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:
Indoor mask mandate lifted as of Thursday
LJUBLJANA - Masks will no longer be mandatory in indoor public spaces as of Thursday under a government decision that keeps the mask mandate only in hospital and care facilities, though mask use is still recommended. The government advisory group for Covid-19 initially proposed that the mandate be lifted once the total number of Covid patients in intensive care is below 35 for seven consecutive days, which trends suggest would have happened in about a week. The government has however decided to speed things along; ICU cases have been below 35 for two days now.
First TV debate featuring Janša and Golob focusses on price hikes
LJUBLJANA - Commercial channel KANAL A hosted on Tuesday evening the first televised debate between PM Janez Janša and Robert Golob, the main rivals in the upcoming general election. The debate, also featuring the leaders of the Social Democrats (SD) and New Slovenia (NSi), revolved around rising prices. Janša said Slovenia had a negative inflation rate of more than 1% in March due to lower electricity prices, which resulted from a government measure. Golob believes that many Slovenians are already nevertheless feeling the pressure from the hikes.
New tender for radwaste repository to be published
LJUBLJANA - The Agency for Radioactive Waste decided to issue a new tender for the construction of a radwaste repository after determining that the only qualified bid was inadmissible. The bidder acknowledged in its documents that it would not complete the project in the 900-day window stipulated in the tender. In talks with the agency the bidder indicated it could lower the price in exchange for a longer time frame, but since this was an essential element of the tender it was not subject to change.
National Council vetoes new roads act
LJUBLJANA - The upper chamber of parliament vetoed the recently adopted roads act following an outcry over new rules for the towing of broken down vehicles on motorways that contractors said would effectively give the motorway company DARS a monopoly on this service. The veto came with the explicit support of the government after both Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec and DARS director general Valentin Hajdinjak said that the controversial provision, proposed by the coalition, was not appropriate and a veto was the fastest way to correct the law.
Complaint filed over alleged illegal state aid to NTV24
LJUBLJANA - A network of NGOs has filed a complaint to the European Commission alleging illegal state aid provided to the media company NTV24 through the telecoms incumbent. It noted that such form of state aid was unlawful, as it distorted competition on the EU market. By means of media articles and documentation, the Legal Network for the Protection of Democracy is trying to prove that Telekom Slovenije is paying a disproportionally high fee to NTV24 to include the programmes of Nova24TV in its TV package.
Businessman bankrolls new media company
LJUBLJANA - Businessman Aleš Štrancar has invested a million euros of his personal wealth in a new media company called Media Polis that will purchase the conservative news portal Domovina and its weekly print edition from the pro-family association Iskreni. Štrancar said Domovina was merely the first step in the new media project which would be followed by the purchase of a news portal. Štrancar will hold a 37% stake in the company. Iskreni director Igor Vovk and the editors of the Domovina portal and magazine, Rok Čakš and Tino Mamić, will hold 21% each.
Sancin's bid for UN Human Rights Committee stuck in govt procedure
LJUBLJANA - International law expert Vasilka Sancin has failed to get the government's go-ahead for her bid to get re-elected to the UN Human Rights Committee even though she has been been put forward by the Justice Ministry as the sole candidate to apply for the post. The deadline for the bids expired on 6 April, but the government failed to nominate Sancin for re-election, in a development reminiscent of the delay in the appointment of Slovenia's prosecutors delegated to the European Public Prosecutor's Office.
Češko regains sole ownership of Studio Moderna
LJUBLJANA - Sandi Češko, one of the wealthiest Slovenians, has bought back Studio Moderna Holdings, an omnichannel direct-to-consumers retailer active in Central and Eastern Europe that he and his wife founded in 1992. Šeško bought out financial funds that took a 50% stake in 2019 through his Dutch company Studio Moderna Founders B.V.
Takeover of hardware retailer Merkur Trgovina completed
LJUBLJANA - Alfi, Slovenia's largest private equity fund, completed the takeover of hardware retail company Merkur Trgovina and appointed a new management team with Jure Kapetan as director general. The Slovenian regulator cleared the deal last month. While Merkur Trgovina did not say how much Alfi paid for the company, the business newspaper Finance reports the deal is worth around EUR 50 million.
Strike at Gorenje cancelled
VELENJE - The strike at Gorenje, a home appliances manufacturer owned by Chinese group Hisense, which was scheduled for Thursday, was cancelled as the two sides reached agreement on two of several strike demands. Hisense Europe and the in-house SKEI trade union reached an agreement on this year's holiday allowance to stand at EUR 1,400 net. SKEI initially demanded EUR 1,500. They also reached an agreement on the amount of funds allocated for one of the regular allowances Gorenje workers receive with their monthly wages.
Govt to step up support for wood processing industry
LJUBLJANA - Economy Ministry State Secretary Simon Zajc told the Days of the Slovenian Wood Industry that the government would step up support for the wood industry to help improve the sector's sales revenue and increase the number of green jobs. This year the sector will receive almost EUR 30 million. In the last cohesion period, the government allocated EUR 64 million to the sector, and in the next period it aims to double this to EUR 134 million.
Slovenian, Croatian ministers call for balanced infrastructure development
PORTOROŽ - The Slovenian and Croatian infrastructure ministers told a Slovenian-Croatian business forum on public investment that there must be a balance between road and rail infrastructure development. "This a must for green transition," Slovenia's Jernej Vrtovec said. Croatian Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković admitted that the disruptions created by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine "are already making it difficult to carry out infrastructure projects".
NGOs come out against cement maker's plans to expand co-incineration
ANHOVO - A civil initiative and an environmental association have come out against alleged plans by cement maker Salonit Anhovo to double the amount waste it co-incinerates at its plant by the Soča river from 109,000 to 220,000 tonnes a year. Eko Anhovo and Soča Valley said the increase was so inconceivably huge it defies the imagination of reasonable people. Salonit did not provide any detailed information about the plans but said the upgrades would substantially reduce the plant's impact on the environment despite increased production capacities.
Epidemic continues to wane
LJUBLJANA - Coronavirus cases in Slovenia continued to decline as 1,604 infections were confirmed on Tuesday, down by 30% on the same day a week ago. Four people with Covid died yesterday, Health Ministry data showed. Hospitalisations decreased this morning to 113 persons who are currently hospitalised for Covid-19 at regular Covid wards, down by ten on the previous day, and 16 in intensive care, down by one.
Pahor receives reps of Slovenian community in Argentina
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor received representatives of Zedinjena Slovenija (United Slovenia), the umbrella organisation of Slovenians in Argentina. The organisation's president Jure Komar and secretary Marjana Poznič handed to Pahor a publication entitled Zdaj Gre za Slovenijo! (It Is About Slovenia Now), which Zedinjena Slovenia published to mark the 30th anniversary of Slovenia's independence, the president's office said.
Ukrainian ambassador receives beehive as symbol of support
LJUBLJANA - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek handed a beehive to Ukrainian Ambassador Mykhailo Brodovych in what the ministry said was a sign of strong support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. "With this symbolic act we want to convey a positive message to all Ukrainian citizens," Podgoršek said. "Although Slovenia is a small country, it has a big heart. Slovenia has been helping Ukraine in various fields since the beginning of the war," the ambassador was quoted in a press release from the Agriculture Ministry.
Covid tracker wins top design award for socially beneficial effort
LJUBLJANA - The national Covid tracker Covid-19 Sledilnik received the top award for contribution beneficial to society at the 10th Brumen biennial of Slovenian design. The online tracker has shown that design can offer solutions during times of crisis, said the Brumen Foundation. Another epidemic-related project honoured was designer Primož Zorko's #stayinside poster series, which promoted public health guidelines with amusing stills from vintage 1980s porn films.
