when it turned out that he didn't study Portuguese in vain.

''At the first meeting, the Brazilians couldn't believe it when I gave a presentation in Portuguese. I felt so satisfied that me, from little Croatia, without a translator, managed to come up with the slogan 'Melhor em cada dia', which is an ambiguous message and means 'every day better', but also better (products and prices) in every Dia store,'' Pitarevic explained, adding that the advertising industry is like football.

''Brazilians are the great masters, but sometimes even little old Croatia can achieve great results,'' he claimed.

''Organizing a communication strategy in such a place is an extremely difficult task, which is why I'm proud of what we've managed to achieve,'' revealed a satisfied Pecanac.

''The relationship with the client was also atypical, in the most positive sense, there was a rare feeling in agency practice that we're together with the client in an attempt to solve the problem, that the project is joint and that success will also be,'' he added.

Kresimir Renzo Prosoli, President of the Management Board of Real Grupa, is also satisfied with the work on the market of 211 million inhabitants.

''We're proud of this cooperation and we're glad that as an agency we 've proven that success is possible anywhere. Since its establishment, we've based our business strategy on working in Croatia, but also on other, foreign markets, which are also a challenge for us and we always look for good opportunities no matter where they might be,'' concluded Prosoli.

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October the 8th, 2020 - OTP banka has won the title of the best Croatian custodian bank once again, earning an enviably high rating from satisfied clients and no doubt boosting the bank's already high level of respect.

When it comes to banks in Croatia, there are many options. For those who don't want a Croatian bank account for whatever reason now also have the option of companies like Revolut and Transferwise as opposed to having to use foreign accounts which incur additional charges for use abroad. OTP banka, however, has consistently earned high ratings among both regular clients and business ones alike.

As Novac/Jozo Vrdoljak writes on the or the fifth year in a row, the well respected Global Investor / ISF magazine has proclaimed the already popular OTP banka d.d. the best Croatian custodian bank in the category of unweighted ratings according to the opinions of clients, who gave it an extremely high rating of 6.73.

It was necessary for this Croatian custodian bank to meet more than ten demanding criteria, including the provision of settlement services and corporate actions, the quality of reporting on market events, including regulatory changes, and the quality of business relationships, which is one of the most important but also the most difficult points of service for banks to meet.

The Republic of Croatia's OTP banka thus won the highest unweighted ratings as judged by the size of its clients' assets.

"This high rating confirms that clients, despite these challenging times, still consider OTP banka to be one of the best providers of care and protection for clients' assets," read a statement from the aformentioned winning Croatian custodian bank, OTP banka.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes on the 8th of October, 2020, the Movo product line is a novelty from a company called Sobocan from Mursko Sredisce, which, in its 20 years of business, has grown into a serious "player" on the European market when it comes to designing and manufacturing equipment for sales and business premises.

As they say from Movo, for them it is a big business breakthrough inspired by the ongoing pandemic situation and the fact that more and more companies are adopting new business models like the well-known work from home one. Their answer is Movo - a mobile work unit that provides the user with professional working conditions wherever they may be.

A professional challenge

''The first phase in product development was a survey we conducted among our employees and clients to find out first hand what is actually lacking the most when it comes to working from home and their work space. Research has shown that most people don't have an adequate workplace in their home and that they use their kitchen tables, counters and sofas for work…

The limiting residential spaces don't often have space for a work zone that is used only occasionally. All these years we've been improving in terms of the production and development of our products and now is finally the time to implement all this knowledge in the design of our own product. The challenge was to design and develop a completely new line and create a brand in a very short time,'' explained Dejan Sobocan, the director of the company.

Movo, he says, takes up minimal space, and provides the user with comfort when performing their various work tasks. When done with work, it is very easy to close, lock if necessary, push it away and save it. Each of the models is mobile, foldable, equipped with an electrical box and storage and has the possibility of locking.

The Movo line currently includes six different mobile office models depending on the needs and preferences of users, and each of the models has the option of personalisation by applying colours and the logo of each company.

The initial transformation of the idea of ​​the executive director Dejan Sobocan into Movo mobile offices was developed by the design team of Anamaria Burazin as a product designer, and architects Mirna Jovic and Jakov Fatovic, and it took them only four months from the idea to arriving to the finished product.

Sobocan is, by the way, a family company run by Franjo Sobocan and his sons Nikola and Dejan, and behind them, they say, are more than 8000 realised projects, out of 200 architectural-designs, six production halls, 1.5 million square metres of equipped business premises and realised projects in more than 20 countries around the world. The list of those with whom they have a long-term collaboration includes Nike, Intersport, The Athlete’s Foot, Mol Group, Crocs Europe, Phillip Morris, Valamar and Maistra.

The last significant investment, worth 300,000 euros, was the purchase of a line for varnishing wooden elements, ie investing in a machine that enabled even better work. Today, they have 200 employees, and they are especially proud of the fact that nobody was fired as a result of the pandemic and they didn't have any need to reduce their salaries, with the average net salary being 8,300 kuna.

Even during the crisis they were hiring

Moreover, they boasted that they had strengthened their team and hired several new people who will contribute their experience to the further development of the company. Successful results have enabled the growth and development of business and the expansion of supply, which isn't stopping even in these uncertain times of crisis.

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October the 8th, 2020 - Croatia is continually producing extremely talented people across all fields from sport to science and everything in between. 27-year-old Pavo Orepic from Ploce in the Neretva region of southern Dalmatia is yet another fine example of this.

As rogotin.hr writes on the 8th of October, 2020, on Thursday, young Pavo Orepic (27), a "child from Ploce", successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne), securing a doctorate in no less than cognitive neuroscience. And not only that, the competent commission nominated him for the best doctorate of the year! In four years of his doctoral studies, the talented Pavo Orepic researched technologically-induced changes in the state of consciousness in healthy people, with an emphasis placed on research into the hallucinations of "hearing voices", which often occurs in schizophrenia.

The institute in which Pavo Orepic works has developed experimental methods in which, using only technology, they have managed to induce various hallucinations and illusions in the healthy, with the aim of identifying the brain processes that cause such altered states of consciousness. As part of this, Pavo devised an experimental procedure by which, in healthy people, he managed to cause mild hallucinations of hearing voices. Namely, over 70 percent of people who suffer from schizophrenia "hear voices" every day, and these voices are, unfortunately, mostly very negative and aggressive, and as such significantly endanger the daily lives of patients. Since it is still largely unknown how such hallucinations occur in the brain, their methods of treatment are limited. By simulating such hallucinations in controlled laboratory conditions, Pavo’s doctorate has seen a significant step taken towards understanding them, and as such will potentially contribute to the discovery of new methods of their treatment. As part of his doctorate, Pavo Orepic has written five scientific articles that have been submitted for publication in the world’s leading scientific journals.

Pavo Orepic is otherwise known to the people of Ploce and to the general public. While attending the General Gymnasium in Ploce, he placed in the finals of the competition for the Most Successful Teenager in Croatia. Prior to his doctorate, he completed his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb, and completed his graduate studies at the Institut für Technologi in Karlsruher, Germany. Every level of his education has been extremely successful. As part of his doctorate, he also spent six months working on two projects with neurosurgical patients at the Neuromodulation Center at Ohio State University (OSU) in the United States. Recently, in March 2020, he won an award at the popular world-famous competition "My thesis in 180 seconds" held in Lausanne. It is a competition that is held once a year in about 90 countries around the world and in which doctoral students, in just 180 seconds, have to explain the topic of their doctorate to a non-scientific audience using simple language.

The new doctor was born on March the 28th, 1993 in Split. He completed his primary and secondary school education in Ploce with great success. He has been training karate for many years and has a black belt. His hobbies are travelling, because he likes to meet new people, and get better acquainted with new environments and customs. So far, he has visited more than 20 countries across the world. He enjoys fitness and, when his obligations allow for it, skiing.

Watch Pavo talk about how a robot can make you hear voices here:

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ZAGREB, Oct 8, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros on Thursday announced, after a meeting of the Covid response team with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, that decisions on restricting public gatherings and mandatory masks in all closed premises are being prepared in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

"We informed the Prime Minister of the epidemiological situation in Croatia and of new clusters, and we considered new measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus," Beros told reporters after the meeting in Government House.

Being considered are restrictions on public gatherings and mandatory masks in all closed premises and outdoors where close contact with others is unavoidable.

Croatia recorded a record number of 542 new cases of the virus today and one new fatality, while the number of active cases currently is 2,206.

The newest measures need to be applied in addition to the usual measures of physical distance and hygiene, said Beros.

New measures as of next week

The head of the Croatian Institute for Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, announced that the new measures would be in force as of the start of next week.

By the weekend we will prepare new recommendations and decisions and complete talks with our partners such as the Croatian Bishops' Conference and the hospitality sector, he said.

"We will definitely introduce mandatory masks in all closed premises and in the open where close contact is unavoidable," he said.

We are also discussing more frequent and more stringent controls of whether restrictions are being adhered to, underlined Capak.

He added that the Covid response team would do all it can to avoid another lockdown, although that cannot be entirely excluded.