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This summary is provided by the STA:
Slovenia tightening lockdown for two weeks
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will tighten its lockdown for two weeks. Public transport will shut down and all non-essential stores will close. Schools and kindergartens will remain shut down. All gatherings except of persons in the same household will be completely banned, and exemptions for quarantine-free border crossing will be narrowed. Some of the measures will take effect on Friday, while others will be put in place on Saturday or Monday, government officials said.
Covid-19: A new daily death toll high, almost 2,000 new cases
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 41 more deaths among Covid-19 patients for Wednesday, another daily high, for a total death toll of 686. A further 1,925 infections were confirmed, from 6,767 tests for a positivity rate of 28.45%, down one percentage point from the day before. Government spokesman Jelko Kacin reiterated that the situation was stabilising and the trends were favourable with the R0 now at 0.91. A total of 1,210 Covid-19 patients are in hospital, 200 of them in intensive care units.
MPs told police expected 5 Nov protest would be violent
LJUBLJANA - The Home Affairs Committee discussed the 5 November protest at which rioters got violent against police and the press and damaged property around Ljubljana's city centre. Senior police representatives told the MPs that it had been clear from the information gathered that the protest would be violent. The police started gathering information about the protest after first calls to join it emerged on social media, explained the head of the uniformed police at the General Police Department, Danijel Lorbek.
Police use rubber bullets, taser for first time
LJUBLJANA/VELENJE - The Ljubljana Police Department confirmed yesterday that officers had used rubber bullets to disperse protests that turned violent Thursday a week ago in what was the first such instance since Slovenia's independence. They fired 16 gas and five rubber bullets. On Wednesday, police intervening against a man in the north-eastern town of Velenje applied a taser gun for the first time, although the man went on to attack a police officer with a knife and her colleagues had to resort to the use of firearms. The police officer sustained light injuries and the man was seriously injured.
Quarantine order issuance being streamlined
LJUBLJANA - Certain changes are being made to streamline the issuing of quarantine orders under the latest coronavirus stimulus package. In addition to the epidemiologists and police officers, GPs will now be able to issue such orders. It will be possible to refer persons to quarantine orally and from today individuals are able to get quarantine orders online after filling out relevant forms on two public websites, so as to have proof for their employers.
NLB bank's group net profit down 36% in Jan-Sep
LJUBLJANA - NLB group posted EUR 104.6 million in net profit in the first nine months of 2020, 36% less than in the same period last year. The drop in profit was mainly due to additional impairments and provisions in the amount of EUR 50.2 million. Profit before impairments and provisions was only 2% lower than in the same period of last year, at EUR 167 million. The supervisory board reappointed CEO Blaž Brodnjak and the other two management board members for another five years at the helm of the bank.
Pandemic boosts Slovenia's trade with China
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's imports from China saw a surge during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially due to imports of protective equipment and medical supplies. The imports of those products rose from EUR 972,000 in the first eight months of 2019 to EUR 92.9 million in the same period this year, shows a report from the Statistics Office. In the first eight months of the year, imports from China rose by 13.8% compared to the same period last year. Slovenia's exports to China increased by 3.5% year on year in the first eight months.
Supreme Court denies having restricted public access to rulings
LJUBLJANA - The Supreme Court denied having restricted public access to court rulings in a judgement issued in May. It said that restriction of access was the consequence of incorrect interpretations. The statement comes after law professor Jurij Toplak said the Supreme Court decided that court documents are no longer publicly accessible. He said the decision restricted access to rulings. The issue was also raised by a legal expert and the Association of Journalists (DNS).
Cohesion policy office welcomes Parliament-Council deal on recovery package
LJUBLJANA - The political agreement the Council and the European Parliament reached on the EU's post-coronavirus recovery package - the EUR 1.8 trillion multi-year budget and the recovery fund - is an important step in the right direction, Slovenia's Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy said. "If the political step ... is followed up by the European administration at all levels, then we are on the right path."
EU Affairs Committee says proposed migration pact good basis for talks
LJUBLJANA - The EU Affairs Committee labelled the EU Commission-proposed new pact on migration and asylum a good basis for negotiations on the EU's joint migration policy. The negotiations will be demanding, especially in a time when the EU is trying to control the Covid-19 pandemic. Slovenia supports a package approach as regards the migration pact, while it is also in favour of a more careful or gradual approach to the adoption of individual acts, it said.
Stimulus package also brings aid for religious communities
LJUBLJANA - Religious communities have seen an estimated 60% drop in donations due to coronavirus restrictions, so the government heeded their calls for aid in the latest stimulus package. Religious workers will get a basic income of EUR 700 a month for the period between October and December, with the option of a six-month extension, and a permanent rise in state-paid social contributions to the level of culture workers. The bill was sent to parliament yesterday.
Maribor youth club to host online European Poetry Slam Championship
MARIBOR - The Maribor Youth Cultural Centre will organise this year's European Poetry Slam Championship, which will be held online for the first time due to Covid-19. The event, running between 4 and 5 December, will feature 19 competitors from various European countries, who the organizers say are the creme de la creme of the European slam poetry scene. Slovenia will be represented by theatre and radio director and performance artist Eva Kokalj.
Slovenia secure goalless draw vs Azerbaijan
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia have gone without conceding a goal for the sixth match running, securing a nil-nil draw in a friendly against Azerbaijan in Ljubljana on Wednesday. The game was seen as a dress rehearsal for the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Kosovo in Ljubljana on Sunday and against Greece in Thessaloniki on Wednesday. Slovenia manager Matjaž Kek suggested the team would need to do better than last night to succeed in finishing top of the Group 3 of C League.
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