Everything you need to know about Croatia: news, reviews, in-depth analysis, opinion and more
Croatia: Adriatic Country and Former Yugoslav Territory
Croatia, the beautiful Adriatic Sea country along the Mediterranean Sea become part of Yugoslavia Kingdom in 1918 and proclaimed independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 after a long and bloody feud between the pro-independence Croatians and the Serbs who were supported by Yugoslav forces. The war only ended with Dayton Agreement of 1995. Croatia or Hrvatska features number of prominent beaches along its 1185 islands. Dubrovnik in Croatia is a well-known stopover for any Mediterranean cruise during which the tourists can catch Croatia in its full glory.
Croatia Quick Facts:
Croatia is a European country situated between Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and borders the Adriatic Sea along its considerable coastline. Croatia features all types of landscapes from flat plains, low mountains, highlands and more than 11,00 islands. Croatia has bountiful natural reserves of Petroleum, Bauxite, Iron, Coal and natural Asphalt.
Economy of Croatia:
Croatians as part of Yugoslavia enjoyed relatively higher prosperity than the rest of their countrymen, however post independence the Croatian economy fell into a recession from which it emerged only in 2000. However its residual effects can be seen even today with unemployment hovering at a high mark of 18%. The country is awaiting accession to the EU in 2010 that is supposed to provide Croatia with a economic springboard to prosperity. Agriculture is widely practised in Croatia and its major agricultural products include wheat, corn, sugar beet, barley, sunflower, alfalfa, citrus, grapes, potatoes and soybean.
Croatia Culture and Tradition:
Croatian culture is truly rich and steeped in history with 14 world heritage sites in Croatia. The country features an interesting cultural amalgamation of ethnic Croats, Slavs, Avars and Muslims. Croatia also has its distinct musical tradition with three trademark Croatian music styles- Ganga, Klapa and Tamburica. Croatian cuisine is heterogeneous mix of many regions and Pork and Potato Stew is the staple food at every festivity and holiday. Croatia also has a proud wine lineage featuring more than 700 exotic flavours to revel in.
All Croatians enjoy sport and Croatian Football team has no mean exploits in the field. Croatians have also earned considerable laurels in the literature and arts fields with three proud Croatian Nobel laureates.
Croatia Tourist Attractions:
Croatia is a thriving architectural splendour with six world heritage sites to its credit. Visitors travelling to Croatia delight themselves in the Episcopal complex of the Euphrasian Basilica at Porec. Other historical cities include Trogir and Sibenik, the latter has the inspiring cathedral of St. Jacob that is also a world heritage structure. The Dubrovnik city is a must stopover for any Mediterranean cruise and no Croatian vacation can be complete without a visit to this marvellous port city.
Other Croatian Places to Visit include:
Washington, April 30 (ANI): It will be possible to forecast the outbreak of dengue fever up to 16 weeks in advance, with the help of a warning system which measures the risk of dengue incidence using precipitation and air temperature.
Karachi, April 22 (ANI): An aeronautical engineer has turned his back on his profession and set out across Europe to learn 33 more trades instead.
Monte Carlo, April 18 (IANS) Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka, seeded 13th, easily made his way past second seed and Olympic champion Andy Murray of Britain here at the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament Thursday.
Monte Carlo, April 17 (IANS) Belgian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov caused an upset at the Monte Carlo Masters here by beating eighth seeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic in straight sets.
Moscow, April 14 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russian energy giant Gazprom is to become the title sponsor of a multi-nation league known as the South East Handball Association (SEHA), the Russian Handball Union reported Sunday.
Moscow, April 11 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Ecuador have squeezed Russia out of the world's top ten football nations, new rankings published by FIFA showed Thursday.
Vancouver, April 3 (IANS) A relaxed yet confident Italian team is seeking to advance to its first Davis Cup semi-final since 1998 but it isn't looking past upstart Canada, which it will meet in a quarter-final tie starting Friday in the British Columbia city.
Miami, March 29 (IANS/RIA Novosti) For Maria Sharapova, reaching the Miami Masters finals has been less than a struggle.
The Hague, March 29 (IANS) Ajax Amsterdam has the most productive youth academy in European football, according to a survey done by three researchers from the International Centre for Sports Research (CIES) from Neuchatel, Switzerland.
Skopje (Macedonia), March 23 (IANS) Belgium continued their winning streak with a 2-0 victory over Macedonia here in the European Zone Group A World Cup football qualifier.
Washington, March 14 (IANS/RIA Novosti) World opinion of American leadership has sunk to its lowest level in four years, says a new poll by the Gallup research firm.
Milan, March 12 (IANS/AKI) A former newspaper editor was among 13 people arrested Tuesday in a corruption investigation in Italy.
Florida, March 4 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Latvia's Ernests Gulbis has won the ATP 250 tennis tournament in Delray Beach here, propelling him up the new rankings published Monday.
Dubai, Feb 26 (IANS/WAM) The UAE has lifted a ban on importing live cows from some European countries including Iceland, Norway, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Estonia, Malta and Hungary.
Sydney, Feb 12 (ANI): Croatian tennis star Bernard Tomic and his 'blonde bombshell' girlfriend Chelsey Grbcic have split up, after the Australian Open, which takes place in Melbourne in January.
New Delhi, Feb 8 (IANS) Bollywood is a key platform but disc jockeying is still a nascent field in India with many DJs depending on weddings to bring in the money, says celebrity DJ Khushi who believes the time has come for media and music labels to support his tribe with the "right infrastructure and vision".
Rome, Feb 3 (IANS) Following are the Davis Cup World Group first round results till Saturday:
Vancouver, Feb 3 (IANS) Spain fought off Davis Cup elimination by winning the doubles competition against Canada 4-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 on the hardcourts of the University of British Columbia campus.
Vancouver, Feb 2 (IANS) Five-time Davis Cup champions Spain found itself in an unusual position after going down 0-2 in the opening match of their World Group first round match against Canada.
London, Jan 31 (IANS) Following are tennis' Davis Cup World Group first round ties from Friday till Sunday:
Milan, Jan 31 (IANS) Inter Milan has officially signed teenaged Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Mateo Kovacic with a fee of around 11 million euros plus a further four million euros in performance-related bonuses.
Jaipur, Jan 28 (IANS) Conflict, civil wars and personal choices drive award-winning African writer Aminatta Forna's fictional narratives which probe the social movements and human trauma in troubled zones across the world and on her home turf in Sierra Leone.
San Cristobal de las Casas (Mexico), Jan 26 (IANS/EFE) Mexican scientists have discovered fossils of two fish species that lived some 110 million years ago during the Cretaceous period in what is today the southeastern state of Chiapas, officials said.
Belgrade, Jan 19 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Croatia has recognised the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SNCROF) as the only legitimate representative of the Syrian people, the Croatian foreign ministry said.
Melbourne, Jan 16 (IANS) China's 21-year-old Wu Di made history by becoming the first man from his country to have played a Grand Slam match although he was ousted by Ivan Dodig of Croatia in the first round of the Australian Open.
Brussels, Jan.16 (ANI): A GPS error made a Belgian woman drive through six countries for almost 1500 kilometres, before she noticed the malfunctioning car navigation system.
Melbourne, Jan 15 (IANS) Former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki rallied from the brink of defeat to book her place in the second round of the Australian Open with a three-set win over Sabine Lisicki here Tuesday.
San Jose, Jan 8 (IANS) Young Serbian tennis star Nikola Milojevic won the 48th Costa Rica's prestigious Coffee Cup (Copa del Cafe) to become the World's No.1 junior player.
Chennai, Jan 5 (IANS) Unheralded Spaniard Roberto Batistua Agut recorded the biggest win of his fledgling career as he knocked out World No.6 and top seed Tomas Berdych from Czech Republic 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, in the Aircel Chennai Open tennis tournament here Friday. The day also saw the exit of three of the top four seeds.
Chennai, Dec 29 (IANS) The only two Indians in the singles main draw, Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri, both wildcards, face tough first opponents in the $430,000 ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament that commences here Monday.
Melbourne, December 16 (ANI): Robert Brand, who spent his summer holidays wiring video and audio connections for NASA to relay Apollo 11's images from the moon to the world at 17, hopes to communicate with another craft destined for the lunar surface as part of an international race to land a robot on the moon by the end of 2015 more than 40 years later.
London, Dec. 13 (ANI): Ten individuals, including a British man have been arrested by the FBI on suspicion of being involved in a 500 million-pound heist and are alleged to be associated to several international cybercrime rings.
Hyderabad, Dec 10 (IANS) China's boys and girls stormed into the quarter-finals at the Volkswagen World Junior Table Tennis Championships here Monday while Indian girls went down against South Korea to endanger their chances of making the last eight.
Chennai, Nov 19 (IANS) Croatia's Marin Cilic, a two?time winner, and Swiss ace Stanislas Wawrinka have confirmed their participation in the 2013 Aircel ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament.
Pune, Nov 7 (IANS) Indian challenge in the women's singles of the $125,000 Sanjay Kakade Group Royal Indian Open WTA Challenger came to an end in the second round when tennis wild-card Rutuja Bhosale went down 6-3, 6-0 to seventh seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine at the Balewadi Sports Complex here Wednesday.
Moscow, Nov 7 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia moved into the top-10-ranked football nations this month, FIFA announced Wednesday.
New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS) Qatar Airways is offering customers across India and around the world with great savings to more than 100 destinations during its latest three-day global sale.
Johannesburg, Nov 1 (ANI): US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that her country wanted to help the Syrian opposition unite against President Bashar Assad's government, but urged it to resist efforts by 'extremists' to hijack the revolution.
London, Oct 18(ANI): Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has claimed former Tottenham Hotspurs teammate Gareth Bale is good enough to play along the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Mesut Ozil and Gonzalo Higuain at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Skopje (Macedonia), Oct 17 (IANS) Macedonia edged Serbia 1-0 in the European Zone Football World Cup qualifier here.
Tashkent, Oct 12 (IANS) Top seeded Lukas Lacko of Slovakia will clash with fifth seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia while Czech Jan Mertl will take on Uladzimir Ignatik of Belarus in the semifinals of the $125,000 Tashkent ATP Challenger at the Olympic Tennis School here.
Shangai, Oct 12 (IANS) Britain's Andy Murray booked his place in the semifinals of the $3.5 million Shanghai Masters here Friday with a come-from-behind win over Czech player Radek Stepanek.
Shanghai, Oct 12 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Britain's Andy Murray booked his place in the semifinals of the $3.5 million Shanghai Masters here Friday with a come-from-behind win over Czech player Radek Stepanek.
Oslo, Oct 12 (IANS) The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to the European Union (EU) "for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe".
Shanghai, Oct 12 (IANS/RIA Novosti) World No.6 Tomas Berdych beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters Friday.
Kiev, Oct 4 (IANS) Ukraine's football club Dynamo Kiev beat Dinamo Zagreb from Croatia 2-0 to gain three points in the second Champions League group stage match at the Olympic Stadium here.
Tokyo, Sep 26 (IANS/RIA Novosti) World No.1 Victoria Azarenka beat Italy's Roberta Vinci to enter the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open tennis event here Wednesday.
Moscow, Sep 19 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Lokomotiv Moscow coach Slaven Bilic Wednesday refuted reports that defender Vedran Corluka has chronic injuries that prevent him playing more than one match per week.
New York, Sep 11 (IANS) Britain's Andy Murray, who defeated Serbia's Novak Djokovic in Monday's men's singles final, had a tough third round match against Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, three of the four sets going into a tie-break.
Belgrade, Sep 8 (IANS/AKI) At least three people have died in Serbia from the West Nile virus, which is carried by mosquitoes and causes brain inflammation.
London, Sept 2 (ANI): Newly single Tom Cruise was surrounded by a bevy of attractive female fans for snaps at a popular resort during his holiday in the Croatian island of Hvar.
New York, Aug 30 (ANI): The coach of Russia's Olympic women's volleyball team, Sergey Ovchinnikov, died suddenly in Croatia, raising fears of an apparent suicide.
Paris, Aug 23 (IANS) Spanish football club Malaga defeated Greek side Panathinaikos 2-0, while minnows BATE also prospered in the UEFA Champions League.
Cincinnati, Aug 19 (IANS) Amidst the lows of being axed from India's Davis Cup team, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna put in a sterling performance to march into the finals of the men's doubles Cincinnati tennis Masters.
Chennai, Aug 19 (IANS) Top seeds Russia emerged clear winners after the ninth and final round of the Tata IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind at Hotel Le Royal Meridien here Sunday.
Chennai, Aug 18 (IANS) Hosts India 'A' came up with an inspired show to defeat Kazakhastan 3-1 in the eighth round of the Tata 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind here Saturday.
Chennai, Aug 16 (IANS) India 'A' scored a stunning 2.5 - 1.5 win over Spain to move into second spot with 9 match points after the sixth round of the TATA 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind here Thursday.
London, Aug 15 (ANI); Croatia boss Igor Stimac is not impressed that star player Luka Modric hasn't played a single game since the Euro Cup due to the ongoing transfer saga, and believes the Tottenham Hotspurs star would end up with Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Melbourne, Aug 15 (ANI): Australian rugby star Quade Cooper has come to the defense of swimming bad boys Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk after photos of the pair enjoying a luxury holiday in Europe emerged.
Chennai, Aug 14 (IANS) Spain moved to the top of the table with 10 match points with a narrow win over United Kingdom in the fifth round of the TATA 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind here Tuesday.
London, Aug 13 (IANS) Kevin Durant scored a game-high 30 points as the US edged Spain 107-100 to retain the Olympic men's basketball title while marathon runner Stephen Kiprotich claimed Uganda's first Olympic gold medal in 40 years.
London, Aug 12 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Croatia's men beat Hungary 33-26 Sunday to win their first Olympic handball medal, a bronze.
Chennai, Aug 11 (IANS) Poland, Spain and Germany moved into lead after the second round of the TATA 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind here Saturday.
London, Aug 9 (IANS/RIA Novosti) China's Wu Jingyu defended her flyweight Olympic taekwondo gold in devastating fashion Wednesday.
London, August 8 (IANS/RIA Novosti) England climbed to the third position in the new FIFA rankings published Wednesday, the team's highest ever placing.
London, Aug 6 (IANS) The following is the medal's tally Monday at the London Olympics:
London, Aug 5 (IANS) The following is the medal's tally at the 2012 London Olympics here Saturday:
London, Aug 5 (IANS) The following is the medal's tally at the 2012 London Games here Saturday.
London, Aug 4 (IANS) The following is the medals tally Friday at the 2012 London Games.
London, Aug 3 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Germany's rowers dominated the men's quadruple sculls final Friday to take the Olympic gold medal.
London, July 30 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Swiss Roger Federer Monday kept on course for adding the Olympic title to his Wimbledon crown, beating Julien Benneteau of France in straight sets in the second round of the men's singles tennis competitions at the All England Club.
London, July 30 (IANS/RIA Novosti) World No.2 Novak Djokovic of Serbia will meet former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick in the second round of the Olympic tennis tournament after the American beat Slovakia's Martin Klizan Monday.
London, July 30 (IANS) Swedish table tennis veteran Jorgen Persson has said he will not compete in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics after his seventh attempt to win an Olympic medal was thwarted in the London Games.
London, July 29 (IANS) China beat Czech Republic 66-57 to win the Olympic women's basketball opener here while the US were stretched by Croatia.
London, July 27 (IANS) The only time India won a medal in tennis at the Olympic Games was when Leander Paes beat Fernando Meligini of Brazil for a bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Moscow, July 25 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Danish football side FC Copenhagen have allowed Senegalese forward Dame N'Doye to join Lokomotiv Moscow, the president of the Russian club said Wednesday.
Washington, July 24 (ANI): Study of a drug for people with type 2 diabetes conducted in 32 countries including India has confirmed that the oral DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin is a safe and effective means of lowering glucose levels for up to 102 weeks, either on its own or in combination with other selected oral anti-diabetic medication.
Belgrade, July 24 (IANS) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern over the possibility of Syria using chemical weapons, calling such an action "reprehensible".
Brijuni, Croatia, July 22 (Xinhua-ANI): United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Saturday said he is in contact with regional and international leaders and is working with UN-Arab League joint special envoy Kofi Annan to push for a peaceful solution to Syria.
Moscow, July 20 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A tough trip to Russia awaits Scotland's Dundee United after they were drawn against Dynamo Moscow in the third qualifying round of the Europa League Friday.
London, July 12 (ANI): Bernie Ecclestone's daughter Tamara has been teasing her fans with a series of snaps on Twitter from her sun-soaked holiday in Croatia, after escaping the rainy weather in Britain.
Moscow, July 11 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Lokomotiv Moscow have released Moldovan midfielder Stanislav Ivanov, the club said Wednesday.
Beijing, July 9 (IANS) The US women's basketball team is aiming for the country's fifth straight Olympic gold medal at the London Games.
Beijing, July 9 (IANS) After a lacklustre performance at the Beijing Games, the Chinese track and field team led by star hurdler Liu Xiang is pinning medal hopes on eight events at the London Olympics.
In a global outbreak of violence, evil criminals are assaulting innocent civilians with deadly weapons such as french fries, in some cases unsalted. In the past couple of weeks alone, there have been at least 10 cases of food-assisted robberies, according to cuttings sent to me by readers.
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek lost the third round match against Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo. Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna lost the second round match to Mikhael Elgin and Denis Istomin.
Kiev, July 2 (IANS) Chelsea striker Fernando Torres won the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the 2012 European championship.
London, June 30(ANI): Spanish players have eulogized teammate and talismanic midfielder Andres Iniesta as the team's backbone, and described him as decisive, magician, reference point, extraordinary and reliable.
Nyon (Switzerland), June 29 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The Russian and Spanish football federations have been fined 30,000 and 20,000 euros respectively for racist chanting by their fans at Euro 2012, UEFA said Friday.
Mexico City, June 29 (IANS/EFE) Latin American wireless giant America Movil has gained effective control over KPN after increasing its stake in the Dutch telecom to 27.7 percent.
Donetsk, June 28 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Spain reached their third-successive European championship final Thursday, beating a defiant Portugal 4-2 on penalties after their Euro 2012 semifinal ended goalless after extra time.
London, June 27 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russian tennis player Nikolay Davydenko acknowledged that grass is his least favored surface after crashing out in the first round of Wimbledon to fourth seed Andy Murray.
London, June 25 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Poland's World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska beat Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova while Flavia Pennetta was stunned by fellow Italian Camilia Giorgi on opening day of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships here Monday.
Moscow, June 25 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The president of the Russian Luge Federation, Leonid Gart, has died in an accident in Croatia, federation spokesman Mikhail Potapov said Monday.
London, June 24 (ANI): Shakira was missing at boyfriend Gerard Pique's Euro 2012 quarter-final match, as she took off to Barcelona to shoot her new music video.
London, June 21 (ANI): Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi has said fellow team-mate Mario Balotelli needs to grow up, referring to the Manchester City forward's knack of attracting controversies through his eccentric behavior.
London, June 21 (ANI): UEFA's Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina has claimed that Ukraine's goal England in their final Euro 2012 Group D match should have been given as the ball has crossed the line.
London, June 20(ANI): Spanish striker Fernando Torres has warned their Euro Cup rivals that the best from the reigning world and European champions is yet to come ahead of their crucial quarterfinal showdown with France on Saturday.
London, June 20 (ANI): The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is drawing flak for its double standards in acting against acts of racism during the Euro 2012.
Gdansk (Poland), June 19 (IANS/RIA Novosti) UEFA has fined the Croatian football federation 80,000 euros for racism and using flares during their 1-1 draw with Italy, UEFA said Tuesday.
