News

29 Aug 2020, 13:11 PM

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 28 August 2020. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Beović spreading hysteria while not controlling infections

STA, 28 August 2020 - The latest commentary in the left-leaning weekly Mladina comes as a letter by the editor-in-chief written to Bojana Beović, the head of the Health Ministry's Covid-19 task force, in which she is being criticised for spreading hysteria in Slovenia over potential infections while practically doing nothing to control infections.

In Letter to Prof. Bojana Beović, Grega Repovž says that while a majority of expert guidelines so far have been logical and well explained, "this of course could not be said for the government's policy, which you also belong to and support with your statements."

"The government policy is based on scaremongering, exaggeration and misleading, because of which most of the people do not trust you enough, which public opinion polls show. This is bad, because the autumn is coming."

Repovž says that citizens deserve respect from representatives of the authorities, and that Beović has acted the opposite in recent weeks, especially when it comes to the return of Slovenian holiday-goers from Croatia.

"You deliberately mislead people, and exerted psychological violence on them with fearmongering and spreading uneasiness. Acting like this had no logic, especially if it is compared to how the relevant expert bodies in Austria and Germany acted."

Beović claimed that quarantine is a better solution than testing, and it is, but "your government did not introduce quarantine for people returning from Croatia at all - everyone who returned by the evening last Monday avoided quarantine."

Hysteria was being spread among people for ten days, but all who were in Croatia during the most critical period returned to their jobs on Monday without being tested or quarantined. "You were not stricter than Austrians and Germans, as you tried to portray, but you actually did nothing to control the infections."

Repovž also notes that it is not true that the authorities are able to compare data on entry and exit from the country, which people were threatened with. "These databases do not exist. This is exaggerating and arrogantly inventing things, while control of infections is missing. Why?".

He wonders if Beović perhaps believes that "hysteria and fearmongering are means to an and - people in general being aware of the situation, expressing solidarity and acting safe. This does not even work in small children."

What Beović has done is only spoiling people's vacations and scaring the entire nation, while actually not introducing quarantine or testing. "You introduced quarantine only now, when families with small children, older persons and people with lower income are going on holiday."

Demokracija: Judiciary should admit mistakes

STA, 27 August 2020 - The right-wing weekly Demokracija says that the "swamp" of Slovenia's judiciary is slowly drying out, judging by "obvious nervousness seen in reactions by the (heads) of the judiciary and the prosecution to criticism occasionally offered by [Prime Minister] Janez Janša".

Under the headline Red Vipers, the weekly says on Thursday that judges and prosecutors in Slovenia are not held accountable for the mistakes they make.

Even though they have been proven to hand down wrongful rulings, at odds with the rule of law, and charges borne out of political constructs or confrontations, judges and prosecutors continue to defend their work.

"None of them ever has tried to correct the wrongs in the Patria case. Nobody has even apologised," the weekly says about the defence corruption case that saw Janša being found guilty of accepting the promise of a bribe before a retrial was ordered and the case became statute barred.

And now they are trying to avoid facing the consequences in the lawsuits brought against them by Janša and his party, the Democrats (SDS), the paper says. The most recent manoeuvre is a local purview ping-pong in lawsuits against a prosecutor and judges involved in the Patria case.

"Lawyer Franci Matoz is right in saying that the 'comic tragedy has become a serial'," the paper says in reference to Janša's lawyer.

Slovenia has never really broken away from revolutionary law, and the judiciary and the prosecution "can not only cost you your good name but can force you to spend your time and money on (impossible) defence from something that is very obviously a fabrication".

"But neither the prosecutor using manipulated evidence nor a judge from the judicially 'indicative circle', face any consequences." Not only that, they get promoted. The public should be afraid of such judges and prosecutors and should not keep quiet.

"Every day, the every-man should come to the swamp and help dry it, because the smelly and slimy untouchables can do injustice to him as well," the paper says, also accusing the "mainstream media" of supporting untrue indictments and rulings, while attacking those who dare speak out about injustices.

All our posts in this series are here

29 Aug 2020, 10:30 AM

What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.

If you’d like to keep up on the daily headlines then follow those here, or get all our stories in your feed on Facebook.

FRIDAY, 21 August
        LJUBLJANA - The Health Ministry unveiled a long-awaited draft bill on long-term care, envisaging a full coverage of rights from mandatory insurance for long-term care, with the contribution rate proposed at 1.47%, while the employer and employee contributions for mandatory health insurance to be reduced.
        LJUBLJANA - The Health Ministry presented a draft bill under which unvaccinated children will not be allowed to go to public kindergartens and private kindergartens co-funded by the state. This is to prevent unwarranted avoidance of vaccination.
        LJUBLJANA - Nine countries, including neighbouring Croatia, were put on Slovenia's red list of countries where risk of coronavirus is high and quarantine required for most returns. To prevent waiting times at the border, holidaymakers were given until Monday midnight to return from Croatia without quarantine.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor received Supreme Court president Damijan Florjančič, with the pair agreeing that it would be useful to hold a round-table debate on the rule of law. The meeting was held after Florjančič took issue with the communication between the three branches of power, most notably PM Janez Janša's controversial tweets.
        IDRIJA - The long-running battle for control of industrial conglomerate Hidria was won by the group of managers around Iztok Seljak and Dušan Lapajne. Following the takeover bid published in July by the pair together with partners, the Seljak-Lapajne camp managed to acquire enough shares for definitive majority ownership.
        LJUBLJANA - Between 1,500 and 3,000 protesters gathered in Prešeren Square for the 18th Friday evening protest, this time criticising the government's oversight of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and letting it know they intended to insist on protests "as long as necessary".
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's registered unemployment rate was down 0.1 of a percentage point in June over May to 9.2%, Employment Service data showed. In February, before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the rate was 7.9%.

SATURDAY, 22 August
        LJUBLJANA - The new German ambassadors to Slovenia, who will take turns in their duties in what is the first such ambassador duo appointed by Germany, told the STA they saw a solution to the coronavirus crisis in a united EU. Natalie Kauther and Adrian Pollmann said this would be one of the main priorities as their country took over the EU presidency on 1 July.
        LJUBLJANA - 300 persons infected with Sars-CoV-2 came to Slovenia from abroad, of whom 55% from Croatia, showed data obtained by National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) epidemiologists and labs for the period between 1 June and 21 August. The majority of a total of 165 persons who brought the virus from Croatia, or 120, were aged 15 to 34, almost all of them men.
        SEŽANA - The 30th season of the Slovenian football league got under way with a ten-day delay due to Covid-19 infections in some clubs. Celje, crowned champions for the first time in history last season, will be defending the title as the ten participating clubs are closer than ever in terms of quality.

SUNDAY, 23 August
        LJUBLJANA - The 15th Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) will be very different from previous years due to the coronavirus, but the line-up will nevertheless be exceptional, Peter Grk, the secretary general of Slovenia's highest-profile international political event, told the STA in an interview. Restrictions will be in place and some panels will be held online. There will be fewer guests, the forum will be just a one-day event, and there will be no youth and business sections.

MONDAY, 24 August
        LJUBLJANA - Jelko Kacin, the government's spokesperson for Covid-19, described Croatia as a "serious threat to all other EU countries" due to the coronavirus situation there. He told Reporter magazine that Croatia successfully tackling coronavirus was in Slovenia's strategic interest.
        LJUBLJANA - The Janez Janša government's rating dropped for the fourth month in the latest POP TV poll for August, from 50.4% to 53%, but the senior coalition Democrats (SDS) continued to top party rankings with 18.2%, double the support mustered by the two opposition parties sharing second spot, the LMŠ and SD.
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar and his Georgian counterpart David Zalkaliani discussed over the phone bilateral relations, and agreed the economic and political cooperation as well as cooperation as part of multilateral forums should be further enhanced. Logar presented Slovenia's preparations for its upcoming EU presidency in the second half of 2021, which will also highlight Eastern Partnership.
        LJUBLJANA - The opposition Left proposed to parliament to call a consultative referendum on a bill envisaging EUR 780 million in defence expenditure in 2021-2026, arguing the money that could be spent wiser would go for an imaginary enemy.
        LJUBLJANA - Archaeologists presented details of the remains of about 250 victims exhumed in July from a mass grave uncovered in May in Kočevski Rog, a forest area riddled with chasms in the south-east. Most of the victims were young men, mainly civilians, killed in the autumn of 1945. Jože Dežman, the chair of the government commission for mass graves, believes the cave could provide some clues as to what happened to the Novo Mesto Homeguard, a group of several thousand who failed to flee after WWII.
        LJUBLJANA - The opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) said its MEP Irena Joveva (Renew) had recently become a target of insults on social media and web portals linked to the ruling Democrats (SDS), including web portal Nova24TV, because of her Macedonian descent. The party called on PM Janez Janša who is a co-owner of Nova24TV, to make sure "his portal stops publishing insulting, nationalist and racist articles". The prime ministers's office would not comment.
        BRNIK - The flight school of the bankrupt former air carrier Adria Airways was recently acquired by an institute led by former Constitutional Court chief justice Peter Jambrek, who entered the venture with Chinese partner Kai Dai in a bid to "become the biggest flight school in the world". The Institute for Constitutional System and Human Rights bought the school for EUR 7,500, the asking price at the first public auction.

TUESDAY, 25 August
        LJUBLJANA - Coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) leader Aleksandra Pivec lost a vote of confidence at a session of the party's governing council. However, she remains the leader for now as the council did not take a vote on her dismissal, having suspended the session for differing interpretations as to whether it can dismiss the party president given that she was elected by a congress.
        STRASBOURG, France - The CoE's platform on journalism posted a piece entitled War on the Media in which PM Janez Janša presents his take on the Slovenian media landscape. It also posted an accompanying letter, in which the government argues the piece should be read in its entirety to fully understand Janša's views about the media with a leftist bias. The government sent it there after the platform posted in May a statement by the Slovenian Journalist Association saying Janša's piece was yet another instance of discreditation of journalists.
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar and his Argentinian counterpart Felipe Carlos Sola affirmed the good cooperation between Slovenia and Argentina and expressed interest in further strengthening ties as they spoke over videolink. They also called for an increase in trade. Logar also held a telephone talk with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis.
        LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian tourism industry, which has been severely affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, saw an upbeat trend in Slovenian tourist arrivals and nights in July, partly offsetting the low numbers from the first half of the year, the Statistics Office said. Over 653,000 arrivals were recorded at accommodation facilities in July, down 27.5% compared to July 2019, with the number of nights down by 18.5% to 2.07 million.
        KOPER - Net profit at port operator Luka Koper dropped by 40% year on year to EUR 15 million in the first six months of 2020, as net revenue was down 11% to EUR 107 million. EBIT, at EUR 17 million, was down 42% compared to the same period last year and EBITDA dropped by 29% to EUR 31 million.
        LJUBLJANA - The Defence Ministry, organisations involved in civil protection and disaster relief, and municipalities signed an agreement on cooperation in the phasing of EU funds; they expect EUR 120 million in EU funds by 2027 and another EUR 30 million in own funds to modernise infrastructure, equipment and training.
        POSTOJNA - A migrants rights advocacy group staged a rally in front of the Centre for Aliens, claiming that conditions at the centre were reminiscent of a concentration camp and that the rights of foreigners kept there were violated. The police strongly rejected all the accusations.
        CELJE - Borut Gombač, 58, was honoured with the Veronika Prize for best collection of poetry, while the Golden Coin of Poetry for lifetime achievements went to Iztok Geister Plamen, 74.

WEDNESDAY, 26 August
        BERLIN, Germany - President Borut Pahor and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for a strong and united EU as Pahor paid a working visit to Berlin. He said Slovenia wanted to remain part of the core EU countries while Steinmeier pointed to the union's common future.
        LJUBLJANA - The defence and interior ministries intend to boost cooperation in guarding the state border, so the Defence Ministry said it would tweak the rules and prepare four levels of deployment in line with the defence act provisions which enable soldiers to help the police patrol the border without having police powers.
        LJUBLJANA - ZSSS, the largest confederation of trade unions in Slovenia, criticised several parts of a draft bill on long-term care. It is primarily concerned that it "opens the door wide to pure private practice" and that the standard package of services is not defined.
        LJUBLJANA - A new task force for Roma issues, set under the Janez Janša government, held its first meeting. Its chair, Interior Ministry State Secretary Anton Olaj said Novo Mesto police had recently intensified their presence and preventive activity in areas populated by the Roma community in the south-east in a bid to prevent high rates of violence and crime. More short-term measures were proposed, and the task force will also start drafting legislative changes.
        CELJE - Chemical company Cinkarna Celje saw its net profit plummet by 21% in the first half of the year to EUR 9.9 million while revenue was down 4% to EUR 88.7 million, showed the company's unaudited results.
        LJUBLJANA - Since tourism vouchers became valid on 19 June, the majority has been redeemed at hotels, followed by rooms, self-catering apartments and camps, showed data from the Financial Administration. A total of 511,554 Slovenian permanent residents have used their vouchers, which is 25% of all beneficiaries.

THURSDAY, 27 August
        LJUBLJANA - The government extended the subsidised furlough scheme, one of the main ways in which Slovenia has propped up the economy during the coronacrisis, by a month until the end of September.
        LJUBLJANA - The government confirmed Slovenian primary and secondary school students will start the new school year in classrooms on 1 September, but will have to observe strict anti-Covid-19 guidelines.
        LJUBLJANA - Investors in the Ljubljana Passenger Terminal, a project valued at EUR 370 million, will shortly sign a special memorandum to signal the formal start of the project, Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Blaž Košorok and Sandor Csanyi, the owner of the Hungarian OTP bank, agreed. The public segment features a new railway station and a new bus station with a parking garage, to by founded by Slovenia, as well as a commercial segment, for which the money should come from OTP.
        LJUBLJANA - Representatives of Slovenian farmers made an urgent appeal to the government to intervene in the market since some purchase prices are so low they do no even cover the cost of production.
        ŠTORE - News portal Necenzurirano reported that the Štore-based manufacturer of rolls and castings Valji, one of the main employers in the Celje area, had been taken over by Austrian company Rudolf Weinberger Holding, which includes Valji's Austrian rival Eisenwerk Sulzau-Werfen.

29 Aug 2020, 09:00 AM

Siol.net reports that the public debate on changes to Slovenia’s rape law has now concluded, with support for adopting a definition based on consent in place of the current system. The proposed amendment will now go back to the Ministry of Justice where the final version will be prepared before being presented to the National Assembly for a vote.

The current law in Slovenia defines rape based on coercion, and thus if no force is used, or the victim is unwilling or unable to say “no”, then no crime is said to have been committed. This attracted considerable attention in early 2019, when a man who raped a woman was charged with criminal coercion rather than a sex crime, because the woman, passed out drunk in the man's apartment, did not - and could not - resist. The man, from Koper, received a 10-month sentence.

The proposed changes would make every non-consensual sexual act a criminal offence, including those during which the victim did not physically resist the perpetrator or say no out of fear, shock or any other circumstances preventing such action.

29 Aug 2020, 04:07 AM

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Petrol's H1 net profit halved to EUR 21 million, revenue down nearly a third

LJUBLJANA - Petrol, Slovenia's largest energy group, saw its net profit halved to EUR 20.6 million in the first six months of the year, as sales plunged by 28%, to EUR 1.53 billion, due to the lockdown and subsequent coronavirus-related restrictions. Profit before income tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) plunged by 22% to EUR 64.3 million, the company said in an earnings release.

Despite pandemic, BSF boasts high-profile guests, weighty debates

BLED - The 15th Bled Strategic Forum will be held on Monday against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic and the strict precautionary measures this entails. Nevertheless, a host of senior officials will be in attendance and the organisers expect substantive debates on some of the most pressing issues the world faces. PM Janez Janša will host Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov, Croatia's Andrej Plenković, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić for the leaders panel.

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Logar joins calls for Turkey to end unilateral actions

BERLIN, Germany - EU foreign ministers, including Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar, urged Turkey at an informal meeting in Berlin to end unilateral actions in the eastern Mediterranean, which are fuelling tensions in the country's relations with Greece and Cyprus, and hence with the EU, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release. The ministers called for safeguarding the EU's interests and expressed solidarity with Cyprus and Greece.

Corruption watchdog launches investigation into Pivec

LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK) has launched an investigation after preliminary findings indicated the risk of corruption in alleged wrongdoing of Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec, commission president Robert Šumi told the press. The investigation has been expanded to include more persons and several events, as well as several instances of suspected wrongdoing.

New Covid-19 cases reach 42 in 1,338 tests on Thursday

LJUBLJANA - 42 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Slovenia on Thursday when a total of 1,338 tests were performed, the government said as it released the most recent data on Friday. This brought the total number of cases to 2,797, with 428 being active infections, according to the national tracker Covid-19.sledilnik.

All primary school children advised to wear masks in shared premises

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's health authorities have recommended that all primary school children wear face masks in corridors and shared areas as the new school year starts next week. The relevant minister has suggested that the government will respect any new recommendations the National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) may give.

Men found lockdown easy, women no so much

LJUBLJANA - A third of Slovenians perceived the coronavirus lockdown to be tough, a survey conducted by the pollster Mediana has shown. But nearly 30% of respondents, most of them men, said the situation was simple or that it improved their everyday lives. While significantly more men then women said that lockdown was easy, significantly fewer women agreed with this view.

Boring works on Karavanke Tunnel finally launched

JESENICE - After months of delays, first because of complaints in the contracting procedure and then due to the coronavirus pandemic, workers have finally started boring the second tube of the Karavanke Tunnel on the Slovenian side. Turkish contractor Cengiz currently has 43 workers on site, a figure that is set to increase to 150 when boring is ramped up to a 24/7 cycle, according to Valentin Hajdinjak, the chairman of motorway company DARS.

Contractors picked for first section of Third Axis expressway

LJUBLJANA - The project of linking Koroško in the north and Bela Krajina in the south with the motorway network, known as the Third Development Axis, got a fresh impetus, motorway company DARS picked a consortium of three contractors to carry out the initial works on the northern part of the planned expressway. Companies Kolektor, CGP and VOC Celje have been picked to do the works at the expressway junction Gaberke for EUR 8.47 million without VAT, DARS announced. If nobody challenges the selection procedure, the works at Gaberke could start in mid-October.

Merger of publishers Dnevnik and Večer halted

LJUBLJANA - The merger of Dnevnik and Večer, the publishers of the third and fourth largest daily newspapers in Slovenia, has come to a halt, Dnevnik's owner Bojan Petan of publisher DZS and Večer's co-owner Uroš Hakl have confirmed. Petan implied at Dnevnik's general assembly on Thursday that there were disagreements over ownership, whereas Hakl told the STA today that the reasons for putting the merger on hold were a matter of business.

Battery maker TAB recovers after coronavirus snag in spring

MEŽICA - After a drop in production in the spring resulting from the coronavirus lockdown, the Slovenian maker of starter batteries for cars and industrial batteries TAB has improved its standing, generating EUR 109 million in revenue and EUR 9 million in profit in the first half of the year. But it is because of the state aid that the shareholders of the company based in Mežica in northern Slovenia will not get dividends this year after several fruitful years in this respect.

Pandemic drags Unior into the red

ZREČE - Toolmaker Unior saw its half-year results drop significantly due to the coronavirus crisis, the group said. With a 35% drop in revenue, which was at EUR 59.1 million, the group reported a net loss of EUR 2.7 million, according to unaudited results. The core company's loss was even higher, at EUR 5.3 million. The net outcome was more than EUR 12 million worse than last year, when the group posted a net profit of EUR 9.4 million in the first six month.

Slovenian charged with sex trafficking arrested in Canada

LJUBLJANA - The Canadian police have tracked down and apprehended a Slovenian citizen wanted by the Slovenian police for participating in a criminal organisation linked with sex trafficking. The relevant court has confirmed for the web news portal 24.ur that the suspect is businessman Sergej Racman. The Slovenian police were notified of the arrest by the Canadian colleagues on Wednesday, the General Police Administration said.

Festival celebrating Gottschee culture kicks off

SEMIČ - The Days of Gottschee Culture, a series of events celebrating the culture of an ever-smaller German-speaking community in south Slovenia and striving to preserve its heritage, will get under way tonight. The 6th edition of the festival will run until Sunday as a joint project of three municipalities, Semič, Dolenjske Toplice and Kočevje, under the auspices of President Borut Pahor.

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28 Aug 2020, 18:01 PM

STA, 28 August 2020 - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK) has launched an investigation after preliminary findings indicated the risk of corruption in alleged wrongdoing of Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec, commission president Robert Šumi told the press on Friday.

The investigation has been expanded to include more persons and several events, as well as several instances of suspected wrongdoing, he said, adding that the launch of the investigation in itself did not preclude its outcome.

The Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), of which Pivec is member, said it supported the move because this was the only way to learn all the facts about the minister's trips to the coast.

Pivec herself has not responded yet, but the Agriculture Ministry told the STA she was currently on a sick leave after feeling frail on Thursday and being rushed to the ER.

The ministry added that the statement forwarded to the media by DeSUS also reflected Pivec's views.

The KP's move comes weeks after media reports that Pivec had taken trips to the coast which were partly personal in nature and featured family and party members but were paid for by a municipality and a company that hosted her in her capacity as minister.

Šumi did not reveal which parts of the integrity act had allegedly been violated by Pivec and did not say how many people are being investigated.

He said that this was not an isolated case, adding that the commission had had received several similar reports and that all cases would be treated the same.

Albert Nabernik, a member of the commission, explained the course of proceedings, saying that a report was followed by a preliminary check.

An investigation is launched only if the latter reveals there is ground to investigate. The person investigated is then informed and the investigation started. "The purpose of the investigation is to either confirm or refute the allegations."

The head of the DeSUS deputy group, Franc Jurša, told the STA he had expected such a decision of the KPK. He also noted that the outcome of the investigation would not change the deputy group's negative opinion of Pivec and their decision to ask her to step down.

28 Aug 2020, 16:06 PM

STA, 28 August 2020 - The Canadian police have tracked down and apprehended a Slovenian citizen wanted by the Slovenian police for participating in a criminal organisation linked with sex trafficking. According to unofficial information, the suspect is businessman Sergej Racman.

The Slovenian police were notified of the arrest by the Canadian colleagues on Wednesday, reads the General Police Administration's press release published on Friday.

The capture is a result of a swift and effective exchange of information between the Fugitive Active Search Team of the Slovenian criminal police and Canadian security services, said the police.

It was first reported by the newspaper Finance that the Canadian police had apprehended fugitive businessman Sergej Racman, which was later confirmed by the relevant court for the web news web portal of the commercial broadcaster POP TV.

The former owner of the cinema chain operator Kolosej is wanted in Slovenia under an Interpol Red Notice alert for his alleged role in a prostitution ring that was allegedly operating in the Marina Sauna Club near Nova Gorica in the west.

The specialised state prosecution has been dealing with the case since July 2019, and has filed an indictment at the Koper District Court against 18 individuals, including Racman, and one legal entity, the company Cratos.

They are being charged of being associated in a criminal group which abused a total of 413 women for prostitution between 1 August 2014 and 23 January 2020. They have allegedly gained at least EUR 21 million in illegal money.

Racman expressed willingness last year to make himself available for proceedings running against him, provided he is allowed to preserve his dignity.

Earlier reports on this story

28 Aug 2020, 12:45 PM

STA, 28 August 2020 - 42 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Slovenia on Thursday when a total of 1,338 tests were performed, the government said as it released the most recent data on Friday. This brought the total number of cases to 2,797, with 428 being active infections, according to the national tracker Covid-19.sledilnik.

The biggest number of new infections, 5, was confirmed in Maribor and 4 in Ljubljana. 22 people were in hospital yesterday, with one requiring intensive care.

Nobody died on Thursday, which leaves the total death toll at 133.

Epidemiologist Maja Grgič Vitek told the press in the afternoon that the figures were not showing any sign of the situation calming down.

Of the 42 new cases recorded yesterday, 22 were transmitted within the country and six came from abroad: two each from Croatia and Kosovo and one each from Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Whereas weeks ago, the majority of new cases came from abroad, mostly Croatia, the situation has reversed, said Grgič Vitek, pointing out that transmissions within Slovenia surpassed cases from abroad four times.

Meanwhile, the Črneče nursing home has two residents who had tested positive, as well as a staff member. The first case was a new resident who got the infection from her sister before moving in. The second was another resident in the same ward and the third was a nurse who went into quarantine after Covid-19 was confirmed among residents.

The UKC Maribor hospital also said that four employees had been infected, all are members of the administrative staff and do not work with patients.

Men more likely than women to see lockdown as easy

STA, 28 August - A third of Slovenians perceived the coronavirus lockdown to be tough, a survey conducted by the pollster Mediana has shown. But nearly 30% of respondents, most of them men, said the situation was simple or that it improved their everyday lives.

Nearly 20% of the 506 respondents found that the lockdown was very easy and had even improved their lives, while another 20% said it was rather easy.

On the other hand, 20% said the lockdown was hard, while 10% said it was very hard and had tested their mental and physical health.

While significantly more men then women said that lockdown was easy, significantly fewer women agreed with this view.

Nearly 50% of the respondents said TV was their main source of news during lockdown, followed by online news portals, which were the main source of news for about 30%.

The Mediana survey was conducted online between 9 and 10 July.

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28 Aug 2020, 09:31 AM

STA, 27 August 2020 - Slovenian primary and secondary school students will start the new school year in classrooms on 1 September, the government decided on Thursday after assessing the current epidemiological situation.

The decision means all students will start instruction in class, though they will have to observe guidelines issued by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).

Schools and teachers are ready, Education Minister Simona Kustec told the press after the government session.

Slovenia has had several possible scenarios for return to school depending on the extent of the coronavirus epidemic and the one confirmed now is known as model B.

It involves social distancing for pupils from different classes, regular washing of hands and regular ventilation of classrooms.

Classes are recommended to be divided into smaller groups, if possible.

Face masks will not be obligatory in classroom for pupils, whereas teachers will have to wear them if an adequate distance could not be maintained.

28 Aug 2020, 09:07 AM

STA, 27 August 2020 - Representatives of Slovenian farmers have made an urgent appeal to the government to intervene in the market since some purchase prices are so low they do not even cover the cost of production.

Purchase prices have been declining for many years but "the situation has never been so bad before," Anton Medved, the president of the Trade Union of Slovenian Farmers, told the press on Thursday.

"Value added tax amounts for a higher proportion of the price of a loaf of bread than the money the farmer gets for his wheat," he said.

The union wants the government to reintroduce monitoring of retail prices of food on store shelves and establish fair relations in the food supply chain.

They also want the introduction of mass balances, a system whereby inputs and outputs are measured based on origin.

Medved said prices had declined by 15-30% since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. "In the long term, this means ruin."

Listing the reasons why the government should intervene, Medved said Slovenian farmers will never be able to produce vegetables as cheaply as large Italian or Spanish farms, which he said were exploiting workers.

As things currently stand, Slovenian farms are being abandoned. "When young farmers see that farming no longer pays off, they will stop farming," he said.

28 Aug 2020, 04:35 AM

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Furlough scheme extended by a month until end of September

LJUBLJANA - The government extended the subsidised furlough scheme, one of the main ways in which Slovenia has propped up the economy during the coronacrisis, by a month until the end of September. The situation on the labour market shows employers still need the scheme, Janez Cigler Kralj, the minister of labour, the family and social affairs, tweeted.

Primary, secondary school students to start school year in classrooms

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian primary and secondary school students will start the new school year in classrooms on 1 September, the government decided after assessing the current epidemiological situation. The decision means all students will start instruction in class, though they will have to observe guidelines issued by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).

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33 coronavirus cases recorded in Slovenia on Wednesday

LJUBLJANA - Out of 1,299 coronavirus tests conducted in Slovenia on Wednesday, 33 came back positive, said the government on Twitter. A total of 23 persons were in hospital, three more than the day before, with none in intensive care. There were no Covid-19 related deaths. The national death toll thus remains at 133. The number of active cases currently stands at 423, according to the national tracker covid-19.sledilnik.

Slovenia to send protective equipment to Montenegro, Kosovo

LJUBLJANA - The government decided to help Montenegro and Kosovo with protective equipment to contribute to the two Balkan countries' efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The assistance will feature three-layer face masks, hand sanitiser and the Ecocid surface disinfectant, the Defence Ministry said. Together with the cost of transport, the aid is worth a total of 204,000 euro, and will be paid from the Slovenian budget's reserve.

Pahor urges political consensus on structural change in healthcare

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor urged reaching a political consensus on strategic changes needed in Slovenia's public healthcare, as he hosted several doctors to discuss the novel coronavirus. "Having seen in recent years that not everything is good in healthcare, we cannot expect that healthcare will deliver better in emergencies such as the coronacrisis." Pahor and the five doctors shared a view that while the Covid-19 situation has improved, one will have to learn how to live with the coronavirus, which entailed a change in lifestyle.

Tonin talks closer cooperation with German, Portuguese colleagues

BERLIN, Germany - Defence Minister Matej Tonin met in Berlin his German and Portuguese counterparts, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Joao Gomeso Cravinho, to mainly talk about closer cooperation in defence as part of the EU presidency trio. On the sidelines of an informal meeting of the EU defence ministers, the German and Portuguese colleagues accepted Tonin's initiative for regular meetings as part of the 18-month presidency, which started with Germany on 1 July.

Ombudsman not sure whether IDing of protesters was lawful

LJUBLJANA - The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman is not fully satisfied with the answers from the Interior Ministry related to the IDing of protesters at a June protest and says that the question remains whether all procedures were in line with law. The office checked the police procedures in determining identity of a number of protesters at an anti-government rally on 19 June in Ljubljana at its own initiative after the information circulated on social networks and in the media about police officers IDing several persons during the protest, including random passers-by.

Farmers say low prices ruining them

LJUBLJANA - Representatives of Slovenian farmers have made an urgent appeal to the government to intervene in the market since some purchase prices are so low they do no even cover the cost of production. Purchase prices have been declining for many years but "the situation has never been so bad before," Anton Medved, the president of the Trade Union of Slovenian Farmers, told the press. "Value added tax amounts for a higher proportion of the price of a loaf of bread than the money the farmer gets for his wheat," he said.

Report: Valji bought by Austrian rival

ŠTORE - The Štore-based company Valji, one of the main employers in the Celje area, has been taken over by Austrian company Rudolf Weinberger Holding, which includes Valji's Austrian rival Eisenwerk Sulzau-Werfen, on-line portal Necenzurirano reported. Valji, a manufacturer of rolls and castings, was sold to the Austrians by the company Elements Skladi, which entered the company in 2017, by Petrol and some of its creditors which held a minority share in the company. They held a combined 90% stake in the company.

Košorok and Csanyi agree to sign memorandum on Ljubljana Passenger Terminal

LJUBLJANA - Investors in the Ljubljana Passenger Terminal will shortly sign a special memorandum to signal the formal start of the project's implementation, Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Blaž Košorok and Sandor Csanyi, the owner of the Hungarian OTP bank, agreed. The Ljubljana Passenger Terminal consists of a public segment featuring a new railway station and a new bus station, as well as a commercial segment. While the investor for the the new railway station is the Slovenian Infrastructure Agency, the OTP has emerged as the investor for the commercial segment.

Govt appoints new chief market inspector

LJUBLJANA - The government appointed Martina Gašperlin acting director of the Market Inspectorate. Former head Andrejka Grlić was dismissed in July, after a criminal complaint was lodged against her, allegedly by her subordinates, accusing her of corruption, and after a task force was appointed to look into alleged bullying of employees by Grlić. Gašperlin will take over on 1 September and will remain in charge until a full-fledged boss is appointed but no longer than six months.

Conventa Crossover conference this year in hybrid form

LJUBLJANA - More than 30 Slovenian and international experts in conference industry gathered for the two-day Conventa Crossover conference, which will this year also take place on-line and discuss relevant topics in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. The organisers, the market communication company Toleranca Marketing, says that the event will discuss topical issues prior, during and after the coronavirus crisis in event organisation, creative content and experience marketing.

Remains of episcopal see mansion found in Tolmin

TOLMIN - Archaeologists have unearthed remains of the Patriarchate of Aquileia residence at Tolmin in the north-west under the auspices of the Tolmin museum. The structure is believed to have been built in the late 13th century. According to written records, Tolmin was the home of two castles, one of them was a summer residence belonging to the Patriarchate of Aquileia, an episcopal see in north-eastern Italy which lost its power in the 18th century. A few years ago, archaeological research got under way, and excavations in the past few days confirmed the existence of the residence.

Pomurje borders in spotlight of new exhibition

MURSKA SOBOTA - A turbulent slice of Pomurje region's history is in the spotlight of a new exhibition at the regional museum in Murska Sobota that explores life under different masters. Entitled Stable Was Under Germans, House Under Hungarians, the Prekmurje Museum exhibition highlights life in Prekmurje and Porabje regions in WWII, and the people's resistance to occupation.

Ljubljana old town to resonate with traditional sounds of modern music

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia-based artists will be in the focus of the 32nd Nights in Old Ljubljana Town. The international music festival will bring traditional sounds of modernity to the Ljubljana old town Thursday through Saturday. "Culture is one of the sectors that have been hit particularly hard by the current crisis. Therefore we decided to support domestic artists this year," Janoš Kern of organiser Imago Sloveniae said in a press release.

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27 Aug 2020, 16:02 PM

According to the latest report on tourist voucher consumption by the Financial Administration (FURS), 25% of all beneficiaries had used their voucher or part of it by August 23, which amounts to 69,797,643 EUR spent, or 19,6% of the entire 356,858,450 EUR sum value. On average people spent 136.43 EUR of the voucher and were on average 38.4 years old.

Furthermore, FURS reports that 55,754  beneficiaries transferred their vouchers to someone else and that the average age of those passing on the money was  64.3 years.

In terms of geography, leading the list of top ten municipalities where most vouchers have been spent is Piran, followed by Kranjska gora and Bohinj.

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Distribution of cashed vouchers by region:

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Municipalities according to vouchers spent:

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Where did people from Ljubljana spend their vouchers?

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Where did people from Maribor spend their vouchers?

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Where did people from Kranj spend their vouchers?

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Where did people from Koper spend their vouchers?:

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Where did people from Novo Mesto spend their vouchers?:

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Where did visitors to Piran mostly come from?:

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Where did visitors to Ljubljana come from?:

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People using their vouchers mostly decided to stay in hotels, with the following places most popular in each of the categories:

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