August 25, 2020 - Manuel Neuer, the best goalkeeper in the world, who two days ago brought the Champions League title to Bayern Munich, deserves Croatian citizenship, writes Index.hr.

The legendary goalkeeper was preparing to win the Champions League at his favorite summer destination - Brela on the Makarska Riviera. He used the town as a base from where he went on trips all around Dalmatia. A key player and the captain of Bayern Munich's 2020 Champions League-winning side, and a World Cup winner, Neuer holidays every year in Croatia. Humble and approachable, he's known to stop for photos and has signed a few thousand autographs on the Adriatic coast.

This year he rode his bicycle to the Omis hinterland, where he paid for a round of drinks for all the patrons of one cafe in Gati and took pictures with everyone. He then played water polo with Nikša Dobud on Šipan island.

However, his most endearing activity in Croatia this year was caught on video. Singing in the company of locals on the Dalmatian islands, you can see Neuer knows the words to "Oj, Zagora, you are beautiful ..." and "Let your pillow be a rock ...". Neuer fell in love with these and many other Croatian songs after his personal trainer Toni Tapalović introduced them to him.

Later on his visit, Neuer enjoyed stuffed peppers on Pelješac at the "you pay three, you get two" campaign, and toured the peninsula in a vintage Porsche.

In a new recording, Neuer has a go at singing Jasmin Stavros's evergreen "Dao bih sto Amerika" (I'd give hundreds of Americas)

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, Aug 25, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros on Tuesday denied claims by the deputy director of the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Zagreb, Dijana Zadravec, that the selection process for the hospital's director was unlawful and that Beros and the prime minister influenced it.

He explained that a recording of a discussion between him and Zadravec that appeared on YouTube on Monday was, in fact, a call during which he turned the speakerphone on, at a meeting with five to six of the closest associates, so that he could show them the pressure, insinuations and even blackmail he was exposed to.

Beros said that he had previously professionally collaborated with Zadravec at the hospital without any disagreement and that the problems started with her dispute with another colleague when he pointed out that the problem should not be resolved through the media but within the hospital.

The problems escalated during the selection procedure for the hospital director, which was conducted absolutely in accordance with legal procedures, said Beros.

"That's when the pressure and very aggressive calls started and this discussion is just one in a series of similar ones and shows the attempts to influence me as someone who in fact cannot influence the selection process for the director," he added.

"The procedure was respected, a steering committee exists and it determines who the director will be based on very relevant criteria," he underscored.

Beros believes that it is "legitimate for everyone to fight for their personal progress, however, at the moment the line has been crossed."

He noted that he did not feel threatened and therefore did not request any institutional protection.

"That was electioneering time and I believed that when the situation calmed down, everyone, according to their role and position, would be satisfied," he added.

In response to an announcement by Zadravec that she would sue him for secretly recording her, which is illegal, Beros said that he did not record the discussion nor did he tell anyone to record it and so he cannot be personally held responsible, however, if the institutions assess that he is responsible, he will not run away from that.

He denied any unclarity with regard to his declaration of assets that Zadravec mentioned in the discussion, saying that the declaration was published and contained precise information on his assets.

Beros reiterated that the prime minister did not have any influence over the selection of the hospital director and that, as he said during the conversation with Zadravec, the party leadership had decided on the path and direction, which was a lawful way to deal with such matters.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, Aug 25, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic said on Tuesday that the commemoration in Grubori for Serb civilian war victims was a debt of honour to what had happened 25 years ago, adding that it had then provoked in him a sense of moral horror.

"It is easy to say now, 25 years later, that no one has personally been called to account for this. It is well-known... which unit was here that day," Milanovic said.

He added that the murder of six innocent elderly residents of Grubori was a moral disaster and that it also caused harm to Croatia.

It tarnished the reputation of a country that had been attacked and that had not been bad until then, he said.

"... Enough of what marked the relations between the two peoples, two nations so alike that it is difficult to find in Europe two that are more similar to each other. These are not the Czech and Slovak peoples, nor Swedes and Norwegians. It is us, Croats and Serbs, our neighbors," Milanovic underscored.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

August 25, 2020 - After a moped accident, a young man needed emergency surgery. Since his life was in danger, the doctors couldn't spend much time waiting around for the results. Now he is stable, but positive for COVID-19, and the Varaždin hospital is short of 25 medical staff until September 7.

According to a police report, the young man crashed into a tree in Vinica at around 2.10 am. "The nature of the injuries required urgent and immediate surgery on the patient's head. Subsequent testing determined that the patient was positive for COVID-19," said Dr. Kudelić, a neurosurgeon who operated on the young man. The young man is now stable, and not in danger of death, reports Jutarnji.hr. Since he operated on the injured young man, Dr. Kudelić is also among those who will work from home for the next 14 days. In addition to his work as a neurosurgeon, Dr. Nenad Kudelić is also the director of the Varaždin General Hospital.

After the emergency care of a young man who was in a traffic accident on Saturday, August 22, medics had to self-isolate. Thus, the Varaždin hospital was left without two neurosurgeons, four anesthesiologists, two surgeons, and 17 nurses.

Now patients are worried and are asking if their scheduled surgeries will be delayed. Dr. Kudelić confirms that there will be a delay. He announced the need for a temporary reorganisation of the work of the Department of Anesthesiology and the Department of Surgical Diseases.

"Some of the operations, which were planned by doctors who are now in self-isolation, will be postponed for 14 days, and all emergencies will still be taken care of as before," said Dr. Kudelić, one of the most respected domestic neurosurgeons. Therefore, his temporary absence from the operating room is a great disappointment for the patients.

Varaždin Hospital, like the County itself, is strict when it comes to measures to combat coronavirus. For example, although they do not have to do so officially, in addition to patients coming for surgery, tests are performed on all patients admitted through the emergency service to that hospital. That turned out to be a very good move.

"Thanks to that, another patient with an asymptomatic COVID-19 infection was detected in a short time, due to which, unfortunately, a certain number of employees ended up in self-isolation. Due to such security measures, uncontrolled penetration of the virus among healthcare workers and patients was prevented," Dr. Kudelić emphasised, pointing out that the hospital has no infected employees. In addition to the hospital staff, one team from the Emergency Medical Service, and two primary care teams from Varaždin's medical circles are in self-isolation.

Varaždin County, due to, as they say, the disrupted situation regarding healthcare, is appealing to the population not to "take precautionary epidemiological measures lightly."

Controversial wedding

Varaždin County has so far coped well with the coronavirus crisis. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 117 registered cases, 15 of which are attributed to the county because of the reported place of residence of those individuals. Last weekend will sadly spoil this favourable statistic. At one wedding in the vicinity of Ivanec, four people were infected.

COVID-19 affected a newlywed, two members of the band and some guests from Switzerland. Since there were a large number of guests at the wedding, it is believed that there will be more confirmed infections in the days to come.

At the moment, there are 49 infected people in the county, nine of whom are being treated at the Varaždin General Hospital. There are 270 people in isolation, who were connected with the sick.

Dr. Nenad Kudelić and his colleagues should return to work on September 7 if the tests are negative.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

August 25, 2020 - During his visit to Riva, the president of the Croatian Football Federation, Davor Suker, signed a contract for a friendly match with Croatia and the national team of Turkey in November this year.

HNS announced that the national teams of Turkey and Croatia would meet on November 11, 2020, at Istanbul's Atatürk Stadium, after a match between the same rivals scheduled for June had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After a several-month break, Croatia will return to the pitch as part of the Nations League, away against Portugal (September 5 in Porto) and France (September 8 in Paris). In October, they will play a friendly match against Switzerland (October 7) and home matches in the Nations League against Sweden (October 11) and France (October 14).

The match against Turkey will be played before the two final Croatia matches in the Nations League, in Sweden (November 14) and at home against Portugal (November 17).

Turkey will also participate in the postponed European Championships. They have been drawn in Group A with Italy, Wales and Switzerland and is currently the 29th best national team in the world, according to the FIFA rankings. In the Nations League, they will play with Russia, Serbia and Hungary.

The friendly clash in November will be the jubilee tenth meeting between Croatia and Turkey, and several meetings are very memorable. Turkeywas Croatia's historic first opponent at major competitions, at the Euros in 1996, and thanks to a goal by Goran Vlaovic, it also became the first victory of the Vatreni.

Croatia also defeated Turkey 1-0 at Euro 2016 with a great goal by Luka Modric, and we certainly remember passing Turkey in the qualifiers for EURO 2012, with a brilliant 3-0 victory in Istanbul. On the other hand, the match at Euro 2008 is also unforgettable, when Turkey celebrated after a dramatic finish which ended in penalties, and thus reached the semifinal of the tournament.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

The EU's SURE loans are designed to help member states cover sudden spikes in public spending to preserve jobs, such as national part-time financing programmes and support for the self-employed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes on the 25th of August, 2020, four months after the idea was initially put on paper, the European Commission (EC) submitted a proposal to allocate 81.4 billion euros from the SURE instrument to fifteen member states to the council.

According to the proposal, Croatia would receive one billion euros in so-called soft loans to mitigate the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Once the proposal is approved by the council, these loans will help member states to cover sudden spikes in public spending on job preservation, such as national part-time funding programmes and support for the self-employed.

After consulting with the EU member states which requested support and assessing their requests, a maximum of 27.4 billion euros was proposed to help Italy, followed by Spain with 21.3 billion euros, Poland with 11.2 billion euros and Belgium with 7.2 billion euros. 8 billion euros.

4 billion euros were on offer for Romania, 2.7 billion to Greece, 2 billion to the Czech Republic, 1.1 billion to Slovenia, and one hundred million euros less was being offered to Croatia. Portugal and Hungary have already submitted their own respective official applications to Brussels and they are currently in the process of being evaluated. Countries that have not yet submitted theirs are free to submit an official request.

Back in April, the European Commission proposed the SURE instrument, worth 100 billion euros, as part of a response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Loans from this instrument will be based on a system of voluntary guarantees from member states in accordance with the EU's share of gross national income.

“We have to do everything to protect jobs and allow people to earn a living. SURE is a clear symbol of solidarity in an unprecedented crisis,'' said EC President Ursula von der Leyen.

For more on coronavirus in Croatia, follow our dedicated section.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

August 25, 2020 - Aurea Fest, which will be held in Pozega from August 28 to 30, 2020 with strict epidemiological measures, is a traditional event held in the Kutjevo cellar.

Eight hundred bottles of premium Graševina Kutjevo and 200 bottles of red wine Maximo Nero from last year's harvest will be filled for the occasion. Dino Galić, a member of the Management Board of Kutjevo d.d., reminded of 2019 when the Požega festival successfully celebrated its fiftieth birthday, and Kutjevo achieved a record year with over five million liters sold in the domestic and foreign markets.

"The spirit of the winery and the festival will not stop, we remain partners and with this wine filling, we will start Aurea Fest Požega," Galić pointed out.

The City of Požega is the sponsor of the festival and Darko Puljašić, Mayor of Požega and Member of Parliament, thanked Kutjevo for their partnership.

"We perform and fight together. We in Slavonia have always been brave and struggled with adversity. At the festival, we will show the Slavonian soul, and with it comes a good refreshment - Kutjevo wines, which the whole world knows. Let's stay positive in spirit, and negative in coronavirus," said Puljašić.

The organizer of the festival is the Association Aurea Fest Požega, whose director Ivan Bunjevac said that the association as the organizer will do everything to make the festival successful and thanked Mayor Puljašić for his support.

"Good vibes from Požega go further and we are expecting you this coming weekend," said Bunjevac. This was followed by symbolic labeling of the festival wine, in which the speakers were joined by Anamarija Blažević, Mayor of Pakac and Member of Parliament, Deputy Mayors of Požega Mario Pilon and Ferdinand Troha, Director of the Požega Tourist Board Silvija Podoljak, Mayor of Kaptol Mile Pavičić, Deputy Mayor Ivica Potočanac, representatives of the Croatian Radio and Television, local media and members of the Trenkovi Panduri Historical Unit.

In the second part of the conference, this year's program was presented by Damjan Pirović, artistic director of Aurea Festa Požega, while Podoljak, marketing director of Aurea Festa Požega, invited participants and guests to adhere to epidemiological measures and invited citizens to follow the festival through the official website.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

August 25, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates for Zagreb, Split and Pula. 

Croatian Aviation reports that British Airways has announced operational changes to its flight schedule for September this year. Direct lines from London to Zagreb, Pula and Split are no longer!

After the company had return tickets on sale at extremely favorable prices on routes to Croatia, obviously not achieving the earnings they expected, as many as three of the four British Airways routes to Croatian destinations will be canceled in September this year.

The last announced flight on the London Heathrow - Zagreb route is planned for less than two weeks away, on Sunday, September 6. All flights in September after the mentioned date are canceled.

The company is currently keeping flights on this route from October 1, but British Airways has not yet revised its flight schedule for that month. Apart from the reduced demand due to the current coronavirus pandemic, the decision of the United Kingdom that all passengers coming from Croatia are subject to a measure of 14-day self-isolation certainly contributed to this.

The airline's seasonal line between London (Heathrow) and Pula, which has operated twice a week so far, will be canceled on Saturday, September 5, and will not work for the rest of the year.

The London (Heathrow) - Split line will operate for most of September, but this line will also be interrupted earlier than initially planned, on Saturday, September 26.

The only British Airways route to Croatia that should operate throughout September is the line between London and Dubrovnik.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.