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This summary is provided by the STA:
Slovenian Armed Forces Day marked with optimism
IG - Slovenian Armed Forces Day was marked at a special ceremony remembering the day 30 years ago when Slovenian conscripts started serving exclusively in Slovenia. President Borut Pahor, the supreme commander, praised the army as a military pillar of national security. Pahor, as well as Defence Minister Matej Tonin and Maj-Gen Robert Glavaš, chief of the general staff, said the legislative changes adopted over the past year signalled better times ahead in terms of funds and staff. Pahor praised the EUR 780 million military investment law as "a brave and wise decision", with Tonin saying that at the start of its fourth decade the army was "in for modernisation, which entails great responsibility". The event was also attended by PM Janez Janša and the president of the upper chamber of parliament, Alojz Kovšča.
Lenarčič says Commission worried about situation in Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič said the European Commission was worried about the situation in Slovenia, chiefly about media freedom, although Brussels had never treated Slovenia as a problematic member. While some might wish Slovenia follow in the footsteps of Hungary and Poland, the situation here is different than in Hungary, Slovenia's member of the Commission said in an interview with the newspaper Dnevnik. He said "we still have media plurality, and I hope it stays that way", arguing free media are a fundamental ingredient of democracy , which is one of the fundamental values of the EU.
Govt rejects co-funding two newspapers, small radio stations
LJUBLJANA - The dailies Delo and Dnevnik reported that several small radio stations with special status, as well as Delo and Dnevnik, had lost the state's financial support provided under the Culture Ministry's annual co-funding scheme. Especially for the small radio stations this is bound to cause serious financial problems. Delo and Dnevnik said their applications had been rejected for their alleged media bias and because they did not focus on local coverage enough. Media expert Marko Milosavljević told Dnevnik the ministry's commission in charge of reviewing the applications was in fact politically imbalanced itself, with four of the five members being extremely close to the ruling SDS. The ministry will release the outcome of the media tender once all applicants have been notified of the results.
494 coronavirus infections on Friday, six deaths
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia reported 494 coronavirus infections for Friday in what continues to be a steady improvement of the epidemiological status and the situation in hospitals. The 7-day average declined further to 447. Another six Covid-19 patients died, show fresh official data. The latest cases came from 4,177 PCR tests, for a positivity rate of 11.8%, down from 14.6% on the same day a week ago. Hospitalisations decreased to 421 this morning, ICU cases were down to 121.
Cap on public events, rallies up from 10 to 50
LJUBLJANA - As easing of coronavirus restrictions continues following the government's 12 May decisions, some changes kicked in today, when up to 50 persons are allowed to gather for organised public events and rallies, while several countries are no longer on the list of high-risk red countries, including Slovakia and Israel. Quarantine can be again interrupted, if imposed on entry into Slovenia, after five days in case of a negative PCR test. Further easing is kicking in on Monday, when all secondary school and university students will be allowed to fully return to in-person schooling.
OHO prize won by Lene Jekše
LJUBLJANA - Lene Jekše, born in 1995, was honoured with this year's OHO prize, the main award for up-and-coming visual artists in Slovenia. Her work Strategies of Whistling was praised by the jury as "dealing with specific circumstances of work in the pandemic without words, precisely and critically". Lekše graduated in sculpture from the Ljubljana Academy of Art and Design in 2018, where she also earned her master's degree. Her works have been exhibited as part of several group and solo shows in Tallinn, Ljubljana, Celje and Novo Mesto.
