February 19, 2020 - The legendary Nick Mason, founder, drummer and long-time member of Pink Floyd, is bringing supergroup Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets to INmusic Zagreb!

Namely, Dnevnik.hr reports that Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets will take festivalgoers on a special musical journey on INmusic’s 15th birthday.

Creating the unique and inimitable sound of Pink Floyd, commonly described as art rock or progressive rock, Nick Mason and his bandmates Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Syd Barrett became music immortals and some of the most notable musicians of the 20th century. Pink Floyd's influence is enormous, and is said to have inspired David Bowie, U2, Queen, Radiohead, Kraftwerk, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins, and more. 

After curating the acclaimed box set The Early Years 1965-1972, dedicated to the early psychedelic work of the cult band, in 2016, Nick Mason decided to make a full-blooded return to the scene after a historic appearance as part of a humanitarian Live 8 concert that last brought together all living members Pink Floyd.

Unlike bandmates David Gilmour and Roger Waters, whose extensive tour focuses on Pink Floyd's later works, their solo works and select early Pink Floyd classics, Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets returns to Pink Floyd's most innovative sound and brings a concert interpretation of the albums from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn to Obscured by Clouds performing. And they exclusively perform only Pink Floyd songs.  Being a cross-section of seven Pink Floyd albums out of a total of 15 studio releases, Nick Mason offers the audience the most extensive concert experience of one of the most significant and greatest rock bands of all time.

In the words of Nick Mason himself, Saucerful of Secrets is his return to his favorite Floyd songs. Seeking to "capture the spirit of the times," Nick Mason brings together top musicians in a supergroup, such as Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet), Guy Pratt (Pink Floyd bassist after Waters), Lee Harris (Ian Dury & the Blockheads) and Dom Beken (The Orb, Transit Kings) who authentically and vitally reinterpret Pink Pink's most challenging, productive and inventive years. The audience awaits top performances of classics that have permanently marked the modern history of music - "A Saucerful of Secrets", "One of These Days", "Astronomy Domine", "Let There Be More Light", "Green Is the Color", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, "Lucifer Sam", "Arnold Layne", "Bike", "Fearless", and more.

The exclusive four appearances in London in May 2018 were followed by a sold-out European and North American tour that brought the sound of early Pink Floyd to some of the most prestigious stages in the world - from a celebratory concert at the London Roundhouse, Paris Olympia, Philadelphia The Metropolitan Opera House, to the ancient amphitheaters of Lyon and Sicilian Taormina, and the just-announced performances at the Berlin Tempodrome and London's Royal Albert Hall scheduled for May 2020. 

All lovers of Pink Floyd, rejoice! You won’t want to miss this year’s INmusic in Zagreb.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

ZAGREB, February 19, 2020 - Reporting by Croatian media on the novel coronavirus to date has been mainly fair and helped raise the general public's awareness about this disease that was first detected in China, however, there have been some cases of causing unnecessary panic by certain reports.

The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Tuesday organised a panel discussion on the topic "Information or Panic" regarding the media coverage of the outbreak of this contagious disease in the world.

Participants in the panel discussion agreed that in Croatia, where there have been no coronavirus-related death cases, reporting has been rather correct and balanced.

However, although we have provided media with accurate information, there have been some cases of causing irrational fear by some reports, said the head of the Dr. Fran Mihaljević clinic, Alemka Markotić.

In this context she criticised dissemination of opinions of like-mined people on some panic-prone social networks.

She says that it is understandable that the novel virus with the official name Covid-19, that was recently detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, could give rise to unease and anxiety. On the other hand, she underscored the fact that only 47 patients to date have been diagnosed in Europe, and in Croatia there have been no cases of this disease.

Markotić admitted that the death rate from this virus was higher than the death rate from influenza, but she also points out the fact that this is in no way an incurable disease.

To date in Croatia 17 people have been tested for this virus, as they had certain symptoms such as a high body temperature and were in contact with the Chinese, and all the tests have been negative, Markotić said.

Some of the doctors who took part in the debate pointed out the fact that media outlets should also write about positive things, such as the number of patients who have recovered from the disease.

Thus, it has been underscored that over 12,000 patients in the world have been successfully treated and have recovered.

Krunoslav Čapak, head of the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ), said that media failed to report the fact that Croatia had been the first European country to introduce active medical monitoring of returnees from regions hit by the disease.

More health news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 19, 2020 - Chief State Prosecutor Dražen Jelenić has confirmed he is a Freemason and said doctor Nikica Gabrić tried to influence a preliminary investigation into three reporters who allegedly blackmailed him, demanding that he give them 200,000 kuna or they would publish photographs of a ceremony of the Masonic lodge to which he belongs.

Asked by Hina to comment on an article in the Nacional weekly which said that Jelenić was a Freemason and that Vuk Radić, a reporter for the 7Dnevno weekly and one of the suspected blackmailers, was also a Freemason who attended Jelenić's initiation, meaning that he could blackmail Jelenić with public exposure, the chief state prosecutor confirmed on Tuesday that he had been a Freemason since March 2018.

He explained that in early 2018 he had been invited to join a Masonic lodge which at the time was not headed by Gabrić.

Jelenić added that after he was admitted to the Grand Orient association, he took part in one more meeting of the association, which he and several other members walked out of in October 2018, after it was taken over by Gabrić.

"The members who left the association established an association of the same kind of which I am a member. Since the end of March 2018, due to my busy schedule, I have not participated in any way in the work of the association led by Nikica Gabrić, which I left, or in the work of the newly-founded association," said Jelenić.

In a comment on the case of attempted blackmail of Gabrić, Jelenić said that he obtained information on the case from his deputy Mladen Bajić, a friend of Gabrić to whom Gabrić submitted a report on the attempted blackmail.

"For the sake of ensuring prompt action, as the report seemed to indicate the need for it, over the weekend I arranged a visit by Gabrić to the competent prosecutor's office, where I had a brief conversation with him during which he confirmed that he suspected a criminal offence, after which the competent prosecutor's office continued with its activities, accepting a formal criminal report that was submitted, and took other actions within its jurisdiction," Jelenić said in a statement.

He added that during the preliminary investigation, "for reasons known only to him", Gabrić tried to exert direct influence on him through the competent prosecutor's office.

"As I could in no way allow it for the sake of the protection of the lawfulness of the proceedings, I agreed with the competent prosecutor that no action should be taken to ban the publishing of the said weekly as there was no legal basis for it, and I asked that in this case, as in any other case, action be taken solely and exclusively based on the law, namely that the procedure to collect evidence not be expanded to include persons who were not suspected of involvement in that or any other related criminal act, and that investigative custody not be proposed if there is no legal basis for it," said Jelenić.

He said that the decision to arrest the suspects was entirely within the remit of the police, which the state prosecutor cannot and must not influence and that he did not influence the work of the competent prosecutor's office in the case, contrary to what the article in the Nacional weekly suggested.

Noting that the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor (DORH) and he did not have jurisdiction over the case, Jelenić said that all evidence collected during the investigation would be made available to the defence, and that if an indictment was issued, it would also be made available to the court and the public.

Jelenić also explained that the Masonic lodge of which he was a member was a civic association established in line with Croatian laws and that information on membership in it was a personal matter of every member, and that only members themselves were authorised to make public their membership.

"The duty for members to help one another in no way includes assistance that would be illegal nor is any act, code or rules of work of the association above the law or contrary to the law and it must not be above the law or contrary to it," he said.

DORH said that membership of the association does not put Jelenić, either personally or as the chief state prosecutor, "in any greater or different potential conflict of interest than, for example, would be the case with criminal proceedings in which suspects or victims are prosecutors as members of the organisation which he heads."

DORH also said that in his work so far and before the extortion case, Jelenić had not, either personally or as chief state prosecutor, met with members of the association as suspects or victims and that in the case at hand, he acted as he would have acted in any other criminal case.

Zagreb police last Friday arrested the editor-in-chief of the 7Dnevno weekly and Dnevno.hr portal, Marko Cigoj, his deputy Vuk Radić and director Marija Dekanić on the suspicion of attempted extortion.

According to unofficial information, in recent weeks the three blackmailed ophthalmologist Nikica Gabrić, founder and director of the Svjetlost eye clinic.

The reporters told Grabrić they would withdraw a planned series of articles on him, whose content would allegedly compromise him, in exchange for adequate compensation for their 'costs'.

In doing so, they did not demand a specific amount of money but that his clinic and interested partners pay for advertisements on a certain number of pages in the 7Dnevno weekly. The advertisements would reportedly cost around 200,000 kuna (approx. €27,000).

Gabrić reportedly refused the offer, and the series of articles in which he is called the head of a Masonic lodge was published.

More politics news can be found in the dedicated section.

ZAGREB, February 19, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday the nomination of Vice Admiral Robert Hranj as new military chief of staff would be on the government's agenda on Thursday and that there were no problems with President Zoran Milanović in agreeing on the nomination.

Plenković told reporters Hranj was one of the key people in the Main Staff who, together with the head of his office, was at the helm of a task force for the procurement of fighter jets.

Most important for the government and the defence minister is that the Croatian army functions well and that the highest commanders are reputable officials with the skills and knowledge necessary for the army, he said.

Defence Minister Damir Krstičević said Hranj was a good choice and that their cooperation so far had been very good.

Reporters asked both officials what they thought about Milanović's inauguration earlier today.

Plenković said he saw no problem in the fact that he did not comment on it earlier. "This was the inauguration of the president of the republic, it's his day. I was there, respecting Croatian institutions and the whole process. I congratulated him and think everything was okay."

Plenković said Milanović's speech was about how he saw society and his work ahead, adding that the government has its own programme and work.

Asked what their cohabitation would be like, he said they would cooperate there where the constitution and the law "connected" them, adding that today they talked informally and not about when they would meet.

Krstičević once again congratulated the new president. "What's key is that we focus on the further development and strengthening of the Croatian army and that's my task."

The prime minister also commented on announcements that gas prices would go down. "I think that's good," he said, adding that it was important that the goal was to raise living standards, which he said could be achieved by reducing expenses and raising salaries.

More news about Zoran Milanović can be found in the Politics section.

February 19, 2020 - The Olympic qualifying tournament in Split is the last chance to fight for a spot in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The Croatia national team has a slight advantage, as they will be playing in front of a home crowd.

HKS reports that one of the four Olympic qualifying basketball tournaments will be played in Split from June 23 to 28 at the Spaladium Arena. Croatia will fight against the national teams of Germany, Russia, Tunisia, Mexico and Brazil for a spot in Tokyo.

"The tournament in Split is one big event and promotion not only for basketball but for the whole of Croatia. We hope for a good atmosphere and once again thank the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the City of Split and Split-Dalmatia County. We hope that the team will be complete and that everyone will be healthy and we can look forward to the Olympic Games. We are about to begin qualifying for the European Championships that await us in 2021. On Friday, we play against Sweden, after which we play with the Netherlands. These two games are extremely important for us. After that, we expect the HT Premier League championship finals, and then we are preparing for this tournament.”

All fans looking to cheer on Croatia in Split can purchase tickets from February 26 through system.hr.

“The Split tournament is, in my opinion, the most important event in Croatian sport in 2020, and the importance and weight are in the opponents, system and organization. FIBA has risen to a higher level of quality since EuroBasket in 2015. We recognized this tournament as a top event that has the opportunity to be played in Croatia. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Prime Minister and the Government of the Republic of Croatia for recognizing this. What awaits us in Split is the ultimate spectacle for all sports fans, especially basketball. Until the tournament, we will work on the animation and promotion of basketball and take this opportunity to raise basketball to another level,” said the Secretary-General of the Croatian Basketball Federation, Josip Vranković.

Qualifying for the Olympic Games and representing their country is a dream of all athletes, which guarantees that exciting basketball awaits us in Split. The Croatia national team will have a slight advantage as they will have support from the Split stands.

‘’I hope we can show a good game in front of our home crowd on Friday and win. We expect that the Drazen Petrovic hall will be packed to the last place and that together with our fans, we will have a positive atmosphere before this last Euro qualifier against the Netherlands and before the Olympic tournament in Split in June.

When we finish these games, we will start preparing for the Split tournament, talk to all the players to get ready for the summer,” said Croatian basketball team coach Veljko Mrsic.

The Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 24 to August 9. The Croatia basketball team has qualified for the Olympic Games four times, with the highest success being the silver medal in 1992. At the last Rio Olympics, Croatia took 5th place. The tournament in Split is an opportunity for all basketball lovers and fans to accompany their national teams on the road to the Olympics, but also to enjoy top-notch basketball. In addition to Split, other host cities are Belgrade, Kaunas and Victoria. A total of 24 teams will compete in the tournaments, with only the tournament winners going to the Olympics.

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

Smokvica is a little island located in the picturesque Sibenik archipelago in Dalmatia. This beautiful, quaint paradise was once used by the notorious, formerly untouchable Todoric family, the head of which is Ivica Todoric, the former owner of the Agrokor empire.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes on the 18th of February, 2020, after the island was returned to state ownership after the Agrokor crisis broke out back in 2017, resulting in the sale of Todoric's property to try to attempt to cover costs incurred during his alleged dodgy dealings, the Ministry of State Property signed a thirty-year lease with Green Real Estate (Zelena nekretnina d.o.o.), founded by a Hungarian fund.

That lease was signed back in mid-2018.

After Lex Agrokor came into force and Agrokor was signed over to the state, eventually transforming and much later becoming the current Fortenova Group, Smokvica almost disappeared from public view in terms of media coverage. This stunning yet mysterious island was used privately by the Todoric family for some twenty years, and when the dynasty fell and the truth came to light, the problem of revitalising the island of Smokvica arose.

This was the topic of a recent meeting at the Ministry of State Property (MDI) with tenant representatives, Sibenik-Knin County, the Municipality of Rogoznica and the relevant ministries in search of a solution for a possible conversion model that would be legally applicable to the island of Smokvica, on which there is still some military infrastructure.

Now that Smokvica is entering a new phase after twenty years or so of being the ''home'' of the Todoric family during the summer months, shut off from the rest of Croatia and indeed the rest of the world, an agreement is being attempted to be reached by involved parties and the current thirty-year lease holders to revitalise the island which was once the paradise of one of the country's most notorious families.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.

As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of February, 2020, graduates of the Zagreb High School, Filip Hercig, Matija Fucek and their team, were presented with the award for their Croatian project - Mundus Education System, for which they were awarded 25,000 kuna in a Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) competition called Entrepreneurs of the Future.

The award was presented to them by HUP representatives and by Ivan Gabric, a member of the A1 Croatia Board.

The Mundus Education System is a Croatian project and a smart board game by Mundus Technologies that brings technology closer to formal education through several hardware and software solutions, and is now used by about sixty schools across Slovenia and Croatia.

According to Hercig and Fucak, this recognition has put a spring in their step, and the generous donation has helped them to provide all the schools using the system with the necessary materials. The young innovators, who have worked on this Croatian project for several years, want to study in the US at Harvard or Stanford, and their general vision is, as they say, a blend of business and computer science. In parallel with their studies, they will continue to develop the game because, as they point out, this is their life project.

''This is a great opportunity to expand on the American market as well as in European Union (EU) countries. One segment of the game is educational and the other is for the private user market. The educational part focuses on educational institutions, from schools to kindergartens,'' explains Hercig.

"We wanted to do something new and interesting. We had a brief episode of development for the education sector that we dedicated ourselves to, and a growing number of people showed interest in the initial segment of the game. So, the idea is to make a board game that is actually a console; the board connects to a mobile phone via a mobile application (app) and then you choose the game you want. Furthermore, the idea is that you can download and try brand new games through the same physical board that you bought earlier,'' Fucek said, adding that the motto of the game is ''one board, countless games''.

Hercig and Fucek are pleased with the feedback they have received from students who are ''interested in learning the material in a non-classical way that professors can present to them through fun,'' says Hercig.

Ivan Gabric from A1 gave a lecture after he presented the award, telling the students that it is normal in life to try and sometimes not win, but that this should never discourage them.

"You're young and I want to encourage and support your ambition, which is often a cruel thing, and life is not as comfortable as it is during your high school days. You need knowledge to showcase your skills and strengths when compared to others, you can't pay for it, and that is proven every day,'' he concluded.

Make sure to follow our dedicated Made in Croatia page for more on this Croatian project and many more.

Coronavirus has been and continues to be a real threat to world health, and with numerous Chinese workers working on constructing the long awaited Peljesac bridge in Dalmatia, fears recently arose that the virus could be present and coronavirus saw the factory supplying the bridge in China shut down.

As Morski writes on the 18th of February, 2020, despite recent worries about coronavirus and the fact that a Chinese company with Chinese workers is busy building the bridge which is an enormous strategic project for Croatia, there doesn't seem to be any cause for concern. According to those present on Peljesac bridge's site, the number of workers there is the same and thank they're all apparently healthy.

The commander of the ''Forca'' motor tanker, which supplies the Chinese ships and cranes with fuel, Miro Radic, says that the situation on the ground is normal, and works are currently going on without any downtime for now, despite the recent concerns and the suspension of the Chinese supplier factory.

''They're all workers are from China, and there's the same amount of them working there as there were before the virus appeared. What should be emphasised is that all of the Chinese workers on the bridge are healthy and that there are no traces of coronavirus in Klek, and that these people have had no contact with China since the virus appeared. Me and my crew follow safety instructions and wear protective suits, hats and gloves, though I repeat, there is no sign of the virus,'' explains Radic, in an attempt to calm the incredible hysteria among the general population caused by global media panic.

Coronavirus worries aside, Peljesac bridge should be opened on July the 31st, 2021, and it has been confirmed from Croatian Roads (Hrvatske ceste) that due to the new circumstances, the contractor has not requested an extension of the deadline.

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