December the 28th, 2020 - It seems that 2020 wants to end things how it began, with an earthquake. Following a truly horrendous year which kicked off in Croatia with an earthquake in Zagreb and the beginning of a terrible coronavirus epidemic, yet another earthquake shook Petrinja, Zagreb and other areas this morning. Damir Trut of the National Civil Protection Headquarters has spoken out following the quake.

The current anti-epidemic regime which requires Croatia's residents to secure passes (propusnice) with good reason in order to travel in and out of the county in which their permanent place of residence is registered has of course been a question mark above the heads of those who live in affected areas like Petrinja, who for material reasons, may not be able to remain at home following this morning's earthquake and accompanying aftershocks.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Damir Trut, Assistant Minister of the Interior and Director of the National Civil Protection Headquarters, told N1 that all residents of Sisak, Petrinja and the surrounding areas affected by the earthquake will be able to get passes without any issue if their homes have become unsafe as a result of the quake and if they need to travel for medical purposes.

''As soon as possible, passes will be created and given out for all those who no longer have the opportunity to remain living in the area, have properties in other areas they can go to, and for those who want to travel elsewhere to stay with their families,'' said Damir Trut, adding that such questions haven't yet come about, but they're likely to at some point given the situation which occurred this morning.

''This is a reason which is more than suitable for the issuing of the necessary passes. Those who are coming from Zagreb who need to visit their parents or come and take a look at any damage to properties, are free to do so,'' he added.

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ZAGREB, Dec 28, 2020 - Civil Protection director Damir Trut said on Monday nine structural engineers went to Sisak and Petrinja to assess the state of buildings following this morning's strong earthquakes.

Speaking to the press, Trut said "all human resources," including firefighters and Civil Protection members, "are on the ground, assisting the population. There is no major construction damage and no one has been injured."

153,000 passes for intra-county travel issued

Speaking of passes for travel between counties that have been introduced as part of COVID-19 measures, Trut said the civil protection authorities of the City of Zagreb, Zagreb County and Sisak-Moslavina County were advised to prioritise applications from people who needed to check the state of their property or visit relatives after the quakes.

He added that applicants must comply with COVID measures.

Trust said more than 153,000 passes had been issued to date. He added that 148,000 applications had been made via the e-Propusnica system, with 80,000 granted and 65,000 rejected, as well as 150,000 via e-mail, with 73,000 passes issued.

December 13, 2020 - The PlayStation 5 release in Croatia has been marked by the traditional music of Croatian regions. 

The PlayStation 5 is one of the most anticipated releases in the gaming world, so much so that it achieved the highest launch month sales for a video game console in United States History since its debut there on November 12. 

Thus, to mark the release of the PlayStation 5 console, PlayStation Croatia, in partnership with musicians from several Croatian regions, recorded the opening sound of the new console authentically, and characteristic for each Croatian region using traditional instruments and song, reports HRTurizam.

It has been 25 years since the arrival of the first PlayStation console on the European market and during those years the sound reproduced when launching the PlayStation console is one of the features by which every PlayStation generation is remembered and recognized.

Thus, a music tour of Croatia was recorded, from Slavonia, Istria, Dalmatia, and Zagorje to Petrinja, in which the opening sound of the PlayStation 5 console was recorded on the Slavonian tamburitza, Istrian sopila, Zagorje bass, brass instruments, and Dalmatian klapa.

“With the opening sound of the PlayStation 5 console, we made a music tour all over Croatia! With the Slavonian sound of the tamburitza, the Dalmatian performance of the klapa, the Zagorje version on the bass, the sounds of Istria on the flutes, and a touch of Petrinja with brass instruments, the sounds of the PlayStation 5 console received new life with traditional Croatian instruments. The tamburitza ensemble Rubato, KUD Zlatela Kršan, Marko Horvat, Klapa Sebenico and Gradska limena glazba Petrinja took part in the recording," said PlayStation Croatia.

Videos were released with recognizable locations around Croatia, like Rovinj and Petrinja, an authentic Slavonian village near Slavonski Brod, the fortress of St. Mihovil in Šibenik and the Veliki Tabor castle, which you can find below. 

To read more about coronavirus in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

An agreement on a very large and rather surprising investment in Croatia signed today in the continental Croatian town of Petrinja between the town and an Indian entrepreneur called Arvind Kapur.

As Novac writes on the 14th of February, 2020, the Indian entrepreneur, who is the owner of a pizzeria chain and the director of Capitel Group, an investment and technology company, has expressed his interest in investing around 50 million euros in growing hazelnut, walnut and chestnut plantations in Petrinja. He contacted the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture (HPK), and President Mladen Jakopovic connected him to Petrinja's Mayor.

The Indian entrepreneur has announced that it is possible that hazelnuts and other things grown in Petrinja will be bought by major European confectioners, for example, Ferrero Rocher, the manufacturer of Nutella, with whom he would make a deal. It is difficult to find reliable information about the Indian entrepreneur on the internet, except for his LinkedIn profile, but HPK President Jakopovic assures that he is a serious investor and that his business has been verified through the Indian Embassy.

In signing the agreement, the Kapur said that he hoped this investment in Croatia ''would come to fruition."

''We believe that we can offer good technologies and processes in agricultural production. We have a policy to involve local farms and farmers in our business so that they can work together to improve their agricultural production. The agricultural production we're planning to launch will be based on organic production, which will reduce the impact on climate change,'' Kapur said.

The agreement, more specifically the non-binding Memorandum of Understanding, was signed with the Indian by the Mayor of on the premises of the town's local government. 

With regard to the location, Kapur visited several possible locations in the Petrinja area, more specifically the areas of ​​Donja Bačuga, Gornja Bačuga, Jošavica and Šušnjar.

For more on investment in Croatia, give our business page a follow.

ZAGREB, February 22, 2019 - A panel discussion on the humane aspects of the integration of asylum seekers into Croatian society ended inconclusively in Petrinja on Friday as the authorities and residents failed to come any closer in their views on the plan to build an asylum seekers centre in the town, located about 60 kilometres southeast of Zagreb.

The only unanimous conclusion was that the residents did not have timely and relevant information about the project, which has been in the making for over a year.

The project to build a centre for asylum seekers was opposed by local war veterans, political parties and civil society organisations mostly for security reasons, and it has also been voted down by the Town Council.

"I have expressed my readiness to come here for as long as necessary so that we can issue the right messages and discuss facts. This probably should have been discussed earlier, but there are no time limits. The most important thing to me is that we all realise what this is about, and this is about deciding whether to help families who are in trouble and in need of international protection. And as for the building itself, that is a side issue," Interior Minister Davor Božinović said.

Božinović said that Croatian policy on illegal migration was clear. "We will not allow illegal migration, but it is humane to help those who need help. If the residents insist on their decision, we will honour it, but I would not make such conclusions because I believe that dialogue can produce results."

The minister said that 4 million euro had already been secured for the construction of infrastructure for the future centre and other facilities. He added that the total value of the project was about 200 million kuna (27 million euro) and that the money would be secured from EU funds.

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 30, 2019 - Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Ivo Zinić on Tuesday commented on the possibility of the Trgovska Gora mountain range becoming the location for medium radioactive nuclear waste site, saying that Petrinja is some 60 to 70 kilometres away and would not be under any threat, adding that some people were trying to portray the county as a place where there is no life and where hopelessness prevails.

Asked by reporters to comment on Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbović's appeal to join him in the fight against Trgovska Gora's becoming a radioactive waste dump, Zinić said that that was politicking and that some people wanted to portray the county in a bad light, as a place with nuclear waste where there are no jobs and no prospects for life and where hopelessness prevailed.

He explained that Trgovska Gora is the possible site for low and medium radioactive waste, while nuclear waste from the Krško Nuclear Power Plant would be stored near Krško in Slovenia.

The waste storage site in Čerkezovac is related to medical waste, radioactive needles, material, lightning rods, protective clothing and the like. We have to control the storage of our radioactive waste and we presume that uncontrolled sites (with that type of material) exist around the country and perhaps even in military warehouses and bunkers in Čerkezovac. Even though our county physical plan doesn't foresee that site for waste storage, we have to respect physical plans of a higher order, Zinić said.

Zinić reiterated that the issue concerning a site for radioactive waste on Trgovska Gora, similarly to the dispute over the Sisak oil refinery, is being exploited to attract attention and that this was about 'political promotion and politicking by certain groups or individuals.'

More news on the nuclear waste issue in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 7, 2018 - The Mayor of Petrinja Darinko Dumbović told reporters on Friday that town authorities had rejected an application by the Interior Ministry (MUP) for a building permit for a migrant centre to be built in the former refugee camp Mala Gorica and underlined that nothing can be built in the area that is not acceptable for the city.

"I was informed this morning by the department head that the application is incomplete and that it has been rejected," Dumbović said.

Asked whether the town would issue the building permit once the application was completed, Dumbović said that the "state can issue a building permit based on the minister's decision. The county can do that too, however, I want them all to know that nothing can be built in the Petrinja area that is not acceptable for the town."

He added that as a once displaced person himself he empathises with the displaced persons coming to Croatia. "However, Petrinja cannot be Croatia's destination for all its problems. First displaced persons, then a dumping ground for nuclear waste. Displaced persons are coming to Croatia without any order, without documents ... we have to know who is coming and why," he added.

He underscored that it was up to Petrinja residents whether an asylum-seekers’ centre would be built near Petrinja.

The opposition in Petrinja have criticised Dumbović for allegedly negotiating with the state about the migrant centre project behind Petrinja residents' backs. Dumbović in return has sued for slander.

The MUP's Schengen coordination and EU funds department adopted a decision in July to allocate funding for the implementation of the project "Establishing infrastructure and strengthening capacities for an asylum centre in Mala Gorica as part of the European Commission's Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund," the Jutarnji List daily reported on Friday.

For more on Croatia’s migrant policies, click here.

ZAGREB, August 24, 2018 - The third festival of traditional folk singing known as “ojkanje,” which was to be organised by the Serb cultural society "Prosvjeta" in Petrinja on Saturday, August 25, has been postponed after 12 of 13 participating groups cancelled their attendance due to opposition from some local associations of Homeland War veterans and political parties, Prosvjeta said in a statement, noting that the festival would be organised in early November.

ZAGREB, August 23, 2018 - The Serb cultural society "Prosvjeta" and the Serb National Council (SNV) said on Wednesday that they had notified UNESCO's World Heritage Committee of attempts to ban a festival of traditional “ojkanje” singing and threats sent to participants in the event promoting that traditional form of folk singing, inscribed on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

A new kind of festival is coming to the region this year,  connecting Goa trance music with punk, rock, hip hop, ska.