Slovenia honours its best artists
LJUBLJANA - Feri Lainšček, a writer, poet, playwright and screenwriter who has immortalised ordinary people from the Panonian Slovenia, and Marko Mušič, one of the most distinguished Slovenian architects, will be honoured with the Prešeren Prizes for lifetime-achievement, the country's top accolade in the arts, at a pre-recorded ceremony to be broadcast by TV Slovenija on the eve of Culture Day. Prešeren Fund Prizes for individual achievements will go to poet Brane Senegačnik, violinist Lana Trotovšek, theatre director Tomi Janežič, film director Matjaž Ivanišin, painter Sandi (Aleksander) Červek, and architects Blaž Budja, Rok Jereb and Nina Majoranc.
Slovenia expresses solidarity with Belarus protesters
LJUBLJANA - On Day of Solidarity with Belarus, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry expressed solidarity with, and support for, Belarusian citizens who have been holding peaceful anti-government protests since the presidential elections in August 2020, urging respect for democratic standards and fundamental human rights. The ministry denounced the Belarusian authorities' attempt to crack down on the protests with disproportionate violence, illegal deprivation of liberty, and systematic disrespect and violation of fundamental human rights as unacceptable, urging them to allow OSCE and Council of Europe representatives into the country.
Daily coronavirus count below 500, eleven deaths on Saturday
LJUBLJANA - A total of 498 people tested positive for coronavirus Slovenia on Saturday, the sixth straight day of a week-on-week decline in cases. Meanwhile, eleven Covid-19 patients lost their lives, fresh government data show. The number of patients in hospital rose by five to 931 after 51 patients were newly admitted and 37 were discharged yesterday. A total of 160 were treated in intensive care units. The seven-day daily average of confirmed cases dropped to 1,018.
Military stepping in to help in teacher testing
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) will deploy eight medical technicians to help the Ljubljana Community Health Centre in the weekly screening of teachers and other school and kindergarten staff for coronavirus. In an announcement of its Twitter profile, the SAF said it would deploy the technicians at the testing point at the Ljubljana fairgrounds from Tuesday at the request of the Ljubljana Community Health Centre. The weekly testing of school and kindergarten staff will be held before pupils up to the third form of primary school return to their classrooms and kindergartens reopen throughout the country on Tuesday.
Actress working on complaint as alleged harasser named in media
LJUBLJANA - Nearly a week after actress Mia Skrbinac publicly accused an unnamed actor and drama teacher of sexually harassing her while she was a student, the Ljubljana Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television said it expected their former student would file a complaint shortly. The academy said it could not confirm any names yet after asked to comment on media reports naming the alleged harasser as Matjaž Tribušon, a 57-year-old award-winning film and theatre actor with the SNG Drama Ljubljana.
Slovenian short takes Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand festival
CLERMONT-FERRAND, France - Sisters, a short film by the Slovenian director Katarina Rešek - Kukle, has won the top prize at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the biggest international film festival dedicated to shorts. Sisters (Sestre), a film about three tomboy friends in their early 20s, was picked for the Grand Prix in the festival's international competition among 78 films in the running for the awards. The 43rd iteration of the festival was held online from 29 January to 6 February.
Victory for Slovenia in women's Cross Country World Cup team sprint
ULRICEHAMN, Sweden - Slovenian cross-country skiers Eva Urevc and Anamarija Lampič won the women's World Cup team sprint event in Ulricehamn, in Sweden in their biggest feat ever after finishing third in the same discipline in Dresden in December. The Slovenian pair beat Sweden's team featuring Saturday's sprint event winner Maja Dahlqvist and the top sprinter of the past season Linn Svahn, by 18 hundredths of a second. Swiss skiers Laurien van der Graaf and Nadine Fähndrich came in third.
New double podium feats for Slovenian ski jumpers
HINZENBACH, Austria/KLINGENTHAL, Germany - Slovenia's ski jumpers made it to the podium for the third day running as Nika Križnar and Bor Pavlovčič both finished as runners-up in their respective women's and men's World Cup events. Križnar placed second at the World Cup meet in Austria's Hinzenbach for the second straight day after winning Friday's event at the same venue, to enhance her position as the runner-up in the overall World Cup standings. Meanwhile, Pavlovčič was second at the event in Klingenthal, Germany, to follow up on third place at the same venue in what was his first-ever World Cup podium.
