Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Friday, 23 October 2020

By , 23 Oct 2020, 04:29 AM News
Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Friday, 23 October 2020 pexels.com Elijah O'Donnell CC-by-0

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This summary is provided by the STA

Slovenia to close non-essential shops, hotels, kindergartens to limit spread of coronavirus

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will put in place new restrictions to limit the spread of coronavirus. Non-essential shops will be closed, as will hotels, kindergartens and student dormitories, Prime Minister Janez Janša announced. The measures, entering into force on Saturday, will initially be in place for a week and will then be re-evaluated. He noted that the option to limit movement to municipalities like was the case in the spring was still on the table. The government will decide on it in the coming days.

Yet a new daily coronavirus high, nine deaths

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's coronavirus tally soared to another daily record as 1,663 infections were confirmed from a record 6,215 tests on Wednesday, a positivity rate of over 25%. Data released by the government show that nine more Covid-19 patients died, but the total death toll is not clear due to different figures reported for the day before. Hospitalisations increased to 357, with 62 patients in intensive care. Covid tracker site data shows 10,136 active cases in the country. The cumulative 14-day average number of infections per 100,000 residents rose to 484.

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Govt asks parliament to grant army limited police powers on border

LJUBLJANA - The government asked parliament to activate Article 37a the defence act which gives members of the Slovenian Armed forces certain police powers on the border. The proposal, which the government says is primarily needed because of the additional burdened placed on police by the epidemic, needs a two-thirds majority. Article 37.a was passed at the peak of the migration crisis, in October 2015, and once activated allows the army to help the police in "broader protection of the state border".

Janša and Merkel discuss bilateral ties, EU issues, pandemic

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke via videoconference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They discussed the Covid-19 situation in Europe, the EU presidency trio's activities and the situation in the Western Balkans. Janša said that Germany had offered emergency medical equipment should Slovenia require it.
He said the conversation with Merkel lasted an hour and involved a very in-depth estimate of the measures both countries have been taking to contain the virus.

FM meets Belarusian opposition leader, Lithuanian counterpart

VILNIUS, Lithuania - Foreign Minister Anže Logar met Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya as part of his visit to Lithuania yesterday. He said that Slovenia advocated dialogue between all political stakeholders, called for peaceful talks, and expressed support for the efforts made as part of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) and Council of Europe. Logar also discussed the situation in Belarus and other topics with his host and counterpart Linas Antanas Linkevičius today.

Slovenian, Portuguese, German defence ministers talk European defence

LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister Matej Tonin had an informal videoconference with his German and Portuguese counterparts, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Joao Gomes Cravinho. The talks focused on European defence policy. Germany, Portugal and Slovenia form the current trio of presiding EU countries and the ministers called for a substantial headway in European defence policy during this time, the Slovenian Defence Ministry said.

Ex-ambassador: US elections to affect entire world

LJUBLJANA - Former Slovenian Ambassador to the US Božo Cerar told the STA ahead of the US presidential elections that the vote would be important not just for the US but the whole world. "Some say it will be decisive for the US democracy. But I'd say it will have an important impact on global relations, transatlantic relations and also on stability in Europe." He is "trying to be a neutral observer but I still think it would definitely be better for Europe and for trans-Atlantic relations if Biden won".

Free kindergarten for second child and beyond proposed

LJUBLJANA - The government has adopted amendments to the act on kindergartens. If a family has two kids in kindergarten at the same time, the second child would be enrolled for free. For families with more than two kids, kindergarten would additionally be free for the third child and beyond regardless of how many are in kindergarten at the same time. It says this will increase the rate of enrolment.

Consumer confidence down for second consecutive month

LJUBLJANA - Consumer confidence deteriorated for the second consecutive month in October, as Slovenians are becoming more pessimistic about the state of the national economy. The index has dropped by five percentage points over September and is 19 percentage points lower than a year ago and 23 points below last year's average. The Statistics Office attributes the annual decline to pessimism about jobs (-34 percentage points) and Slovenia's economy (-27 points).

Ascent Resources in talks with Slovenia over gas project row

LJUBLJANA - British company Ascent Resources announced it had entered into direct negotiations with Slovenia in a bid to potentially settle a dispute over permits for the extraction of gas in the north-east of the country. The company formally begun procedures to start an investor dispute against Slovenia at international arbitration claiming the country breached its obligations under the UK - Slovenia bilateral investment treaty and the Energy Charter Treaty.

Maribor Uni secures EUR 29m to upgrade research infrastructure

MARIBOR - The University of Maribor has signed a EUR 29 million contract to purchase additional equipment to upgrade the national research infrastructure, which is expected to raise research at the university to internationally comparable and competitive levels. While 80% of the amount will be provided by the European Regional Development Fund, the rest will be chipped in by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport.

Singer-songwriter Vlado Kreslin wins Ježek Award

LJUBLJANA - Singer-songwriter, musician and poet Vlado Kreslin is the recipient of this year's Ježek Award, an accolade celebrating creative and witty radio and television oeuvres and achievements. Kreslin is instilling a spirit of freedom, solidarity, tolerance and joie de vivre in Slovenia's cultural sphere, the judging panel has said. Kreslin is seen as one of those who have picked up the baton of Frane Milčinski - Ježek, a famous poet, satirist and comedian, after whom the award is named.

Bear conservation project receives EU Life 2020 award

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Life Dinalp Bear, a Slovenian-led research project dealing with population level management and conservation of brown bears in the northern Dinaric Mountains and the Alps, has won the Life 2020 award in the nature category. The award was presented on Wednesday as part of the EU Green Week.

Chairs by designer Zupanc on show at MAO

LJUBLJANA - The Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) in Ljubljana is showcasing a selection of the oeuvre of internationally acclaimed product and interior designer Nika Zupanc. The exhibition, presented by the Centre for Creativity, displays a selection of chairs designed by Zupanc, from the latest ones designed for Natuzzi and premiered this year, to earlier ones designed for Moroso. Visitors are limited to groups of five due to coronavirus restrictions.

First poetry collection for deafblind comes out

LJUBLJANA - The Deafblind Association of Slovenia Dlan marked European Deafblind Day with the launch of two books, including the first poetry collection for the deafblind in Slovenia. The head of the Dlan association, Janko Plesec, had been working on the collection Veseli Vandrovček (Merry Traveller) since 2016, writing the poems down with the help of his personal assistants. The other book, about haptic communication with the deafblind, is by the association's secretary Simona Gerenčer Pegan.

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