February 22, 2019 - Kotor Winter Carnival Festivities begin on Saturday, February 23, at 6 pm on the main square of the concert of the Klapa "Contra" - the Organizing Committee announced.

20 February 2019 - Works on the boulevard in Donja Gorica are in full swing. The scheduled deadline for the completion of works was extended and the boulevard is now supposed to be finished by 28 March. Dušan Kokić, an engineer from the Transport Administration, said that judging the current dynamics of works, he expects for the works to be completed by the established deadline.

“Works are being carried out according to plan. Works on the installation of fecal and atmospheric sewer are currently being executed on the stretch between “Namos” and “Grand” furniture showrooms. It will be one kilometer long and the workers have already set up 500 meters of it,” said Kokić.

The remaining part of the boulevard has been formed and one layer of asphalt has already been placed.

From the starting point of the boulevard up until the roundabout next to Lješkopoljska street, the traffic moves in two ways. On the stretch where the underground installation is currently being set up, traffic is run on the right boulevard lane in both directions and with no congestion.

Property relations have been settled but during the rainy period works slowed down.

Boulevard in Donja Gorica is 3,5 kilometers long. It has four lanes (3,25 m wide), 2-meter wide median, four roundabouts and full pavements (1,5 m wide).

Value of this construction amounts to 9,6 million EUR.

Transport Administration provides 6 million EUR, whereas the remaining 3,6 million EUR is provided by the Capital City. The contractor is “TEHNOPUT MNE”.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

The Municipality of Budva hosts the second meeting of project partners realized within the project implementation of #DynaMob 2.0 - Dynamic mobility. The project is funded by EU funds through the INTERREG IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Program for Italy, Albania and Montenegro 2014-2020.

The #DynaMob 2.0 project aims to promote and encourage the use of environmentally friendly forms of transport with a focus on car sharing and bike sharing. The Municipality of Budva will, for the first time, through the #DynaMob 2.0 project, provide the opportunity for its citizens and tourists for an alternative, healthier and more economical transportation in the city, through the purchase of electric bikes, the installation of a filling station for eco cars, in combination with the appropriate application.

The meeting was officially opened by Mr. Marko Markovic, vice-president of the Municipality Budva. During the meeting, the partners of the project will discuss the implementation of the project activities so far, will present the latest technologies and results related to the Action Plan for Sustainable Mobility, #Dynamob 2.0 Paths and Investments. The meeting was attended by the representatives of partner institutions: Copertino Municipality (Italy), Ulisse Training Center (Italy), Campobasso (Italy), Tirana Chamber of Commerce, Skrapar Municipality (Albania) and Tirana Municipality (Albania). The Municipality of Budva was represented by the Secretariat for Municipal Utility Affairs and the Office for European Integration and Cooperation. The total budget of the project #DynaMob 2.0 is 839.500 euros, and the implementation of the project will last until April 2020.

Text by Vuk Lajovic, on February 20th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

At the session of the Municipal Assembly of Niksic, scheduled for February 28^th, the delegates will discuss the program for encouraging youth employment for 2019.

The proposer of the Program, which plans to employ at least 70 high school students, is the Secretariat for Culture, Sports, Youth and Social Welfare. According to the report, which will be in front of the delegates, there were 345 unemployed university students in January of the current year, with the seventh degree at the Employment Biro in Niksic, not counting those currently included in the vocational training program, accounting for almost nine percent of the total number of unemployed in the city under Trebjesa, or almost 40 percent of the total number of unemployed young people.

"The goals of the program are to employ at least 20 percent of the currently registered unemployed young people with the seventh degree of education, reducing the unemployment rate of college students in the Nikšić municipality, increasing the quality of the workforce by creating long-term local partnerships in the field of youth employment, reducing the mismatch between supply and demand in the labor market, as well as the creation of conditions for acquiring new knowledge, skills and experience," reads the program proposal.

For its realization, the Municipality has allocated a budget of 250,000 euros, or 200 euros per month per employee, as a minimum required by the future employers.

"For a period of up to one year, the program beneficiaries’ profit from the program, taxes, contributions and other duties prescribed by law are not paid. The beneficiary of the program, during the engagement, enjoys the right to health insurance as an unemployed person."

All employers from the territory of the Niksic municipality, regardless of where their headquarters are located, have the right to participate in the realization of the program, and they will, on the basis of their own needs and criteria, publish job advertisements and select candidates.

Text by Svetlana Mandic, on February 19th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

In order to reward customer loyalty and trust, Montenegrin Telekom has prepared new benefits for the users of the landline and mobile network, within the Magenta 1 Light offer. All users (individuals) who have at least two services in the landline network (telephone and Internet and/or Extra TV) and Max Postpaid package can use the benefits of Magenta 1 Light.

The postpaid benefits include 2 GB of Internet traffic monthly under the Max tariff. On a landline number, the users get 500 minutes towards all networks in Montenegro for six months, as well as an internet speed enhancement add-on, which brings up to 100 Mbps on the optical, at no extra cost.

The customers receive these benefits free of charge and without contractual obligation, it is enough just to call Telekom's Contact Center or to pay a visit to a T-Center.

Within the Magenta 1 Light offer, new postpaid users who have the mentioned land line services get the opportunity to purchase attractive mobile devices that can be purchased at a price of one euro with the appropriate Max tariff. Alcatel 1x 2019 is available with the Max 1.1 package, Samsung J4 Plus with Max 2.1 package, Huawei P Smart 2019 with Max 3.1, Honor 10 with Max 6.1 and Huawei P20 with Max Pro.

More information about the new Magenta 1 Light offer is available at https://www.telekom.me/magentajedan-light.nspx

Text by Promo, on February 19th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

Delegates in the Capital’s parliament adopted the Program for the commemoration of the memorials for 2019. In accordance with this program, the capital will get a monument of Ivan Crnojevic, one of the most important Montenegrin rulers, leader of Zeta from 1465 to 1490, and the founder of Cetinje.

"The initiative of Zetagradnja is to raise the monument to Ivan Crnojevic, and bearing in mind that he is one of the most significant figures of Montenegrin history, especially responsible for the state, social, economic and cultural development of Montenegro, which is in accordance with Article 5 of the Law on Memorials, the Program for the commemoration of the memorials for 2019 is being prepared," said Ana Medigovic, the secretary for culture and sport.

The deadline for constructing the monument is December 2019.

Text by Vijesti online, on February 18th 2019, read more at Vijesti

German police donated five new mobile document readers "Regula 7308" to their Montenegrin colleagues, with a value of 44,500 euros.

The Police Directorate said that this is the most modern equipment to be used by the officers of the Border Police Sector for border checks at border crossing points I and II categories.

"The valuable equipment used at the border crossings will allow border police officers to provide faster and more efficient checks in order to achieve the best results in the fight against all forms of cross-border crime," the Police Directorate said in the statement.

The protocol on the handover of donated equipment was signed by the Assistant Director of the Police Directorate of Montenegro for the Border Police Sector Vesko Damjanovic and the Federal Police Officer of Germany Oliver Has.

Damjanovic said that he believes that the equipment will significantly contribute to faster and more efficient border checks, which will have special importance for the prevention and suppression of cross-border crime and all types of illegalities.

He pointed out that the Montenegrin and German police are partners who have an exceptional professional attitude.

It is alleged that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Germany planned to donate valuable specialist equipment to the Police Directorate.

"But also, to implement a series of targeted trainings that will primarily concern the training of officers of the Border Police Sector in the field of inspection - the search of different types of vessels with special emphasis on the category of luxury vessels, as well as trainings related to the detection of forged documents," reads the statement issued by the Police Directorate.

Text by MINA News, on February 18th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

17 February 2019 - Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanović is paying an official visit to the Republic of Hungary, at the invitation of Hungarian Minister of Human Resources Miklós Kásler. 

Ministers Kásler and Bogdanović signed a Cultural Cooperation Programme between the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro and the Ministry of Human Resources of Hungary for 2019-2021, which aims to promote traditionally good cooperation in the field of culture and foresees the implementation of joint projects between the institutions of the two countries. 

"The document that we signed today gives our countries an excellent framework for cooperation in the field of culture that will be based on the joint promotion and popularization of our rich cultural heritage, but also on the exchange of knowledge and experience," Minister Bogdanović said. 

The special focus was on cinematography, and it was concluded that there is a basis for the two countries to jointly work on the establishment of a film studio in Montenegro. Bearing in mind the progress of Hungarian cinematography, as well as the experience of Hungarian film institutions, Minister Bogdanović expressed interest in exchanging experience, which would have an effective influence on the Montenegrin film. 

The signed programme foresees the joint implementation of music activities, theaters, cinematography, visual arts, literature and translation with the emphasis on direct cooperation between the relevant institutions of the two countries. Furthermore, the programme recognizes the potential for cooperation in the field of creative industries.

February 18, 2019 - A single Bottlenose dolphin was found decomposing on Sveti Nikola Island, not far from the coast of the mainland in Budva, reported SANCET- Southern Adriatic Network for Cetacean, Elasmobranch and Turtle Strandings.

After receiving a call on the evening of Sunday, 17 February, with reports of the dead stranded dolphin on the island close to Budva, the Montenegro Dolphin Research (MDR) team, led by Lucy Abbiss, a British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) trained marine mammal medic and Researcher for the Marine Mammals Research Association (DMAD), visited the site to retrieve data for scientific purposes.

Despite the individual - identified as a juvenile, demonstrating early signs of decomposition, the team delineated that the dolphin had not undergone any physical injuries causing its death and that the markings seen were merely signs of decomposition. Although it is not clear what may have caused the death or stranding of the dolphin without further analysis through autopsy, it is possible that the time it was stranded coincides with the current seismic activity in Montenegro, could be related. Alternatively, there is the possibility of the death being related to zoonotic viruses, previous storm-related activities or other natural causes.

DMAD has successfully operated the first long-term study on dolphins in Montenegro, starting the Montenegro Dolphin Research project in September 2016. As of December 2018, the organization established the Southern Adriatic Network for Cetacean, Elasmobranch and Turtles stranding events (SANCET). Since then, SANCET, currently in the early stages of development, have already conducted various stranding surveys from Ada Bojana to Jaz. As the network continues to develop, the need for the help of the public and other scientific organizations grows stronger,” reported SANCET on their website.

“The help of other organizations participating in the Southern Adriatic Stranding Network (SANCET) is essential to further delineate the cause of death, aiding the conservation management plans for Montenegro's marine life,” emphasized SANCET on their website.

SANCET, founded in December 2018, is aimed at providing the first regional network for centralizing information on marine life stranding in Montenegro, with the hope to expand future operations in both Albania and Bosnia. With the current situation of cetacean stranding monitoring is being absent from the Eastern region of the South Adriatic and with a lack of national stranding networks, SANCET hopes to provide a database that encompasses all or part of the coastlines above.

Djalovic cave will soon have proper lighting, and the company that will build power infrastructure - the power line Nedakusi - Bistrica and the power station in Bijelo Polje Municipality will be selected in the next couple of days. This was announced by the Public Works Directorate, announcing a tender for the selection of the contractor, estimated at 700,000 euros.

"We expect that we will make the decision on the most favorable offer in the coming days," said the Management Board, adding that the Government of Montenegro will allocate 3.45 million euros to the project of Valorization of Djalovic Cave from the capital budget.

"Which will be aimed for publishing the tender, execution and revision of the technical documentation, expropriation costs, carrying out works on the construction of lifts, ski lifts, base stations with accompanying facilities, visitor center, electro, traffic, utility and other infrastructure costs as well as purchase of equipment and mechanization necessary for putting the ski-center in function. The complete procedure of public procurement, preparation and introducing the contractor to the work is carried out by the Public Works Directorate.

As mentioned, reconstruction of Bistrica access road - Podvrh monastery is ongoing, worth 3.2 million euros, which is in the final phase, and the completion of the works is planned in the spring.

"In order to build a tourist path through the Djalovic cliff, from the monastery Podvrh to the entrance to the cave above “Vražji firovi”, the adjustment of the conceptual solution as well as the choice of the revision committee is in progress.

The project also envisages the construction of a cable car in length of about 1.7 kilometers, with a capacity of 75 people per hour, totaling 3.888 million euros. The preliminary design has been completed and now the detailed design is under preparation, said the Management Board.

Making the Detail Interior design of the cave with the facilities at the entrance of the plateau is also ongoing, and documentation for designing the visitor's center has also been prepared.

"Tourism valorization of the Djalovic cave represents a very complex, and in the construction sense, a demanding project, which requires the utmost dedication of the Public Works Administration and all other participants. In the Government of Montenegro, it is recognized as a critical segment of the development of the north. Realization of this project, estimated at EUR 18 million, will provide conditions for improving the tourist offer, as well as for opening up new jobs and improving the quality of life of the citizens in that area."

The cave above “Vražji firovi” is the largest and most beautiful cave in Montenegro, and is located in Djalović's cliff, with whole nature, which was declared a monument of nature because of its character.

Out of the twenty kilometers explored so far, less than a kilometer will be available to tourists, but this section is among the most attractive parts of the cave.

Djalovic cave was known long ago, but the first speleologists entered it in 1987.

The study suggested that the decorated tourist section should be over 814 meters with nine halls and ten plateaus for visitors.

Text by Borko Zdero, on February 17th 2019, read more at Vijesti