STA, 4 July 2022 - The eastern-most Slovenian town of Lendava and the Jewish Association of Slovenia have signed an agreement under which the association, only recently established and recognised as a congregation by the state, will use the only fully preserved Jewish cemetery in the country. The move is understood as a unique symbol of reviving Jewish tradition.

Located in the village Dolga Vas near Lendava, the cemetery (Židovsko pokopališče v Dolgi Vasi) has been neatly maintained through the years, even though burials there were rare after World War II. Since then, only a few Holocaust survivors have been laid to rest there, the last one in 1997.

Lendava's acting Mayor Ivan Koncut said that up until 1944, Prekmurje was home to three well-organised Jewish communities that were of great importance to the region. In Lendava, the community was an integral part of a varied and heterogeneous population, he said.

However, the community was nearly wiped out at the end of World War II, when a large part of the community was interned by the Nazis, while others fled. Only few survivors returned.

Koncut noted that it took decades of silence before the first attempts to revive the Jewish heritage in the area started in the 1990s.

"Dedicated exhibitions, the permanent museum collection, the remodelled synagogue, memorial events, cooperation with Jewish communities and organisations dedicated to preservation of Jewish heritage ... Stolpersteine, these are acts that gradually but persistently strengthen the awareness about the importance of the Jewish community that we lost," Koncut said.

Elie Rosen, the head of the Austrian Jewish community in Graz, as well as of the newly formed Slovenian Jewish Association, said today was a good day for the Jewish community and a sign that it was still alive in this part of Slovenia.

He warned that symbolic actions, such as laying of Stolpersteine, brass cubes in memory of Holocaust victims, was not enough. More is needed to improve the lives of Jews and everybody else in Slovenia. He believes the agreement he and Koncut signed today is one such step toward a better future.

Rosen said it was the wish for continuity that led him and other community members to persuade Rabbi Ariel Yitzhak Haddad, who has been active in Slovenia for over two decades, to take over as the head rabbi of the community, which was officially recognised a congregation in May. In November 2021, the community opened its only current place of worship in a residential building in Ljubljana.

Before the agreement was signed today, Stolpersteine were laid in Lendava in front of the former homes of three Jewish families. A concert will take place in the former Lendava synagogue, now a museum, in the evening.

STA, 5 July 2022 - A survey by the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia (GZS) sees more than a quarter of the surveyed companies assessing that the raising prices of energy, raw materials and services are threatening their existence. The GZS has demanded immediate action from the state.

The survey conducted in June among more than 60 companies, 80% of which are industrial companies, sees their biggest challenges in the need to increase prices of products, and in lower operating profit and competitiveness and a drop in market share.

The companies surveyed have on average purchased 62% of their electricity needs for this year and slightly more than half (52%) of their natural gas needs. This share drops to around 19% for 2023, and to 8% (electricity) and 12 (natural gas) for 2024.

On average, the companies reported a 166% increase in energy costs in the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year.

The share of energy costs in sales revenue increased on average by 4.7 percentage points during this period, with the companies estimating that the increase in energy costs at the end of the year compared to 2021 will be even higher.

Users in energy-intensive industries (production of paper, glass, steel, aluminium, chemical companies) noticed an increase in energy costs in sales revenue already last year, by an average of 1.7 percentage points.

The rise in 2022 is even more obvious, as it amounts to 7.2 percentage points, the GZS noted on Monday as it presented the survey.

At the same time, the surveyed companies reported on average a 47% increase in costs of raw materials from January to May this year compared to the same period last year.

The price of natural gas increased the most (by 560%), followed by acetic acid (+320%), anthracite (+277%), steel (+73%), aluminium (+63%), cellulose (+52%).

The GZS has established on the basis of the survey that on average, the prices of strategic raw materials increased even more than all raw material costs combined, by about 10 percentage points.

In addition, most of the surveyed companies report longer delivery times, higher prices than expected and planned, and delivery delays.

"These are strong arguments for the government to act immediately," GZS director general Aleš Cantarutti commented on the survey, while welcoming the measures taken so far to stem the growth of prices of motor fuels and the announced aid for farmers.

"At the same time, we expect that the government will also present a set of measures to alleviate the rise in energy prices for households and businesses by the end of the week," he was further quoted in the chamber's press release.

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This summary is provided by the STA:

STA, 4 July 2022 - Slovenia's mountain rescue teams (Gorska Reševalna Zveza Slovenije) were again busy this Sunday as they came to the aid of several injured hikers as well as a dog in four helicopter dispatches. More and more hikers have insufficient knowledge about mountaineering equipment and underestimate the mountains, the authorities warn, urging responsible behaviour.

The helicopter rescue team that features members of the Slovenian military was dispatched four times in the north and north-west of the country yesterday, rescuing two hikers who were injured due to a slip on the trail, and another one who got injured due to careless behaviour.

In the Komarče area, near Lake Bohinj, where the path is steep and cliffy, the team was involved in a dog-rescue mission. "The circumstances indicate that two dogs jumped at each other and both fell off the path," the police said.

Related: Police Stop Hikers for Wearing the Wrong Shoes

One dog died at the scene and the other injured its leg. Both were transported by helicopter to the valley. According to the information currently gathered, both dogs were on a leash before the incident and the case is still ongoing.

Sunday's rescue missions coincided with a preventive campaign in the Triglav Lakes area, during which the police, Triglav National Park rangers and the Bohinj mountain rescue team strived to determine how well equipped and prepared hikers are.

The campaign also aimed to raise awareness about nature conservation and safety in the mountains as well as check compliance with relevant rules.

There were individual cases where hikers were not prepared for the challenging terrain they tried to conquer. These individuals went as far in their flippant behaviour as wearing swimsuits, flat-soled trainers or designer mini-backpacks. Some of them even drank beer while hiking, the Kranj Police Department said on Monday.

Four foreigners were also found defying a ban on camping in the Triglav National Park.

The authorities warn that there are more and more hikers who have equipment but no knowledge of how to use it, which is as dangerous or even more dangerous than if they were inadequately equipped as equipment can give them a false sense of security.

STA, 4 July 2022 - Film Under the Stars, an annual series of open-air screenings in the courtyard of Ljubljana Castle co-organised by the city cinema Kinodvor, will feature a selection of the best world and domestic cinema between 14 July and 6 August.

This year's selection includes three major previews: a parody on spy movies OSS 117: From Africa With Love by Nicolas Bedos, which was featured at last year's Cannes Festival; The Good Boss, a satire on modern work relationships by Fernando Leon de Aranoa, and Nope, a film by Jordan Peele about three Californians who make a bizarre discovery in the middle of nowhere.

There will be a lot of Slovenian film as well, starting with the opening film, Darko Sinko's directorial debut Inventura (Inventory). This a dramedy about a man who realizes perceptions he had about his own life were just an illusion.

Morena (Murina), a Slovene-Croatian co-production by director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović tells the story of a girl fighting patriarchy in the Mediterranean.

Tijana Zinajić will present her Prasica, slabšalni izraz za žensko (Bitch, Derogatory Term For Woman), and Matevž Luzar his Orkester (Orchestra), which was first screened during the competition part of the Cottbus film festival in Germany.

Many other acclaimed films will also be screened including Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, Pedro Almodovar's Parallel Mothers, House of Gucci by Ridley Scott, Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and many others.

Screenings will take place daily starting at 9:30pm. Films in English will have Slovenian subtitles, while films in other foreign languages will have English subtitles as well.

In case of bad weather, screenings will be cancelled and will take place the following day at Kinodvor, and for the premieres and previews two extra screenings will be held, said Kinodvor.

Visit the website and learn more

STA, 4 July 2022 - Nova24TV clearly shows the Democratic Party's (SDS) idea of how a media outlet should be is similar to that of the Communist Party workers in the darkest communist times, Reporter magazine says in Monday's editorial in response to a Nova24TV viewer inciting to an armed fight against the new government on a call-in show last week.

"This is no longer just hate speech", by calling to a showdown with arms, Nova24TV took a step further which can no longer be dismissed as an unimportant incident.

It is now up to institutions from the police and prosecutors to the Agency for Communication Networks and Services to take action.

A normal media outlet would have already acted and fired the TV station's director and host Boris Tomašič, who did not interrupt the viewer but supported his appeal.

Advertisers would have also responded immediately by stopping financing "Janša's factory of lies and propaganda", which is also financed by Viktor Orban's tycoons.

"The genie has been long out of the bottle... They deliberately spread hate, incite to stir up the lowest emotions in people," runs the editorial headlined Media Monster.

Reporter says "this is not journalism", it is "the most disgusting and primitive political propaganda", and Janša's "darkest reflection in the mirror".

It is a political propaganda project born in his mind when he came out of prison and presented it in January 2015 to a wider circle of invitees at the seat of the SDS.

In spring 2016, Reporter welcomed the arrival of the new TV station because it expected it "to make the stuffy media space ridden with left-wing ideology more plural".

While Nova24TV was billed as a Slovenian version of American conservative Fox News, "Slovenia instead got a media cesspit, which fortunately has low ratings..."

Reporter says that Tomašič "deliberately incited people against the SDS's political opponents, probably not for the first time".

Those who called in were getting angrier, and the host was only fuelling them with his comments, responding to the caller who urged to an armed clash by saying: "They came to power with blood, and they will apparently only leave by force."

STA, 4 July 2022 - Slovenia finished the first round of qualifying for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup second in their group having scraped past Sweden 84:81 after a nail-biting finish in Stockholm on Sunday. NBA stars Luka Dončić and Goran Dragić scored 51 points between them as Dragić bid farewell to the national team as its top overall scorer in history.

Slovenia won four out of six matches in the first round for a total of 10 points, which places them second in Group C after Finland, who have got 11. Sweden enter the second round with eight points, while Croatia dropped out.

In the second round, starting in late August, Slovenia will face off Germany, who finished top of their group with 11 points, Israel (9 points) and Estonia (8 points) in Group J, which also includes Sweden. The top three teams advance to the World Cup, to be held in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines.

After crushing Croatia last Thursday, Slovenia were unable to show off the fast pace they have become known for, having quite some difficulty coping with Sweden's defence. Sweden also outdid Slovenia on rebounds (38:35) and turnovers with the point per turnover ratio at 19:11.

Slovenia soon opened a double-digit advantage (15:5) but the home team took the lead in the 17th minute for 30:29, retaining a balance in court up to the final seconds. Four minutes to the end of the match the teams were equalised at 75:75.

The superstar Dončić scored 31 points for Slovenia on 10-of-20 shooting from the field, with 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, which gives him efficiency rating of 32. Scoring 11 points in the third quarter, he let Slovenia enter the final part of the game with a nine-point advantage (70:61).

However, after going up to 73:61, Slovenia allowed Sweden to come back. The key points for a win in the dying minutes of the game were scored by the Dragić brothers. Zoran scored a three-pointer for 80:79 and Goran took it to 82:81 in the final second on attack, and then went on to score two free throws two seconds before the final buzzer sound for the final score of 84:81.

In what was supposed to be his last appearance for the national side, captain Goran Dragić scored 20 points for a total of 1,581 points in his 81 official games for Slovenia since 2006, to outperform Jaka Lakovič's 1,564 points in 86 games.

Commenting on that for the STA, the 36-ear-old stayed modest: "That doesn't really matter. On the one hand, basketball is a team sport and wins count, but on the other hand, I'm sure the record will not stand for long, because here comes 'magic' Luka, who will easily surpass it."

On Slovenia's performance he said that despite the excellent atmosphere created by more than 8,500 fans at the Hovet arena that motivated the home team further to nullify Slovenia's early advantage and keep up until the end of the game, Slovenia won the match with their experience and knowledge.

"The games you need to win are usually the toughest, so we must be happy and keep on the path we have set out," he said.

Speaking to the STA later, he left the door open for his potential appearance for Slovenia in the Eurobasket. "I'm tempted to play in the Eurobasket," he said, ruling out his appearance in the August qualifying for the World Cup.

STA, 3 July 2022 - Climber Janja Garnbret continued her winning streak on Saturday, taking first place in women's lead event in Villars, Switzerland, earning her 50th world cup podium and 34th first place.

The Olympic gold medallist was the only climber in male and female competition to make it to the top of both climbing walls in the semifinals and finals at yesterday's competition.

The win comes a week after her victorious return following a nearly three-month break. Last week, she became the only climber in the world with 33 world cup wins, further improving this distinction this weekend.

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:

STA, 2 July 2022 - Congestion is reported at some Slovenia-Croatia border crossings. The longest waiting times, more than two hours, are at the Dragonja and Sečovlje border crossings, both for those entering or exiting Slovenia.

Those heading for Croatia at the Gruškovje crossing are looking at two-hour delays as well, whereas the waiting times at Dobovec and Starod are an hour and a half and roughly an hour, respectively.

It takes as long as an hour or two to enter Slovenia from Croatia at Jelšane and Starod, and about an hour at Gruškovje and Sočerga.

Traffic jams are also reported on the Primorska motorway at the Kozarje junction towards Brezovica and on the Šmarje-Dragonja road on the coast and the Lesce-Bled road in the northern region Gorenjska.