March 11, 2019 - The 24th round of the Croatian First League was held from March 8 to 10, 2019. The weekend saw Rudeš win their first game this season, the highly anticipated derby between Dinamo and Rijeka, and Hajduk inch closer to the top 4. 

March 4, 2019 - The Croatian First League’s 23rd round saw Hajduk, Rijeka and Gorica win, while Dinamo and Osijek pulled draws over the weekend. 

ZAGREB, March 3, 2019 - The Rijeka Carnival Parade, a colourful march which is the culmination of the Rijeka Carnival, was held in that Adriatic port on Sunday, with over 10,500 costumed participants and 67 allegorical floats passing through the city centre.

This year's carnival parade included groups from Italy, Slovenia, Montenegro, Serbia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia as well as from all parts of Croatia.

The seaport was imbued with a festive atmosphere throughout this weekend, especially on Sunday afternoon when floats were passing along the main streets.

The carnival procession attracted a large audience, including very important persons such as Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, foreign ambassadors to Croatia, other diplomats and officials from Rijeka's twin cities.

The children's carnival parade was held on 16 February.

The Rijeka Carnival has been added to the list of the 500 most important events in Europe (Top 500 European Events). Furthermore, the British newspaper Sunday Times has described the carnival as one of the most exotic events in the world.

More news on Rijeka can be found in the Lifestyle section.

The 20th Rijeka Carnival Ball was held at the Croatian Littoral Maritime and Historical Museum building on Saturday evening. The money raised at the ball will be used to purchase the necessary medical equipment for the Clinic for Paediatric Surgery of the Rijeka Clinical Hospital Centre, reports Novi List on March 3, 2019.

The ball featured musicians of the Novi Sad Big Band and SuperCover Band, dancers and singers of the Cabaret a la Carte group, as well as the artist Ana Perišić from the Traumatic Arts Association. The ball was attended by Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel, President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, as well as many ambassadors from a number of countries.

The President arrived in a royal blue dress with airy hairstyle and in an excellent mood. During the ball opening, the introductory speech was first given by Mayor Obersnel, followed by the president who pointed out that she was particularly pleased that Rijeka was continuing the carnival tradition and invited everyone present to have fun during the ball and Sunday’s carnival procession.

All the ladies who were present at the ball were dressed in beautiful dresses befitting the ladies of a court. A unique dress with a message was worn by the Queen of Korzo Ivanka Pavičić, who impressed everyone with her military-style dress with gold accessories and an F-16 fighter jet on her chest. Men mostly opted for royal or church masks, but there was also a Count Dracula costume worn by a Rijeka lawyer.

The musical repertoire was apparently a hit since many guests spent the night on the dance floor, and some of them demonstrated great dancing skills.

The carnival charity ball was organised by the Town of Rijeka and the Rijeka Tourist Board, the Rotary Club Rijeka – St. Vid, in cooperation with the Maritime and Historical Museum of the Croatian Littoral. Sponsors of the ball were Jadrolinija Rijeka, the INA oil company, Zagrebačka Pivovara, Tia Partner and Lidl Croatia.

Translated from Novi List (reported by Šarlota Brnčić).

More news about carnival festivities in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

What with the playground-like rivalry between neighbours Croatia and Slovenia still going on, however less loudly, one has to wonder just where Croatia might be going wrong in relation to its much smaller neighbour to the north. Slovenia's Koper Port made ten times more money than the not so far away Rijeka Port in Croatia did in 2018.

While Slovenia has indeed attracted more and more tourists over the last few years, Croatia still undoubtedly takes the cake when it comes to making huge income from tourism. Croatia's ports, especially in Dalmatia, can be hectic and chaotic places, with cruise ships coming and going on an almost constant basis and local people's lives disrupted heavily during the tourist season. Rijeka Port, however, while having seen a rise in the number of cruise ships arriving, seems to be losing out quite significantly to the far less ''touristy'' Koper Port.

As Morski writes on the 3rd of March, 2019, the Slovenian Port of Koper enjoyed some very handsome revenues of 226 million euros, equal to one billion and 695 million kuna last year, which is seven percent more than was recorded by the major Slovenian port back in 2017.

Koper Port's net profit rose by a massive 71 percent to an impressive sixty million euros, according to a report from SEEbiz.

At the same time, the largest Croatian port, Rijeka Port, doesn't seem to be doing all that well, at least when compared to Koper. In 2018, according to the available financial report(s), Rijeka Port concluded last year with a total revenue of 171 million kuna, or 22.8 million euros, which is a rather concerning ten times less than the Slovenian Port of Koper. When Rijeka Port deducts some of that amount from its expenditures, a profit of just 848,000 kuna remains.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated business page.

February 26, 2019 - TCN continues looking at the plans and expectations for Croatian airports in 2019, with updates from Pula, Rijeka, and Osijek, thanks to AvioRadar. 

The Department of Cardiology of the Internal Medicine Clinic of the Rijeka Clinical Hospital Centre has performed new heart surgery for the first time in Croatia. The surgeons at Rijeka hospital have implanted the smallest heart electro-stimulator in the world, reports Ordinacija.hr on February 25, 2019.

The size of the capsule is just 25 mm. It has been implanted directly into the hearts of two patients with a heart rhythm disorder. The procedure at the Department of Invasive and Interventional Cardiology at Sušak was done by physicians led by Sandra Brusicha and Zlatko Čubranić.

This revolutionary device, with no wires and batteries, is implanted directly into the heart of a patient without any surgical cuts. The implantation of traditional heart electro-stimulators requires a complicated surgery with the implantation of the device into a surgically-made pocket underneath the skin and introducing electrodes through the blood vessels into the heart.

The implantation of the latest capsule is performed with just the local anaesthesia through the vein in the groin of the patient, with the aid of a catheter system that drives the device to the right heart ventricle and then attaches it to the heart wall by means of flexible teeth.

The minimal size and the minimally invasive approach do not leave visible signs of a medical device under the skin, the percentage of complications is lower compared to the traditional method, and there are no scars and no need for extended recovery of patients after surgery. On average, the durability of a standard electro-stimulator is 8 to 10 years, while the estimated lifespan of this device is 12 years.

Currently, it is indicated only in patients with an infection of the electro-stimulation system, those who are at high risk of infection or have clogged blood vessels, which prevents the implantation of a standard pacemaker.

The Clinical Hospital Centre in Rijeka is the only centre for extraction of electro-stimulation systems (pacemakers) in Croatia. The electrode extraction procedure is one of the most complex and most dangerous interventions in cardiology.

More medical news in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

February 25, 2019 - The 22nd round of the Croatian First League was held from February 22 to 24, 2019, and featured the highly anticipated derby between Dinamo and Osijek. 

While the bura wind ripped through Croatia’s coast this week, there was no stopping the Croatian First League, which was held despite the blustery winds. The weekend saw some exciting matchups, like Hajduk and Gorica who are neck-and-neck on the table, Dinamo and Osijek who were first and second, and Belupo and Inter in 7th and 8th. 

Without further ado, here is our Croatian First League round 22 recap. 

Rudeš v. Rijeka (2:4)

Rudeš and Rijeka opened the 22nd round on Friday, February 22, 2019, at Kranjčevićeva street stadium in front of 279 fans. 

While Rudeš was the first to score with a penalty by Vuco in the 15th minute, Rijeka did not take long to come back. Gorgan nailed a penalty in the 41st minute, and just three minutes later, Acosty scored for 1:2 at the half.

In the second half, Gorgan hit another goal for 1:3 in the 60th minute and Puljić scored to make it 1:4 for the visiting team. Rudeš did come back to get one more goal after Juranović scored in the 81st. The game ended at 2:4. 

Rudeš remains in the last place on the table with 4 points, while Rijeka has now moved into second place with 41 points. 

Slaven Belupo v. Inter Zaprešić (0:1)

Belupo and Inter met in Koprivnica on Saturday, February 23, 2019, in front of 513 fans. 

The first half was quiet and went without goals - and the second half was not much more exciting. Serderov scored for Inter in the 68th minute, which is how the game ended. 

Belupo is currently in 7th place with 21 points, while Inter is in 8th with 21. 

Hajduk v. Gorica (0:0)

Hajduk and Gorica met at Poljud stadium in front of 6,708 fans on Saturday, February 23, 2019. 

As both teams had to fight against the brutal bura in addition to one another, not much could be accomplished. The game ended without goals. 

Hajduk is currently in 6th place with 31 points, while Gorica is in 5th place with 32. 

Istria 1961 v. Lokomotiva Zagreb (0:0)

Istria and Lokomotiva met in Pula on Sunday, February 24, 2019, in front of 816 fans. 

It was another scoreless game which did not see much excitement from either team. The game ended 0:0. 

Istria is currently in 9th place with 17 points, while Lokomotiva is in 4th with 36. 

Dinamo v Osijek (3:0)

Dinamo and Osijek closed out the 22nd round with the highly anticipated derby at Maksimir stadium on Sunday, February 24, 2019, in front of 4,304 fans. 

Coming off a high after advancing into the last 16 of the Europa League, Dinamo had no intention of slowing down. Andrić scored first for Dinamo in the 8th minute to make it 1:0, and Atiemwen sacred for 2:0 in the 21st minute. 

Rrahmani scored in the 60th minute for 3:0 to secure the Dinamo blowout over the Osijek club. 

Dinamo remains in the first place with 57 points, while Osijek has now fallen to third place with 40 points. 

You can see the Croatian First League table here. 

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

“Trs Is Ours” – a pun on the historical slogan about Trieste (a city in the northern Italy) is the slogan of the 3rd International Wine and Food Festival WineRi 2019, to be held on March 8-9, from 1 pm to 7 pm at the Maritime and Historical Museum of the Croatian Littoral in Rijeka (Governor's Palace, Museum Square 1).

WineRi is the venue for the promotion of indigenous Kvarner wine varieties and a kind of En Primeur for Žlahtina, Jarbola and Kastafska Belica. In total, 67 exhibitors will be present with over 250 wine labels from Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia, while 18 exhibitors will present Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The exhibitors, in addition to 50 winemakers, will feature six producers of brandies and liqueurs, six food producers (cheeses, olive oils and cured meat products), two manufacturers of wood and recycled paper products, two craft beer producers and one chocolate producer.

The festival ticket costs 60 kuna, while the glass deposit is 20 kuna. Due to limited space, all workshops will also cost 60 kuna. The festival traditionally has a charity character, and all exhibitors will donate their products which visitors will be able to buy for donated 50 kuna, with the proceeds going to “I Want – I Can” association from Pazin, which works with children with special needs.

As part of the festival, eight professional workshops will be held, and UNESCO-protected Zvončari and Bakarski Baškot groups will be presented. The workshops Making Love with Wine, Jarbola? Belica? What Is That, Rose Wines of Istria and Kvarner powered by Pink Day, Wine and Cinema, Sparkling Kvarner, Wine’s Indiana Jones, will surely attract numerous participants, since they will be hosted by experienced experts and sommeliers Filip Savić, Tomislav Pavlešić, Darko Lugarić, Jelena Bulum from WOW association, Marija Vukelić and the winemaker Ivica Dobrinčić. Part of the organisational team is the PAR Business School with its student practice department, the PAR Incubator.

Two parties will also take place. On Friday, March 8th, on the International Women's Day, the WTF (Wine Tasting Festival) party will be held at Marina Botel, while on Saturday, 9 March, starting from 8 pm the central WTF party will be held at Bačva club. The organisers believe that this year the number of visitors will surpass last year's and that the festival will become a meeting point and a gathering of producers on the one hand, and wine fans and representatives of the catering industry on the other, a kind of an ode to the often-mentioned Mediterranean lifestyle.

The partners of this year's WineRi festival are Vino s okusom soli Crikvenica, Vino.com Zagreb, Salon pjenušavih vina Zagreb, Pink Day Zagreb powered by WOW, WineOs Osijek, Kvarner Wine Fest Opatija, Zadar Wine Festival and Grand Tasting Belgrade. The associations supporting the festival are the Žlahtina Association, the Belica Association, the Jarbola Association, the WOW/Women on Wine Association, and the AHA association. The organiser of the festival is the marketing agency Aha Marketing from Selce, while co-organisers are the Centre for hilly and mountainous agriculture of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, i.e. Kašetica Primorsko-goranska – the Centre of autochthonous products of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

The wine godfather of the festival is a participant of the Croatian MasterChef competition finals Časlav Matijević. The festival is held under the auspices of President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture Tomislav Tolušić, Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli and Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts Darko Horvat.

The sponsors of the festival are Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Osijek-Baranja County, Požega-Slavonia County, the Town of Rijeka, the Kvarner Tourist Board, the Rijeka Town Tourist Board, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Chamber of Crafts and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Rijeka County Chamber, which will promote brands "Croatian Creation" and "Croatian Quality". The media sponsors of the festival are Novi List, La Voce del Popolo, Gastronaut.hr, vino.rs, svijetvina.hr, GetReport, fiuman.hr, rijecanin.rtl.hr, torpedo.media, crikva.hr.

In cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Rijeka County Chamber and Gastronaut.hr, more than 2,000 representatives of the Kvarner catering industry will be invited to the festival, while GetReport from Zagreb will bring the most significant Croatian wine and gastronomy journalist.

More news about Croatian wines can be found in the Lifestyle section.

February 18, 2019 - The 21st round of the Croatian First League featured the Adriatic Derby between Rijeka and Hajduk. 

The 21st round of the Croatia First League was played from February 15 to 17, 2019. While the most exciting part was the Adriatic Derby between Rijeka and Hajduk, the weekend did exhibit some surprises - like Osijek struggling to get past Istra, or Lokomotiva drawing with the last-placed team. 

Without further ado, here is our Croatian First League 21st round recap. 

Lokomotiva v. Rudeš (0:0)

Lokomotiva and Rudeš met at Kranjčevićeva street stadium to open the 21st round on February 15, 2019. 

It was a rather slow game which saw no goals and no real excitement. In front of 324 fans, Lokomotiva and Rudeš drew 0:0. 

Lokomotiva is currently in 4th place with 35 points, while Rudeš is in last with 4. 

Rijeka v. Hajduk (0:0)

Rijeka and Hajduk met for the highly anticipated Adriatic Derby on Saturday, February 16, 2019, at Rujevica stadium in front of 6,527 fans. 

While Rijeka was the favorite to win, Hajduk continued with their winning mentality and made it anything but easy for Rijeka. A Hajduk goal was called back in the first half, and the game ended in a goalless draw. 

Rijeka is currently in 3rd place with 38 points, while Hajduk is in 6th with 30. 

Gorica v. Inter Zaprešić (2:2)

Gorica and Inter met in front of 1,629 fans at Radnik stadium on Saturday, February 16, 2019. 

Inter was the first to take the lead with two goals in the first six minutes by Serderov and Rak. Gorica’s Lovrić came back with one in the 11th minute for 1:2, Zwolinski missed a penalty in the 47th, and Suk came back to equalize in the 84th for 2:2.

Gorica is currently in 5th place with 31 points, while Inter is in 8th with 18. 

Osijek v. Istra 1961 (1:0)

Osijek and Istra met on Sunday, February 18, 2019, at City Garden stadium in front of 2,252 fans. 

It was another mostly unexciting game between Osijek and Istra, which saw no goals in the first half. It wasn’t until the 68th minute that Abazaj scored for a 1:0 Osijek win. 

Osijek is currently in 2nd place with 40 points, while Istra is in 9th with 16. 

Dinamo v. Slaven Belupo (3:0)

Dinamo and Belupo closed out the 21st round of the Croatian First League at Maksimir on Sunday, February 17, 2019, in front of 2,383 fans. 

While the first half went without goals, Dinamo managed three in the second - by Hajrović in the 67th, Orsić in the 78th, and Musa in the 88th. Dinamo won 3:0. 

Dinamo is currently in 1st place with 54 points, while Belupo is in 7th with 21. 

You can check out next week's games here. 

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