EU foreign ministers set five conditions for cooperation with Taliban

BRDO PRI KRANJU - The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell announced that EU foreign ministers had agreed on five benchmarks which will form a basis for the bloc to engage in cooperation with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Afghanistan must not serve as "a base for the export of terrorism to other countries"; the country will have to respect human rights, in particular women's rights, the rule of law and freedom of the media. It will also have form an inclusive and representative government and provide free access to EU humanitarian aid.

FMs call for pragmatic approach to China, enhanced relations with India

BRDO PRI KRANJU - EU foreign ministers called for a pragmatic, realistic and coherent approach to China and for enhancing relations with India. The ministers have assessed that a pragmatic, realistic and coherent approach and unity and responsibility were needed in relations with China and that there should be cooperation regarding Afghanistan and trade and economic issues, said EU High Representative Josep Borrell. On India, the ministers expressed the wish for closer ties and called for a trade and investment agreement to be negotiated as soon as possible, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said.

Indian foreign minister meets Janša and Zorčič

LJUBLJANA - India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who is on an official visit to Slovenia, met separately with Prime Minister Janez Janša and Speaker Igor Zorčič for talks that focused on bilateral cooperation and the situation in Afghanistan. Janša also told Jaishankar Slovenia firmly supports the strategic partnership between India and the EU. They also discussed geopolitical challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. Ways to boost bilateral cooperation were also discussed.

Indian FM sees potential for boosting economic cooperation

BLED - Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar indicated in an interview with the STA that Indian companies might be interested in cooperating with Slovenia's automotive and pharmaceutical industries, and the IT sector. Trade between India and Slovenia stands at US$ 340 million a year, which Jaishankar said he and his Slovenian counterpart Anže Logar had agreed should be improved. "There are areas where Slovenia is very strong - automotive industry, pharmaceutical industry and even IT. These are all areas where India is a major manufacturer, investor, exporter," he said.

Tonin and Pabriks discuss W Balkans and Baltic

LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister Matej Tonin hosted his Latvian counterpart Artis Pabriks for a meeting which focused on the situation in the Western Balkans, the situation in the Baltic Sea region and cooperation between the two countries. Tonin said the EU "must constantly ensure that the Western Balkans does not drift away from the core EU values and send very clear signals that all the region belongs in the EU." He said Slovenia and Latvia were building increasingly amicable relations within NATO and the EU.

Tonin receives Portuguese counterpart Cravinho

LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister Matej Tonin received his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho to talk about enhancing cooperation in defence and military matters and in other fields, assessing the bilateral defence and military relations as exceptionally good. Slovenia and Portugal closely cooperation with Germany as the current EU presidency trio, and they are also partners within NATO and cooperate as part of multilateral organisations, the Slovenian Defence Ministry said.

Hojs defends fines for verbal attacks on state officials

LJUBLJANA - Commenting on growing criticism of the government's proposal to introduce hefty fines for indecent behaviour towards state officials and their families, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs said the most exposed state officials enjoyed special protection in all democratic countries. He rejected the view the proposal was reminiscent of Article 133 about speech crimes under the Communist regime. Meanwhile, the Legal Network for Protection of Democracy said the proposal went against the European Court of Human Rights' case law, had a chilling effect and created a privileged class of citizens.

Slovenia's jobless total falls to two-year low

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's joblessness continued to decrease in August as a total of 69,292 were registered as unemployed at the end of the month as the total fell below 70,000 for the first time since September in the pre-Covid year 2019. The total was down 21.4% year-on-year and 1.9% compared to July, the Employment Service said. The latest registered unemployment rate, calculated for June, stood at 7.3%, down by 0.4 percentage point on May and 1.9 point on June 2020.

Over 600 coronavirus cases as hospitalisations hit 180

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 610 fresh coronavirus cases for Thursday as the number of patients hospitalised with Covid-19 rose to 180 this morning, including 41 in intensive care, official data shows. According to the National Institute of Public Heath, the 7-day average of new daily cases rose to 501, as the cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 reached 297. There are now an estimated 6,325 active cases in the country, up nearly by 300 from the day before.

Booster shoot recommended for three groups of residents

LJUBLJANA - The national advisory committee on immunisation advises Slovenian authorities introduce a third jab of anti-Covid vaccines for the elderly at care homes, for people older than 70, and for all residents with chronic conditions. All the others can also get a booster shot if they want, according to the minutes from the group's meeting. A third shot was earlier recommended only for those with severely weakened immune systems, because their reaction to the basic vaccination tends to be weaker.

Slovenian-run ITF helps clear Sarajevo of mines

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - The Slovenian-run demining organisation ITF - Enhancing Human Security has completed its project to clear the Bosnia-Herzegovina capital of Sarajevo of mines. The US-funded project Mine Free Sarajevo was carried out by the ITF in partnership with the non-governmental organisation Mine Detection Dog Center from Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Marshall Legacy Institute. Its final result was the removal of 841 mines and pieces of unexploded ordnance.

Report: NTA's request to be registered as media outlet rejected

LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Delo reported that the Culture Ministry rejected a request by the National Press Agency (NTA) to join the ministry's list of officially recognised media outlets. The agency can appeal the decision at the Administrative Court. Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti rejected the NTA's request as he found the application to be incomplete and the application was not amended despite the urge to do so. The NTA's editor-in-chief is Urban Purgar sparked controversy with a tweet describing Adolf Hitler as a hero.

Over 4% of recipients to repay Covid state aid

LJUBLJANA - During the Covid-19 epidemic, companies received various forms of state aid. Some were not so badly affected and will now have to repay the received subsidies. Initial estimates by the Financial Administration show just over 25,000 different taxable persons will now have to repay the state aid they received, totalling EUR 88.6 million. This is around 4.5% of the total amount paid out, which stands just under EUR 2 billion.

University of Nova Gorica part of ESA measurement campaign

NOVA GORICA - Researchers from the University of Nova Gorica, from Haze Instruments, and extreme pilot Matevž Lenarčič, will take part in a European Space Agency project in Cape Verde later this month. The project aims to study the accuracy of satellite measurements and the use of these measurements in models of the Earth's atmosphere. They will measure the aerosol properties of the transport of Saharan sand, black carbon and other particles across the Atlantic and the impact on global climate.

Kogoj Days bring nine concerts, one in Italy

KANAL - The Kogoj Days, an international festival of Slovenian contemporary classical music, are opening tonight in the western town of Kanal with a concert by the Slovenian Octet. Due to Covid-19, only one of the festival's nine concerts will be played across the border in Italy. That will be the closing concert, given by the Feguš String Quartet at a local church in the town of Lusevera, on 10 October. The festival, held for the 42nd year, is named after composer Marij Kogoj (1892-1956).

Cinematheque to show Marc Recha, Abbas Kiarostami in new season

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Cinematheque is entering a new season with great panache, not just when it comes to its film programme but also in relation to its exhibition venue and publishing and preservation efforts. The pinnacle of the new season will be films by Catalan Spanish filmmaker Marc Recha and Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami in October and November. Recha is expected in Ljubljana. Next year, retrospectives will include features by Italian auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini.