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This summary is provided by the STA:
DeSUS president loses confidence vote, remains party leader for now (adds)
LJUBLJANA - Aleksandra Pivec, the president of the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), lost a confidence vote at a session of the party's governing council but remains the leader for now. The vote was 33 to 19. While the council had a dismissal vote on the agenda, the session was suspended until 9 September due to differing interpretations as to whether it can in fact dismiss the party president given that she was elected at a congress. Pivec, who only took over in January but has come under fire after failing to pay for two of her recent ministerial trips around Slovenia which she combined with family time, insists that an extraordinary electoral congress is the way to go.
Monday sees 21 coronavirus infections in 1,370 tests
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 21 new coronavirus cases on Monday after conducting 1,370 tests, fresh official data show. A total of 17 persons were hospitalised with Covid-19, same as the day before, none requiring intensive care. There were no Covid-19 related fatalities. Government Covid-19 spokesperson Jelko Kacin said the number of imported cases was decreasing slightly. Slovenia had 20 infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14-day period. In the past three days, 63,000 Slovenians returned from Croatia without any major traffic tailbacks, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs said.
Slovenia, Argentina affirm good cooperation
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar and his Argentinian counterpart Felipe Carlos Sola affirmed the good cooperation between Slovenia and Argentina and expressed interest in further strengthening ties as they spoke over videolink, said the Foreign Ministry. They called for an increase in trade, including with the help of certain legal instruments which are already in the works, and confirmed strong bilateral ties in international organisations. Logar also held a telephone talk with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis.
Labour minister wants companies to switch from furlough to reduced working hours
LJUBLJANA - The minister in charge of labour, Janez Cigler Kralj, told the STA that the government would decide on Thursday whether to extend the availability of furlough subsidies through September. Personally, he wants as many companies as possible to switch to reduced working hours, but not at any cost. He said the measures introduced by the government so far had helped save 300,000 jobs during the lockdown.
Heavy drop in tourist arrivals, nights partly offset in July
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian tourism industry, which has been severely affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, saw an upbeat trend in Slovenian tourist arrivals and nights in July, partly offsetting the low numbers from the first half of the year, the Statistics Office said. Over 653,000 arrivals were recorded at accommodation facilities in July, down 27.5% compared to July 2019, with the number of nights down by 18.5% to 2.07 million. However, the number of Slovenian tourists in the overall number increased by 176% to almost 404,000, and the number of nights by 155% to nearly 1.4 million.
Port operator Luka Koper H1 net profit falls 40% to EUR 15m
KOPER - Net profit at port operator Luka Koper declined by 40% year-on-year to EUR 15 million in the first six months of 2020, as net revenue was down 11% to EUR 107 million. All cargo categories were affected by the slowdown in trade, shows the company's interim report. EBIT, at EUR 17 million, was down 42% compared to the same period last year and EBITDA dropped by 29% to EUR 31 million. Total transshipment, expressed in tonnes, declined by 15% to 10.1 million tonnes. The figures show the coronavirus pandemic had a significant impact on world trade, but North Adriatic ports were actually not among the worst affected, the company said.
Business sentiment continues to improve
LJUBLJANA - Business sentiment in Slovenia continued to improve in August, climbing 11.3 percentage points (pp) over the month before. However, the index was still 12.3pp lower than in August 2019, the Statistics Office said. Reaching -6.6pp in July, the index was also 6.7pp lower than the years-long average, the Statistics Office said.
Disaster relief groups and state upgrade cooperation in phasing of EU funds
LJUBLJANA - The Defence Ministry, organisations involved in civil protection and disaster relief as well as municipalities signed on Tuesday an agreement on cooperation in the phasing of EU funds. They expect EUR 120 million in EU funds by 2027 and plan to add another EUR 30 million in own funds to modernise infrastructure, equipment and training. Defence Minister Matej Tonin said that the civil protection and disaster relief system needed to be upgraded and modernised constantly so as to remain one of the best in Europe.
Activists stage protest against alleged maltreatment at Centre for Aliens
POSTOJNA - A migrants rights advocacy group staged a rally in front of the Centre for Aliens in Postojna, claiming that conditions at the centre were reminiscent of a concentration camp and that the rights of foreigners kept there were being violated. The group claims that "this disgraceful camp", which is seeing hunger strikes, was further expanded in recent months, with the state starting to send asylum seekers there and returning them to Croatian police from there. The police has rejected the accusations, saying all procedures were conducted in line with national and European legislation and international conventions. It dismissed claims of overcrowded conditions, saying there are presently 93 foreigners at 180 capacity centre.
Poll: Majority thinks quarantine after Croatia belated measure
LJUBLJANA - More than half of the people recently polled by Valicon think that mandatory quarantine for Slovenians upon return from Croatia is a measure that comes too late. Half of them also agree that the main source of the increase in infections in Croatia and, consequently, in Slovenia are night clubs and irresponsible behaviour of young people. The poll carried out between 21 and 23 August among 523 persons aged 18-75 sees 52% of the respondents saying that quarantine is a belated measure, 24% that it is excessive and 21% that it is a right measure.
Poet Borut Gombač wins Veronika Prize
CELJE - Borut Gombač has been honoured with the Veronika Prize for best collection of poetry while the Golden Coin of Poetry for lifetime achievements went to Iztok Geister Plamen. The awards ceremony was held in the city of Celje, which has given out the prize since 1997. "It's rewarding if you manage to write a book which proves worthy of an award. This is more of an award for the book than for me," said the 58-year-old Gombač. The Veronika Prize, one of the most prestigious poetry prizes in Slovenia, came with a cheque of 4,000 euro.
Kino Otok brings over 100 films from around the globe
IZOLA - The 16th Izola international film festival starting on Wednesday will bring a total of 36 feature films and 67 shorts to the Slovenian coast this summer, with the main part of the festival taking place between 26 and 30 August in the coastal town of Izola. The number of films remains comparable to previous years, whereas the format of the festival has been somewhat adjusted to the coronavirus situation. (See more here)
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