Will Croatia Euro Coins Be Able to Feature Tesla?
July 27, 2021 - Last week, the Croatian National Bank announced five motifs to be featured on Croatia euro coins, with the image of Nikola Tesla being the most popular one according to the vox populi. However, these are just the first steps of the process of creating Croatian euro coins. Who has the ultimate say on whether Tesla is to be kept or to be scrapped off? A look into the procedure of approving the designs of euro coins.
The announcement of five motifs chosen to grace the national side of Croatian euro coins that came last Wednesday was soon greeted by a statement on the official website of the National Bank of Serbia. In it, NBS objects to the Croatian idea of using the image of Nikola Tesla. It's described as ''an appropriation of the cultural and scientific heritage of the Serbian people.'' Serbia also stated it would file a complaint if Croatia put his image on one of the coins.
The question is, to whom would these complaints be filed, and to what effect? Is there a set legal way to get Croatia to remove Tesla from the coins not yet minted? (Un)surprisingly, there are a few precedents guarding the question, as this is not the first time that one country objected to the design of another country's euro coins, claiming it belonged to its own national heritage.
In 2005, Slovenia's use of the Prince's Stone on the 2 cents coins launched a protest from the Austrian state of Carinthia. Prince's Stone is an ancient Roman column that was used during the early Middle Ages in the ceremony of installing the rulers of the Slavic principality of Carantania. The ceremony was conducted in the Slovene language, and Caranthania was located, in part, on the territory of present-day north-eastern Slovenia. The stone itself used to be kept in a museum in Klagenfurt, the capital of Carinthia, where it was considered a historical icon of the state. The Carinthian state government (headed by the then-governor Jorg Haider) issued a resolution of protest on October 25, 2005, which was rejected as "not to be taken seriously" by the Slovene foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel.
Ten years later, in 2015, Belgium issued a €2 commemorative coin (individual Member States are allowed to issue commemorative coins to celebrate subjects of major national or European relevance). To mark the Battle of Waterloo, and the 200th year anniversary of the defeat of Napoleon, the coin featured an image of the monument at the site. France objected, saying that the image carried a negative connotation.
According to the COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) No 729/2014 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation, when a eurozone country wants to issue a new €2 commemorative coin, it is required to send a draft design of the coin to the Council, the European Commission and to other eurozone countries. In the end, as RFI wrote in 2015, ''Brussels has been forced to scrap 180,000 coins worth 1.5-million-euros that it had already minted before Paris got wind of the affair.''
And in 2013, Slovakia re-thought its idea of issuing commemorative coins with the images of Christian saints and missionaries Cyril and Methodius with crosses and halos above their heads, as some Member States pointed out that the designs went against the ''principle of respect for religious diversity in Europe''.
However, all of these disputes were started and resolved between the EU Member States, not a Member State and a third country, as is the case with Serbia. As European Commission Deputy Chief Spokesperson Dana Spinant said on Friday, ''the design of the national side of euro coins is decided by the country adopting the euro.''
The designs have to be passed from the Croatia National Bank to the National Council for the Introduction of the Euro for approval and then have to be confirmed by the government of Croatia.
That doesn't mean that the design lays solely in Croatia's hands.
The abovementioned Council Regulation also states that ''each Member State (....) should take into account the fact that euro coins circulate in the whole euro area and not only in the issuing Member State'', and should ''avoid the use of inappropriate designs''.
Recognizing the potential problem when it comes to defining the term ''inappropriate'' the Regulation states that ''uniform conditions'' for the approval of the designs should be laid down and also that ''in view of the fact that the competence for an issue as sensitive as the design of the national sides of the euro coins belongs to the issuing Member States, implementing powers should be conferred on the Council.''
Therefore, Croatia has to submit draft designs to the Council, to the Commission, and to the other Member States whose currency is the euro at least three months before the planned issue date. Since Croatia is set to enter the eurozone in 2023, that criterion shouldn't be difficult to meet.
Within seven days following the submission, any Member State whose currency is the euro may, in a reasoned opinion addressed to the Council and to the Commission, raise an objection to the draft design proposed by the issuing Member State if that draft design is likely to create adverse reactions among its citizens.
If the Commission considers that the draft design does not respect the technical requirements set out by the Regulation, it shall, within seven days following the submission, submit a negative assessment to the Council.
If no reasoned opinion or negative assessment has been submitted to the Council, the decision approving the design shall be deemed to be adopted by the Council.
In all other cases, the Council shall decide without delay on the approval of the draft design, unless, within seven days following the submission of a reasoned opinion or of a negative assessment, the issuing Member State withdraws its submission and informs the Council of its intention to submit a new draft design.
Since there are essentially two criteria to meet - the suitability of the design requirement and the technical requirement, both assessed by other Member States (the EU), the only tool any country outside of the EU can use is its political influence on a Member State to try and come up with a reasoned opinion as to why a draft design is ''likely to create adverse reactions'' - but only among its (a Member State's) citizens.
There is nothing in the Regulation on the influence the design may have on the non-EU countries. In fact, the Regulation even makes sure to point out that the other Member States whose currency is not the euro are excluded from deciding. Will Croatia be able to keep Tesla on its coins? If these provisions are anything to go by, then yes.
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Tax Relief Proposals by Hospitality Sector Reps not Accepted
ZAGREB, 27 July, 2021 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić on Tuesday did not accept proposals for a lower VAT rate on beverages and to treat labour costs as a tax deduction, while a representative of restaurant and bar owners said they would have to fend for themselves the best way they can regarding future challenges.
"My message to all restaurant and bar owners in the country, notably those who run bars, is that a very demanding period is ahead of us and that they will have to seek new loans and funding, despite the fact that we had yet another constructive meeting with the finance minister today. We can hope that in a couple of years we will have better working conditions because now that is not the case and we have not come across any understanding in regard to our proposals," Jelena Tabak, who heads the NUU association of restaurateurs, said after the meeting.
Marić recalled that a lower VAT rate was already in place in the tourism sector for accommodation, food and for the serving of food and that beverages were the only products for which VAT had not been reduced.
Commenting on the proposal to exclude labour costs from the base amount for the calculation of the VAT rate in the hospitality sector, the minister said that neither Croatia's nor the EU's tax systems recognised such a measure.
"In terms of taxation, labour costs are indeed recognised costs but in systems in which they should be recognised - the income and profit tax systems. We cannot mix direct taxes with indirect taxes such as VAT," he explained.
Marić recalled the government's measures to help the business sector, from lower taxes to the cancellation of individual contributions, as well as expanding the scope of nontaxable income, which, he said, had resulted in a rise in employment and wages, as evidenced by statistical data.
He recalled the government's job-keeping measures and coverage of fixed costs in the hospitality sector, stressing that data on fiscalisation showed that the hospitality sector had solid results and that the real peak of the tourist season was yet to come.
Dražen Biljan of the bar owners' association of the NUU Zagreb branch said that they were not happy that their proposals were not accepted and that lowering VAT on drinks would not cost the state too much, around HRK 400 million. It would, however, mean a lot for restaurant and bar owners, he said.
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Croatia Logs 193 New Coronavirus Cases, no Deaths
ZAGREB, 27 July, 2021 - Croatia has registered 193 new coronavirus cases and no COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Tuesday.
The number of active cases currently stands at 971. This includes 143 people who are receiving hospital treatment, 13 of whom are on ventilators. A total of 3,267 people are in self-isolation.
Since late February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 362,841 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 8,247 have died and 353,623 have recovered, including 146 in the last 24 hours.
A total of 2,275,433 people have been tested for coronavirus to date, including 7,393 in the last 24 hours.
By 26 July, 3,018,451 doses of vaccine against COVID-19 had been administered, with 40 percent of the total population and 48.1 percent of the adult population having been vaccinated. A total of 1,623,475 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose and 1,440,370 of them have been fully vaccinated (1,394,976 have received two doses and 45,394 have been inoculated with the single-dose Jannsen vaccine), which makes up 42.76 percent of the adult population.
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Contracts For Higher Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing Industries Signed
ZAGREB, 27 July, 2021 - Economy Ministry officials on Tuesday presented contracts awarded as part of the HRK 326.3 million public call "Increasing Energy Efficiency and the Use of Renewables in Manufacturing Industries", with the total value of the projects to be implemented standing at HRK 672 million.
340 businesses applied to the call, and 28 - five micro and small businesses, six medium-size businesses and 17 big companies - were awarded money from the EU Competitiveness and Cohesion Fund.
Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić said he expected the companies that were given grants to increase their energy efficiency as well as competitiveness as a result of lower energy consumption and increased production efficiency.
He noted that significant funds were envisaged for that purpose also under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and that domestic businesses could expect new calls for applications by the end of this year and the beginning of 2022.
The approved grants must be invested in the next one to two years.
As a small, open economy, in the previous decades Croatia mostly exploited its development capacity in the services sector, including tourism, while now national plans and strategies should put special emphasis on manufacturing industries so that the country can catch up with EU standards, Ćorić said, adding that domestic producers could impact export as one of the key variables of the national economy.
"There will be more calls like this one in the period to come," he said.
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Supplementary Education in Split: Activities for Kids of All Ages
6 August 2021 - One TCN intern spoke to a primary school teacher and scout leader Ivana Jarebica about opportunities for supplementary education in Split and prepared a guide for parents. The new school year is coming soon, and it's the right time to think about how to organize your child's free time with profit for their personal development.
There's a critical remark. We will review opportunities for informal education only. For instance, we won't concern music schools in the classical sense. Instead, we will talk about more flexible, free activities which are closely connected to kids' everyday practices and don't create any pressure of doing homework, preparing for exams, etc.
Another critical remark is that Split has a powerful sports tradition. Split can flaunt a vast number of Olympic and other medal winners per capita. Split was well-known for its football and water polo teams during the last century, and although it doesn't experience its 'golden age' now, a sports sphere is still vibrant enough, competitive, and dynamic. Also, sports activities are related to informal education.
How to choose
According to Ivana's teaching experience in Split, the most common reasons for choosing a club or courses for kids is because:
1) A parent wishes this activity for a kid.
It's a normal situation, especially when a child is still young. Parents with their horizons can give a child good advice or starting points for leisure time activities.
2) A kid's friend visits this club.
"My friend Mia goes, and I want to go with her." Encourage your kid's friendship and let it go. Then, at least, children will be happy to spend free time together in the informal atmosphere. If one of the friends finally does not like an activity, they will change and at the same time will acquire the skill to compromise with a friend.
3) A club is situated in your neighbourhood.
Split is the second biggest city in Croatia, but still small enough. Citizens don't usually change districts for extra classes. Children often visit a club situated in the vicinity of their home or school. For example, in the district of Spinut many students play rugby because there's a rugby field. Of course, if you live in some district as far from the city center district as Brda, you have to be ready to go to another district for extracurricular activities. There is not a lot nearby, perhaps, except for dance classes.
4) Specific interest
Classical ballet dances or playing football for a famous club (definitely Hajduk Split), programming, or whatever else that could be inspired by pop culture a child lives in. Support your kid's interest, especially with almost all activities given in Split. We don't have ice hockey or figure skating in Split, but Split is a coastal summer city, so it's not expected here.
What to choose: for young learners
Ciciban and Sports academy Sportko are good choices for preschoolers. These clubs offer kids a wide range of possibilities to develop fine motor skills and try different activities. Both clubs can be a great help to prepare a child for further sports education. It will be easier for kids to become a member of some football, volleyball, or swimming team or have fun and A+ grades at physical education lessons at school.
Sportsko takes children from 3 y.o. and works with age groups 3-7 and 7-10. Its full-year program includes gymnastics, athletics, football, handball, tennis, bowling, judo and wrestling, movement orientation, and some others. They also have independent swimming, football, roller skating, cycling, rhythmic gymnastics, and others. Ciciban starts from 5 y.o. and has groups 5-6 and 7-10. Ciciban programs include various sports activities and swimming once a week. Both clubs are large in several students and fit for socialization objectives. The fact they conduct summer and winter camps can be considered an advantage too.
Sports academy Sparta, as well as Sportko, works with children from 3 to 10 y.o. Through a dozen sports activities mixed with singing songs and entertainment, the academy develops kids' motor skills and motivates them to lead healthy lifestyles. Besides sports sections, Sparta has a commercial part with toy shops and the. organisation of children's birthdays. They are active on social media; write them if you have any questions.
Zutko sports school in Split pursues the same goal - to instill in children a love of sports. Zutko is founded and managed by the base of the Split Basketball club. They take groups of 3-6 and 7-10 y.o. three times a week classes. A working program consists of essential sports such as athletics, gymnastics, martial arts, and ball sports such as basketball, etc. Highly recommended for developing team-working skills. Athletic school Proaktiv trains children from 7 to 10 y.o.
For more artistic activities, Split can offer pre-scholars studio Perlice or ballet studio Skoljkica. Skoljkica specializes in ballet dances, while Perlice teaches singing, dances, stage movement, and stage speech. Perlice studio has a rich history with its founder, musician Ingrid Flesch. They perform theatrical musicals, stage programs, record sounds, win awards at festivals, release videos with 120+ mln views on Youtube.
The younger, the better, Mrs. Flesch says about the enrollment age in the studio. The youngest artist of Perlice has 3.5 y.o., the eldest - 10. At Skoljkica, the threshold age is higher. They educate children from kindergarten age up to the last year of secondary school. Baletni studio Labudici presents ballet classes in the surroundings of Split. The troupes are based in Solin, but performances are often shoulder to shoulder to Split troupes.
Glazbena mladez Split sees its mission in connecting children and young people with musical culture. GMS accents classical music, but as a whole, they encourage every musical genre and style. GMS is also a cluster of performing troupes with 170+ various programmes in a year; it provides children scope for creative expression. GMS familiarizes kids with music and theatrical art, audience, and rules of cultural behaviour. A team of Playdrama promotes participation of all generations in theatrical art too. Since its program includes lectures and production process stuss, they enroll children from 9 y.o.
To develop the cognitive abilities of a kid, Malac Genijalac is a convenient option in Split. 'Genius kiddo,' as the school's name can be translated, offers three mathematical programmes: Numicon for 3-6 y.o, Mentalna aritmetika for 4-12 y.o. and Super Um for 10-17 y.o. Classes are held in small groups. The learning process contains fun activities, games, and competitions. Abilities that children gain through learning will be helpful not only in math lessons but in different spheres of life.
Excluding bilinguals which are extraordinary stories, children usually begin to learn a foreign language since primary school, 7 y.o. However, tutors say that you can start with learning languages earlier - since the primary speech apparatus is totally formed. The average is 4 years old, but in any case, you can ask for a trial session and consult with a teacher before paying for a course. Language schools such as Anglija, Wotan, Katedra, Tweety, Pitagora in Split take children from kindergarten.
For elder children
The first decade passed, children are mature enough to join some of the 'entertainment sphere's pillars' of Split or start their own track in sport, etc. KUD Edinstvo recently celebrated its 100 anniversary. One of the oldest and most famous Croatian artistic troupes keeps folklore traditions of different country regions and transmits them to new generations through well-organized infrastructure.
Edinstvo maintains a folklore dancing school, a music school for mandolin and guitar players, and a children's ensemble. Folklore dancing enrolls kids from 1st to 8th grade of the school (primary+lower secondary). Mandoline and guitar teachers allow students from 9 to 18 y.o. Music courses last for three years. A lighter alternative is any dancing troupe. Manage your choice independence of proximity to your neighbourhood and style preferences. Centar plesa (wide profile), Sedmi vjetar (cheerleaders), D'N'F (urban dances), Lolita (wide profile), Vruca cokolada (show and jazz dances), Lambada (Litin American dances), Clique (hip-hop, house, funk dances) and others. KUD Splitske mazoretkinje is an extraordinary story for girls who love twists!
Waterpolo club Jadran celebrated its 100th jubilee last year. Jadran is the oldest water polo club in Split and a sports pride of the city. Waterpolo Club Mornar-Brodospas, with many medals and trophies won, is a bit younger; it celebrated 70 years from the foundation of the sports section in 2019. Waterpolo school usually holds classes in the mornings, then the teams come. Depending on age, clubs have 'hopes and young hopes,' 'young cadets,' 'cadets,' 'young juniors,' and 'juniors' teams. The application form is available on their website.
Basketball, another sport that brought Split great sporting fame during Yugoslavia, is played and mastered by children in Kosarkaski Klub Split. Besides the universal sports academy for kids, KK Split has a basketball school for boys of 15 y.o. and younger and a mini-basket for girls of 18 y.o. and younger. ZKK 3 Point also approaches girls. Zenski Kosarkaski Klub is literally a 'Women Basketball Club'. It aims to teach skills, instill a love for the sport, and help with self-confidence. KK Adriatic recruits both boys and girls; training is held on the courts of four different schools in Split and surroundings so that you can find the closest to your house.
The same rule can be applied to football. There are some clubs in almost every district of Split: NK Pomak, NK Bili As, NK Brda, NK Primorac-Stobrec, NK Talent, etc. These clubs began to recruit kids from kindergarten age, and it's one more reason to choose the closest one. NK Bili As and Brda train kids from primary school, and on average, the football club calls for 13 y.o. and younger. NK Pomak opens its doors for boys and girls. Especially for girls, there is ZNK Marjan - Women Football Club. Futsal, or 'mini football', is presented by FC Split that has its academy and young teams of 'cadets' and 'juniors.'
An exception is HNK Hajduk academy. If you fancy it, you can put your child there to have football training, fitness, psychological talks, educational seminars, English lessons, and social work at the same place. A fact you need to consider is that its time- and resource-consuming, so football training 3 times during working days and a match on the weekend would be difficult to combine with other classes or courses.
To train the hands of the young generation, Split has tennis or handball. TK Pomak and Tenis Klub Split 1950 teach children to hold a racket, balance energy, and get pleasure from the game. Clubs encourage professional tennis tracks as well as playing for recreation purposes. There is also women-led handball education in Split. Women Handball Club ZRK Split occupies a unique place in a region: the first league club with 70 years of history and 150+ members enrolling girls in five age categories. A good place for your future wonder women!
A kind of comprehensive training for the body is swimming that can be found by the above-mentioned water polo clubs Mornar and Jadran or in swimming clubs like Grdelin and Posk. Both are based in the Poljud pools. In any case, water skills will be useful in the coastal city of Split. Don't refuse an offer to take a trial training to understand whether this sport fits your child's temper.
The majority of students start learning foreign languages in the first or second grade of primary school. If you suppose that language classes in a school are not enough or you want to give a child another, there are many language courses in Split. When your child is already a student, we can add several others to the above-mentioned list of schools that teach kids since kindergarten. Eduka Center in Split conducts programs on English and French and has an interesting program on faster reading and learning for children from 12 y.o. Inicijativa center also has some educational programs besides English in individual, group, express, and business forms.
Viktorija teaches groups of primary and secondary school students, groups who fancy improving their speaking, and individual students. Sintagma suits children as well as their parents. Besides six other languages, they teach Croatian as a foreign language and prepare for professional translation. Alliance Francaise in Split is certainly good to learn French, Dolphin - to learn German, and Jantar is probably good for studying Russian as I can guess from the name (they teach other languages too).
Programming languages are equally important nowadays, and coding classes promise to prepare our children for a digital future. Codey Rocky – Inovatic could be a perfect place for beginners. They use popular global platforms like Lego Mindstorms, robot Maqueen microbit to gradually introduce children to designing, modelling, programming processes. Logischool focuses more on programming itself, and things can be produced using bare code - computers, games, applications, etc. School code course is recommended for 7-18 y.o. Robotics Lego is 10-18 y.o. Students are divided into different age groups. The school provides students with all necessary tools and doesn't ask for any prerequisites.
For those children interested in nature, there's an opportunity in the outskirts of Split. Zvezdano selo Mosor (star village Mosor) by the observatory situated in the Mosor mountains chain organizes a 'small school of astronomy' and 'school in nature' for primary and secondary school students. Lectures are held in their space in Split once a week. For field observations, students go to the Zvezdano selo; transportation issues can be discussed in private.
For teenagers
Teenage children can continue with supplementary activities. However, sometimes they want to change it because they're not interested in a sports career or need more time for themselves or their spheres of interest change. Or, for instance, their family moved to Split.
Teenage boys are often into martial arts. Karate and taekwondo classes are present in the widest variety. Taekwondo club Marjan has eight sites in Split and the surrounding area. It trains kids from kindergarten, but here we will emphasize their program for 'juniors.' When children face growth, responsibility, peer pressure, and become teenagers, taekwondo helps them get perseverance and self-control. In addition, Aikido facilitates the development of flexibility, concentration, and coordination. Also, Aikido club Bonaca offers a handy 2-month course that doesn't oblige you to anything.
A solution for teenage girls to keep self-confidence and body coordination is often proposed by dance studios. Clique, Dance Box, and Dance Crew United have younger groups but mostly target an older audience of dancers willing to drive, show, scene, expression. Sailing and rowing sports experience would be a valuable asset to take to college years. Mornar, Split, and Labud's Sailing clubs have their sailing schools, and Zenta has even radio-controlled sailing that can be a good combination for those interested in both sport and physics.
Many college students in Croatia participate in student hiking clubs. Therefore Planinarski Klub Split will definitely be a good foundation for your child's future. Split has many wonderful natural places nearby - Labištica, Opor, Kozjak, Mosor, Omiška Dinara, and Biokovo. Hiking will help a teenager keep fit, discover amazing trails, and change shifts and locations. An alternative for young people who like climbing but don't enjoy long hikes could be the artificial climbing wall in the district of Znjan (SPK Lapis).
Spending almost a year in the Split scout association as an international volunteer, I would surely recommend it to any kid from 6 to 21 y.o. Scouts give a big improvement to general school education concerning nature, sociocultural, ethic issues. They put children in situations when they have to think by themselves and make collective decisions, finally to derive skills from their own life experience. And in particular, I'd recommend the scout movement for teenagers.
In my opinion, in this period of life, the scout environment can be most helpful for personal development. An overwhelming majority of sections and clubs mentioned above conduct camps, however with scouts, you participate so much in the organization of camps, can take the initiative, go first, etc. Furthermore, a pleasant bonus is travelling and meeting scouts from other countries - insensibly a big network is around you! Last but not least: scouts release you not only as an educated know-it-all or pumped-up athlete but a responsible citizen.
Croatia's Ericsson Nikola Tesla's Net Profit up in H1
ZAGREB, 27 July, 2021 - In H1 2021, Croatian telecommunication equipment manufacturer Ericsson Nikola Tesla generated a net profit of HRK 101.4 million, up 190% on the year, the ICT company said in a press release on Tuesday.
The company's gross profit amounts to HRK 154.3 billion, up 105.1% on the year.
The company's sales revenues rose by 5% to HRK 1.01 billion in the first six months of 2021. Of the total sales revenues, 44.1% was generated on the domestic market, services to parent Ericsson accounted for 44.9%, while other export markets contributed 11%.
In the said period, sales revenues on the domestic market amounted to HRK 447 million, up 6.2%, while sales revenues on foreign markets (without services to parent Ericsson) increased by 5.7% to HRK 111.5 million.
(€1 = HRK 7.5)
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GLAS Slams Gov't Proposal to Restrict Sunday Trading
ZAGREB, 27 July, 2021 - The parliamentary opposition GLAS party said on Tuesday that a government proposal to restrict Sunday trading was "harmful populism and hypocrisy" by the ruling HDZ party, noting that the government had not thought about fair remuneration for Sunday work.
"(Economy) Minister (Tomislav) Ćorić of the HDZ and Prime Minister Plenković himself have been insisting lately on banning Sunday trading so strongly that uninformed onlookers might conclude that their government has nothing better to do. And they have been doing so amidst a pandemic and crisis and after two disastrous earthquakes," the party said in a statement.
It noted that the government was not thinking about how to ensure fair remuneration for people who work on Sundays in the retail sector.
"If the government were really interested in solving the problem, it would accept GLAS's proposal for fair pay for Sunday work, instead of turning it down several times," the party said, adding that its MP Anka Mrak Taritaš would again submit a proposal to that effect to the parliament.
"It is also interesting how the HDZ sees the development of Croatia's tourism - shops would be allowed to work 16 Sundays a year, which means that the government restricts in advance the tourist season to that many weeks," GLAS said.
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Punat Tourist Board Provides AntiCOVID Safety Kit for Renters
July 27, 2021 - The pandemic continues to be a threat to the tourism industry in Croatia, and in an effort to preserve the excellent number of tourists this summer in their city, the Punat Tourist Board on the island of Krk has distributed AntiCOVID safety kits for renters in the locality.
HrTurizam reports that the Punat Tourist Board has provided an "AntiCOVID Safety kit" package to promote health and safety in this unpredictable time of the epidemic.
The safety kit was prepared in accordance with the Manual for Safe Stay in Croatia according to the recommendations issued by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
''In order to make it easier for our renters to choose to buy this product, we will distribute 2 AntiCOVID Safety kit packages to renters'', says Branko Karabaić, director of Punat Tourist Board and invites renters to personally pick up two free copies of the package in the tourist community.
The town of Punat has one of the most beautiful marinas in Croatia: the Marina Punat, also referred to as the 1st nautical address in Croatia. (Photo: Apartmani Manzoni)
"AntiCovid Safety kit" contains three products: Disposable three-layer medical face mask without filter - Type II, disposable protective latex gloves with powder, and antiseptic wet wipe for hygienic hand disinfection.
Commendable action of TZO Punat, which means a lot for the renters and the tourism sector in the town. The perception of security this year plays the most important role, of course with the precondition of a stable epidemiological situation.
Punat is a small town situated on the east coast of Puntarska draga (Puntar Bay), on the south coast of the island of Krk, only 8 km from the Town of Krk. The economic base once comprised agriculture, olive growing, fishing, sheep breeding, and shipbuilding, especially with wood; presently, the prevailing activity is tourism, especially nautical tourism, in addition to trade. The former activities that survived are fishing and sheep breeding, and almost every family is engaged in olive growing.
The town of Punat, on the eastern coast of the island of Krk. (Photo: F. Karabaić/F Media)
Thanks to the marina's year-round operation and events such as the Croatia Cup regatta and Olive Days, Punat receives foreign visitors even after the end of the season. Improved beaches and parks, rich vegetation, hotels, guesthouses, holiday houses, the Punat Marina – home port to all those enjoying the beauties of the Croatian sea and islands - sports and recreation options (sailing, diving, skiing, windsurfing, tennis, aqua park, miniature golf, hiking, boccie), homemade food offered in numerous taverns and restaurants, and the cultural offer (especially on the islet of Košljun) make Punat a highly visited tourist center.
Recall, tourists who have stayed at least three nights in commercial accommodation will have more favorable antigen tests. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has ensured the distribution of one million and 81 thousand antigen tests in regional public health institutes throughout Croatia, which are available to domestic and foreign tourists. More favorable antigen tests are available for tourists who have stayed at least three nights in commercial accommodation.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports appealed for the price to be uniform in all counties and for a minimum estimated cost to be charged, which should not exceed 75 kuna.
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For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centers across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.
Supreme Court upholds sentence for Briton convicted of Zrće murder
ZAGREB, 26 July, 2021 - The Croatian Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by British national Douglas Cane, upholding a ruling sentencing him to 24 years in prison for murder and attempted murder at the Zrće beach on the northern Adriatic island of Pag in June 2018.
Without revealing the identity of the accused, the Supreme Court said that the sentence by the appellate court was appropriate given the accused's profile and the circumstances of the crime.
The Supreme Court said that the sentence was neither too harsh nor too lenient, recalling that Cane was sentenced to 17 years in prison for murder and to eight years for attempted murder and that he was given a combined sentence of 24 years.
The court cited his earlier convictions in the UK and his attempt to flee Croatia after the crime. He had shaved his head in an attempt to disguise his identity, police said at the time.
Early in the morning of 27 June 2018, after an argument with three persons, Cane attacked and stabbed Briton Ugo Wilson to death. The other victim, also a Briton, rushed to help Wilson but Cane stabbed him as well, using a sharp object resembling a knife. The man was rushed to the hospital and survived.
The media said at the time that it was most likely a showdown of drug dealing gangs.
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Vekić Out, Čilić and Dodig in Tennis Doubles Quarterfinals at Olympic Games
July 27, 2021 - Čilić and Dodig are in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, while Donna Vekić was knocked out in the 3rd round.
Marin Čilić and Ivan Dodig advanced to the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, beating Americans Rajeev Ram and Frances Tiafoe 6:3, 7:5 in an hour and 31 minutes of play.
Marin Čilić and Ivan Dodig repeated their best Olympic result achieved in London in 2012 when they were defeated in the quarterfinals by Spain's David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez.
"Marin is top-notch in these two matches, and it's much easier for me and I really enjoy it. Now it's just a question of how much we will play, stronger opponents are coming," Dodig said.
"I feel good in doubles, the training with Ivan helped me a lot in those few days before the start. Now I have done it individually and acclimatized. Ivan's brother and my schoolmate helped us a lot with advice. Another great match today, Ram is a top player in doubles, Ivan knows him and he knew how to recognize several situations in the match that brought us key points."
For the semifinals, they will fight against Great Britan's Andy Murray and Joe Salisbury, who immediately knocked out second-placed French team Herbert and Mahut in the first round. In the second round, they were better than Germany's Krawietz / Puetz 6:2, 7:6 (2).
Mektić and Pavić's opponents in the quarterfinals are Japan's McLachlan and Nishikori. Mektić and Pavić are the first-seeded players, they are in the top part of the draw and they cannot meet Čilić and Dodig until the final.
After knocking out France's Garcia and third-ranked Belarusian Arina Sabalenka in three sets, Donna Vekić from Osijek was left without a place in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tennis tournament in Tokyo, where she was defeated by Kazakhstan's Jelena Ribakina 7-6 in the 3rd round (3), 6-4 after 101 minutes of play.
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