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This summary is provided by the STA:
Slovenian, US police prevent planned mass shootings in Gorenjska
LJUBLJANA - The Kranj Police Department said that Slovenian and US law enforcement authorities had prevented planned mass shootings with firearms in public institutions in the north-western region of Gorenjska. The person suspected of planning to commit these acts has been detained. It has been established in the investigation, which included covert measures, that the suspect, a Slovenian citizen, tried to get by mail two pieces of firearms and ammunition from the US. The shipment ordered via dark web was intercepted by the US authorities, which informed the Slovenian police that the firearms had been seized.
CoE platform concerned about media situation in Slovenia
STRASBOURG, France - The latest annual report by the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists is critical of what it sees as the Slovenian government's attempts at undermining independent media and stoking harassment of journalists. The platform is particularly alarmed by the situation of RTV Slovenija and the STA. "The Slovenian government should cease all efforts to damage the independence and credibility of Slovenian public media," says the report.
Janša on working visit to Paris on Thursday
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša will be on a working visit to Paris on Thursday, having been invited by French President Emmanuel Macron. The pair is expected to speak about Slovenia's EU presidency, fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, upgrading bilateral cooperation, the situation in the Western Balkans and other international topics. As announced in Wednesday's press release by the prime minister's office, Janša's visit represents a major contribution to deepening the dialogue with France at the highest political level.
Japanese FM visiting Slovenia on Friday
LJUBLJANA - Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will visit Slovenia on Friday, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry announced. The official visit will be dedicated to strengthening friendly ties and intensifying political dialogue. Motegi is also expected to meet President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Janez Janša. Motegi and his host, Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar, will discuss above all Slovenia's priorities for its upcoming EU presidency.
Government adopts national recovery and resilience plan
BRDO PRI KRANJU - The government adopted the national recovery and resilience plan to send it to the European Commission. The plan will serve as the basis to draw funds from the EUR 750 billion fund for recovery following the coronavirus crisis, with Slovenia expecting EUR 2.47 billion in funds: EUR 1.8 billion in grants and some EUR 666 billion in loans. The amount of funds may be increased if demand arises and conditions for this are met. Member states must earmark 37% of funds available to them for green transition goals and another 20% for digital transition goals. Slovenia's plan envisages 43.45% for green goals and 20.05% for digital goals.
Govt adopts Stability Programme, fiscal policy stays expansive
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted the Stability Programme. Slovenia's fiscal policy remains expansive as temporary departures from the pact's rules are allowed at the EU level due to Covid-19. Two main goals in the Stability and Growth Pact are a maximum general government deficit of 3% of GDP and limiting general government debt at 60% of GDP. The key role will be played by funds from the EU recovery fund, the unused cohesion funds for the 2014-2020 period and first funds as part of the 2021-2027 multi-year budget, the government said.
Police estimate Tuesday's protest crowd at 10,000
LJUBLJANA - Tuesday's anti-government protest in Ljubljana attracted some 10,000 people, according to police estimates. Police have so far established 45 violations of the communicable diseases act, one offence against the public peace and order and a road traffic offence. The Ljubljana Police Department, which was responsible for the policing of the unregistered rally, said it had so far issued 33 warnings under the communicable diseases act, while other procedures were ongoing.
State secretary's surgery vandalised
TRBOVLJE - The building housing the doctor's office of Health Ministry State Secretary Alenka Forte in Trbovlje has been been vandalised a second time this year. The Ljubljana Police Department said they were notified on Tuesday evening that jars containing black substance had been thrown into the facade of one of the buildings in the Trbovlje area. Forte condemned the act as unacceptable after she posted a photo of the vandalised building on her Twitter profile.
Coronavirus count below 400 on bank holiday
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia saw 398 coronavirus cases amid scaled-down testing on Tuesday, a public holiday. The 7-day average of new cases thus fell to 606. Another 15 Covid-19 patients lost their lives. Hospitalisations fell to 621 after 26 patients were admitted and 40 were discharged yesterday and the number of ICU cases fell by six to 155, government data show. Health officials told the daily briefing that Slovenia had not yet detected the double mutant Indian variant of coronavirus.
Vaccination to intensify next week, minister says
LJUBLJANA - Vaccination centres across Slovenia will step up their activities in the coming days, as Slovenia expects some 120,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines to be available in the country, Health Minister Janez Poklukar told the press. Slovenia expects large shipments of vaccines next week, he said. Expectedly, 9,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine are to be available, 69,000 doses of AstraZeneca, 6,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson and over 56,000 doses of the Pfizer/BionTech vaccine.
US Embassy donates two disinfection devices for hospitals
LJUBLJANA - The US Embassy in Slovenia donated two devices for disinfection of hospital premises to the country. They will be used in the UKC Maribor and UKC Ljubljana hospitals, the Health Ministry announced. The devices that are able to destroy bacteria, microorganisms and viruses, including the novel coronavirus, with ultra-violet radiation, are a recognised solution for disinfection of air and surfaces and enable better care of patients and safety of all employees in the most critical infrastructure, the ministry said, adding that the devices were a result of Slovenian know-how.
Committee recommends govt to boost indoor ventilation campaign
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Health Committee recommended to the government to immediately intensify the campaign to raise the awareness of the need to ventilate indoor spaces as a necessary measure to limit the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic. The session of the committee was called by the opposition Social Democrats (SD), Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) and unaffiliated MPs, who are convinced these measures are necessary.
Three candidates vying for DeSUS leader
LJUBLJANA - Two months ahead of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) congress, the party has received three bids for the president. Vying for the top job are Ljubo Jasnič, a former official of the party's Ljubljana chapter, former party head candidate Felix Srečko Krope and former Minister for Slovenians Abroad Gorazd Žmavc. The deadline for submission of bids expired on Saturday and next week, the bids are to be examined by the party's relevant bodies to establish their validity.
Ex-Church treasurer claims damages from state
LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Delo reported that Mirko Krašovec, the former treasurer of the Maribor Archdiocese who was acquitted on all counts in 2019 of the charge that he had instigated EU funds misuse more than a decade ago, claims almost EUR 700,000 in damages from the state for spending several months in prison before being eventually cleared. The Ljubljana District Court the damages claim, which it said was filed in February.
Defence Ministry helping out with road upgrade in Pivka
PIVKA - Defence Minister Matej Tonin and Pivka Mayor Robert Smrdelj signed an agreement under which the ministry will invest EUR 500,000 into renovating a local road in compensation for the local community letting the military use the nearby Poček area training grounds. Pivka will receive the funds in 2021 and 2020 although the municipality was supposed to get the money over a span of five years between 2021 and 2025. Overall, the road reconstruction project is valued at EUR 600,000.
Minority in Austria boosting energy cooperation with Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Business Association (SGZ), a Slovenian minority organisation in Austria, and the Slovenian Energy Association (SZE) signed a cooperation agreement that comes after the two had already initiated activities to exchange know-how, cooperate in energy projects and provide opportunities for young energy experts.
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