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This summary was prepared by the STA
Cerar not to seek re-election as SMC president
LJUBLJANA - Modern Centre Party (SMC) president Miro Cerar notified the party he would not seek re-election at the congress he called for autumn after SMC performed dismally in the EU election. Cerar made the announcement at the outset of a session of the party's executive committee, SMC said on its official Twitter profile. He will stay on as foreign minister and "help the party remain a firm member of the coalition and an important factor in the Slovenian political arena," the party said.
MPs not done quizzing spies yet
LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services interrogated two former directors of SOVA, Damir Črnčec and Stane Štemberger, over the national intelligence agency role in an eavesdropping scandal that undermined the Slovenia-Croatia border arbitration. Unable to draw firm conclusions, the MPs decided to now question junior SOVA officials. Commission chair Matej Tonin said the MPs wanted to talk to the agents assigned to the arbitration case to find out what kind of assurances Slovenian arbitration agent Simona Drenik got with regard to communications security.
Eurovote results complete, turnout at just below 29%
LJUBLJANA - The National Electoral Commission released full results of the 26 May European parliamentary election in Slovenia, having added the vote from abroad. This did not affect the distribution of seats, but it did increase the turnout to 28.89%, a record for a Eurovote in the country. A total of 8,920 valid ballots were cast at Slovenia's diplomatic and consular offices abroad and mailed from abroad.
Darko Muženič takes over as head of NBI
LJUBLJANA - Darko Muženič, who formerly served as the head of the Office for the Prevention of Money Laundering, took over on 1 June as the director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), according to an announcement by the Slovenian police. Muženič succeeds Darko Majhenič, who served until the end of May as the acting director after his five-year term at the helm of the NBI ran out at the end of 2018.
Slovenia working on expanding cooperation with Switzerland
BERN, Switzerland/LJUBLJANA - Economic cooperation between Slovenia and Switzerland has been gaining momentum for years, with trade exceeding EUR 2 billion for the first time last year. Ambassador Marta Kos told the STA that there was still a lot of potential, something Slovenia seems to be set to take advantage of with three high-level political trips planned this year, including President Borut Pahor's official visit planned in September.
Muslim community concerned about Islamophobia
LJUBLJANA - As Slovenian Muslims gathered to celebrate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan in Ljubljana, Mufti Nedžad Grabus expressed concern about what he said was growing Islamophobia in Slovenia. Addressing believers gathered for the Eid al-Fitr prayer, the leader of the Slovenian Muslim Community spoke about the "development of Islamophobia, which is being spread to Slovenia by means of extremist and nationalist platforms in Europe and which is manifested through certain media and political concepts in daily labelling and defining of Islam as a violent religion".
Environment Ministry proposes new EPR system
LJUBLJANA - The Environment Ministry is proposing overhauling the extended producer responsibility (EPR) system so that entities collecting and treating waste from certain type of products would be owned by manufacturers of these products. The new system is to become fully operational on 1 January 2022, ministry official Peter Tomše told an event at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) as he set out the corresponding amendments to the environmental protection act.
Ljubljana gets new Niš route, more frequent flights to Paris, London
LJUBLJANA - Air Serbia will launch a new route between Ljubljana and Niš in August, while Air France-KLM plans to increase flight frequency to Paris and British Airways will beef up flights to London, Ljubljana airport operator Fraport Slovenija told the press. During peak summer season, another airline will improve its connections with the Ljubljana airport - between 15 July and 2 September, British Airways will operate flights twice per week from London Heathrow to Ljubljana, on Mondays and Fridays.
Locals anxious as Maribor airport's fate remains uncertain
MARIBOR - With a month and a half to go before the termination of the lease for the Maribor Airport becomes effective, local businesses and politicians are sounding the alarm, demanding that the government come up with a solution to keep the airport alive. "Whatever decision they adopt to avoid shutting down the airport, this procedure needs to be wrapped up and a private partner found to develop the airport," according to Marko Soršak, the mayor of Hoče-Slivnica, the municipality where the airport is located.
Šoštanj power station deeper in the red
ŠOŠTANJ - The Šoštanj coal-fired power plant (TEŠ) sunk deeper into the red last year with unaudited results showing it posted a net loss of EUR 58.5 million on EUR 196.8 million in revenue. TEŠ incurred a net loss of EUR 32.6 million in 2007 on revenue that was EUR 8 million higher than in 2018. In 2016 the company posted a net loss of EUR 47.2 million.
Basketball clubs Cedevita and Olimpija announce merger
LJUBLJANA - The Croatian basketball club Cedevita from Zagreb and Petrol Olimpija from Ljubljana announced a merger, with the new club to be seated in Stožice Arena in Ljubljana and bring together the best available Slovenian players. The club will be called Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana. According to Petrol Olimpija president Tomaž Berločnik, it would be a Slovenian club featuring "best Slovenian players", which would play in the national championship and become a top-level centre for the development of young players.
John Zorn, Snarky Puppy headline 60th Ljubljana Jazz Festival
LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Jazz Festival will celebrate its 60th anniversary in two weeks with an all-star line-up that includes John Zorn and Snarky Puppy, in what promises to be one of the most high-profile jazz events in Europe this year. All in all, thirty concerts are scheduled at eight venues, making the Ljubljana Jazz Festival "one of the most high-profile jazz events in Europe," according to programme director Bogdan Benigar. There will also be several accompanying events
Nenad Firšt wins composers' award
LJUBLJANA - This year's Kozina Award, given out by the Slovenian Composers' Association, was conferred on Tuesday on composer Nenad Firšt, who currently chairs the association. Firšt was honoured for the music he has written for bowed string instruments. More than half of compositions by Firšt are for bowed string instruments, with the composer "using all of their colours and sound possibilities", the jury said. On top of many awards and recognitions, Firšt received the Prešeren Fund Award for artistic achievements in 2009.
Missing Brit found dead in Koritnica river
BOVEC - A Brit who went missing in the treacherous Koritnica gorge five days ago was found dead in the Koritnica river this morning, police confirmed. The body of the 23-year-old was spotted by a group of German kayakers some 300 metres downstream from Kluže Fort, an old military checkpoint positioned over the gorge, where the Brit dropped his phone into the gorge on Thursday. The five-day effort to find him involved specialised mountain police officers from three regions, a special diving unit, firefighters and the mountain rescue service.
Survey shows poor financial literacy in 25-34 age group
LJUBLJANA - A survey has shown that the financial literacy index among Slovenians is 14.5 on a scale from zero to 21. What stands out is that the population group aged between 25 and 34 has relatively poor knowledge of finance, the authors of the survey have pointed out. "Despite financial literacy not being exceptionally low in Slovenia on a European scale, we call for a systematic promotion of financial literacy in Slovenia," said Maja Krumberger of the Slovenian Insurance Association.
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This summary is provided by the STA:
