Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.
This summary is provided by the STA:
Slovenia's Covid-19 death toll hits hundred
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's Covid-19 death toll rose to a hundred after one more patient died on Thursday. The total number of coronavirus cases so far confirmed hit 1,450 after one more infection was reported. This is the second day in a row that only one new infection was detected out of more than a thousand tests conducted daily. Number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals decreased to 47. However, the head of advisors to the Health Ministry, Bojana Beović, warned there were probably "hidden pockets" of persons infected with coronavirus, so social distancing restrictions could not yet be lifted.
Govt redistributing EUR 280m in EU funds
LJUBLJANA - Zvonko Černač, the minister responsible for cohesion policy, announced that EUR 280 million in EU funds would be redistributed to address pressing needs in healthcare, the economy, the labour market, development and education. Černač told the press that the legal foundations for the redistribution had been secured on the basis on EU measures for the mitigation of the coronavirus epidemic impact. Funds will be channelled into medical equipment, coronavirus research, job retention schemes, among other things.
Šarec denies accusations over PPE, lashes back
LJUBLJANA - In his first reaction to the serious accusations levelled against him in the government report on the procurement of personal protective equipment, the former Prime Minister Marjan Šarec denied the charge that he did nothing to replenish virtually empty stocks and failed to act to prevent an imminent health crisis. In a televised interview with TV Slovenija on Thursday, Šarec argued that PPE procurement had been in the purview of health institutions, and that Slovenia joint an EU bulk-buy of masks, which fell through though. He also argued the Janez Janša government should be forced out.
All medical, dental services resuming, yet under some restrictions
LJUBLJANA - At a correspondence session, the government issued a decree relaunching all medical and dental service yet under special conditions, which are set in another decree on temporary measures in healthcare to contain the Covid-19 epidemic. Both decrees will enter into force on Saturday. As the epidemic was declared in mid-March, all non-urgent medical services were suspended and dental surgeries closed, expect for a few emergency units around Slovenia. The government partly relaxed some non-urgent treatments and services already last month.
Anti-govt protest with face masks, on bicycles staged in several cities
LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR/KOPER - Several thousand protesters riding their bicycles in the centre of Ljubljana protested against the measures the government has imposed during the coronavirus epidemic, while the ban on public assembly is still in place. Police say that 5,500 people were at the rally. The police were at the site of the protest, also monitoring the area from a helicopter. Run under the slogan You Won't Take Us Our Freedom, the protest was a collaboration of various initiatives, which have however called on protesters to respect all the measures to protect public health. Cycling protests were also staged in Maribor, Celje, Koper and Nova Gorica, among others.
Exports up 1.1% in March y/y, imports fall by 3.3%
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia exported EUR 2.92 billion-worth of goods in March, a year-on-year increase of 1.1%, while imports were down 3.3% to EUR 2.77 billion, the Statistics Office said. In the first quarter of the year, exports rose by 6.5% and imports by 2.7%. This means an export/import ratio of 105.4, with the EUR 149.2 million surplus in external trade in goods being the highest in the last ten years. The biggest drop in trade was recorded with Italy.
Officials express Slovenia's commitment to EU on eve of Europe Day
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian officials came out strongly in favour of the EU despite some of its shortcomings as they sent out their messages on the eve of Europe Day. Foreign Minister Anže Logar stressed Slovenia's commitment to a united EU and enlargement, while President Borut Pahor said that in these times of crisis, the EU is not a problem but a solution. Speaker Igor Zorčič highlighted a number of challenges, from Brexit and migrations to the Covid-19 pandemic, and urged common solutions to further EU integration. EU Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič highlighted that Slovenia, Europe and the world had never been so connected and expressed the belief that the EU would tackle the coronavirus crisis in the spirit of unity and solidarity.
Slovenia marks Victory Day
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor recalled that without the allied victory over Nazism and Fascism, the values shaped by European humanitarian thought would have been eradicated, turning Europe into a continent of devastation and hatred, as he hosted a special ceremony featuring the ambassadors of four WWII allies - the US, the UK, France and Russia. The Slovenian WWII Veterans' Association marked the 75th anniversary of the end of Second World War by laying wreaths at the monuments in Topolšica and Poljana.
FM discusses EU presidency, coronavirus with Spanish counterpart
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar held a video conference with his Spanish counterpart Arancha Gonzalez Laya. The ministers confirmed mutual interest in further strengthening the friendly ties, also in the light of Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency and the coronavirus pandemic. The Foreign Ministry said in a press release that Logar and Gonzales Laya had agreed to closely cooperate in Slovenia's preparations for its presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2021. They also talked about the Covid-19 pandemic, underlining the importance of cooperation and solidarity among countries and the coordination of measures aimed at boosting the economy.
EU Commission to send 30,000 medical masks to Slovenia
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The EU Commission said it would deliver 30,000 medical face masks to Slovenia in the coming days as part of a first shipment of such protective gear to help protect healthcare workers fighting Covid-19 on the front lines. The first package is to be sent to 17 member states, including 1.5 million medical masks out of a total of 10 million purchased using the emergency aid instrument, said the Commission's spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker. The purchase will bolster the supplies of several hundred thousands protective masks, which were sent by the European emergency medical equipment reserve in the past weeks, as well as the EU Civil protection Mechanism support.
Basic income extended to 37,500 self-employed
LJUBLJANA - The Financial Administration paid a second monthly basic allowance to self-employed, farmers and religious workers who lost their income as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, transferring at total of EUR 27.5 million to more than 37,500 claimants. The allowance amounts to EUR 350 for March and EUR 700 for April. From the time the epidemic was declared on 13 March and by the end of March, the state also paid over EUR 90 million in social contributions instead of companies.
Fifteen builders interested in constructing Koper-Divača track
LJUBLJANA - A total of 15 construction companies and consortiums, mostly from China, are interested in building the new railway between the port of Koper and Divača. 2TDK, the state company managing the project, has assessed 10 of them as suitable, and is now to enter negotiation on the price. 2TDK published two calls for applications for the EUR 1bn-plus project on 11 November 2019 - one for the construction of the track between Divača and Črni Kal, and the other between Črni Kal and Koper. The project was split in two, because of geological structure of the terrain and the lower price expected as a result.
Slovenian Press Agency increases revenue by 4% in 2019
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Press Agency posted EUR 4.23 million in revenue in 2019, a 4% increase on the year before, and generated a net profit of EUR 10,650, up from about EUR 9,000 in 2018, shows the agency's annual report which was confirmed by the supervisory board this week. Slightly less than half of the revenue came from state budget support for the agency's public service, this compensation however continues to fall short of covering the expenses of this service.
World premiere of Carmina Slovenica's latest piece next week
MARIBOR - The latest production of the acclaimed women's choir Carmina Slovenica, entitled "Threnos (for the Throat)", will premiere internationally on 14 May on the web platform of the international festival Operadagen in Rotterdam. The broadcast, to start at noon, will feature the video of the performance delivered by Carmina Slovenica in the Maribor Minoriti church on 9 March, just before the coronavirus epidemic was declared Slovenia.
If you're learning Slovenian then you can find all our dual texts here
