What could have very easily been a potentially devastating story of two Croatian and Slovenian surfers who decided to take to the extremely rough and dangerous waves on the Adriatic sea a few days ago have miraculously been found safe and well. While one of the surfers, a Croatian citizen, managed to somehow reach the shore in Croatia, his Slovenian counterpart went missing, only to have managed, rather incredulously, to have survived the high seas and end up on the shore not too far from Trieste, Italy.

As we reported yesterday, the waves recorded in certain parts of the Adriatic, more specifically around Palagruža, Croatia's most remote lighthouse island, were the highest they have been since back in 2004, reaching over seven metres in height, and when the news broke that a search for the missing surfer had begun, nobody could have imagined a happy ending. Incredibly, a happy ending came.

As Index writes on the 31st of October, 2018, the alarming story of the two missing people, Croatian and Slovenian surfers, broke yesterday. As stated, things looked far from promising that afternoon, when the two surfers disappeared in the stormy sea near Umag in Istria. Almost immediately,  the search began, which was largely limited due to dangerous weather conditions wreaking havoc on both the Croatian and the Italian sides of the Adriatic sea.

Despite the fact that the situation looked dire, that very same day, after several hours of searching, the Croatian surfer was found. He managed to battle the waves, and swim to the shore, saving himself.

The search for the Slovenian surfer, 47-year-old Goran Jablanov, had to be cut short due to darkness and terrible weather conditions out at sea. The search continued yesterday morning, but ended with no results, leaving everyone naturally expecting the worst. In the afternoon, however, some truly incredible news arrived from Italy. The Slovenian surfer, after more than 24 hours stuck in the stormy sea, managed to get to the shore not far from Trieste.

During these incomprehensible 24 hours spent in a stormy sea, he managed to cover about forty kilometres, according to a report from the Italian portal Il Piccolo, which brings about some new details about the rescue of this amazingly lucky Slovenian surfer.

As the Slovenian media also writes, the surfer came out of the sea himself, arriving on the beach of Costa dei Barbari, which is located about twenty kilometres from Trieste. He simply went into a nearby cafe and called for help there. He was quickly hospitalised, but was given the okay and released that same night.

''Lucky'' doesn't quite do this situation justice!

The Croatian police have been upping their game over recent weeks when it comes to monitoring the traffic in various locations across the country. While punishments for not buckling up or for using your phone while driving have been on the rise, much more serious offences such as exceeding the speed limit and drink and drugs testing have been being performed much more often in and around the capital.

Road accidents have risen in recent months, and this call to action from the police is part of a greater aim to get those morbid figures back down by tightening their grip on drivers who could save their own lives by doing up their seatbelt, or save the lives of others by making sure to avoid consuming alcohol and by putting their phones down while the car is in motion.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 30th of October, 2018, the fines and potential punishments for drivers breaking the law are also on the up, meaning that the lowest penalty for speeding is 300 kuna, and the highest is a huge 15,000 kuna.

The Croatian police are, as mentioned, reinforcing their presence and cracking down on would-be law breakers on roads up and down the country. The interior ministry has also purchased numerous brand new cameras, and at as many as 90 locations across Croatia, 75 cameras and 150 cages, some of which will be left empty to act as mere warnings, will arrive, RTL reports.

The bid for the new equipment and everything to do with the move should be concluded by the end of the month and by the end of the year, the new cameras will be able to be found on Croatia's roads.

Over the course of the weekend, over 1900 speeding fines were recorded across Croatia, the unlucky ''winner'' was recorded in continental Croatia, more specifically in Brod-Posavina County, driving at a ridiculous speed of 235 kmh.

As stated, the penalties are harsh, and the lowest penalty for speeding is 300 kuna, while the highest could be as much as 15,000 kuna. Drivers can go to jail for up to sixty days if the police catch them driving 50 kmh faster than allowed.

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Good news for the crew on board the hijacked vessel, one of whom is a sailor with Croatian citizenship.

As Morski writes on the 28th of October, 2018, the aforementioned Croatian seaman and eleven other members of the crew which was manning the recently hijacked Glarus cargo ship, have now been released and are reportedly on their way home, according to a brief report from the Seafarers Union of Croatia.

The cargo vessel was initially hijacked by pirates in Nigerian waters, and to briefly recall the incident, the pirates, who are assumed to be of Nigerian nationality, kidnapped twelve of the crew members from the Swiss cargo ship.

Seven of the hired crew members were from the Philippines, and among the kidnapped was a Croatian citizen, as well as a citizen of neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, a citizen of Croatia's neighbour to the north, Slovenia, and two other seafarers holding Ukrainian and Romanian citizenship.

The vessel was making an otherwise normal journey, transporting wheat from Lagos to Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and was compromised and hijacked in Nigerian waters on Saturday. According to reports, the pirates gained access to the large vessel via the placement of a long ladder, they then cut the wire on the ship's deck when aboard.

The pirates sailed 45 nautical miles from Bonny Island in the Niger Delta and captured twelve of the nineteen crewmembers aboard the Swiss vessel.

The Seafarers Union of Croatia has remained in constant contact with the family members of the crew members who were kidnapped and then held by the pirates on Nigerian territory during the ordeal, and in accordance with a joint agreement with them, it has been stated that the union will not publish any more detailed information on this case, and have asked the media in to show their respect for the privacy of the now safely released seamen and their families.

Interested in keeping up with the latest news items from Croatia? Follow our news page for everything you need to know.

A brand new connection for Zadar!

With his extradition now confirmed and looming, the former Agrokor boss still isn't giving up. The latest from Ivica Todorić.

Attention, drivers...

While significant improvements have indeed been made, Croatia still has a very long way to go in terms of the justice system.

The Zagreb entrepreneur faces the music once again.

An almost 40 million kuna investment for MUP.

When the economic situation isn't going your way, is there a way to redirect it? Maybe. Until you're caught.