STA, 18 November 2019 - Slovenia is one of the safest countries in the world for travellers, faring very well in all three key indicators - security, medical risks and road safety, shows a risk world map for 2020 released by the SOS International NGO.

On a 1-5 scale for security, Slovenia places among only a handful of European countries with "insignificant" travel security risks alongside Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Greenland.

The country also places highest in the category of medical risks, which are deemed "low" alongside much of Western Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Its road safety ranking is a bit worse, as it has a mortality rate of 10-19.9 persons killed in car accidents per 100,000 persons, again on a par with the majority of West European countries, Canada and Australia.

The most dangerous countries in the world in all three categories are Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan and Venezuela.

The world risk map is available here

Slovenian basketball player Luka Dončić has confirmed that he will play for the Slovenian national team in the Olympic qualifiers which will take place from June 23-28, 2020.

Dončić, who is currently playing for Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, told AS, the Spanish sports magazine, that he is also hoping for his NBA team to qualify for the playoffs this season, which will take place between April 19 and June 5^th, 2020.

When exactly Dončić can return to his national team therefore depends on the success of the Mavericks this season, who are currently ranked seventh in the Western conference. The first eight teams of each two conferences qualify for the playoffs. For all non-qualifying teams, the regular season ends on April 15, 2020.

The last time Dončić played for the national team was in 2017, when Slovenia won the European Championship under the brilliant guidance of team’s leader Goran Dragić and the chief coach Igor Kokoškov. Dragić has meanwhile retired from the national team while Kokoškov has, following Slovenia’s unsuccessful bid for World Championship in China, recently switched to the Serbian national team, whom Slovenia surprisingly beat in the 2017 Eurobasket finals.

Whether Slovenia is going to meet Serbia in the Olympic qualifiers will be decided by a draw on November 27, 2019, which will determine which of the five teams Slovenia will need to play against in order to end up first in the group and hence qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

STA, 18 November 2019 - Slovenia and Taiwan do not have diplomatic ties, but this does not mean they cannot strengthen cooperation, Vanessa Shih of the Taipei Economic and Culture Office in Austria, has told the STA in an interview. The 23-million nation provides great business opportunities for Slovenian companies, she believes.

Shih expressed regret that she has only limited access to Slovenian authorities. She has had some contact with Slovenian government representatives but not complete access to ministries and government offices and believes that the Chinese embassy in Ljubljana is the likely reason for this situation.

Vanessa Shih. Source: Wikipedia, Voice of America, public domain

China insists that Taiwan is one of its provinces and that sooner or later a unification would take place; it has not ruled out the use of force if necessary. Taipei has been losing its battle for allies with Beijing and now has diplomatic contact with only 15 countries.

Shih said that relations between Slovenia and Taiwan, which share the same values and have a similar political system, are focused above all on cooperation in economy, education, culture and tourism.

Merchandise trade is rather modest, amounting to just over US$200 million last year, with imports from Taiwan accounting for US$170 million or 0.4% of Slovenia's imports.

Slovenia exported US$36 million to Taiwan last year, which accounted for less than 0.02% of Taiwan's total imports.

"We can see that the figures are still very low, which means that there is a lot of potential in economic cooperation," she said.

Direct investments by Taiwanese companies in Slovenia are very limited as well; Shih believes that the reason for limited investments and trade of goods lies in poor mutual understanding and poor direct exchange of information.

She expressed regret that Slovenia, unlike most European countries, does not have a representative office in Taiwan.

Slovenia and Taiwan do not have a double taxation agreement either, even though Taiwan has signed such agreements with 16 EU members, said Shih, adding that lack of incentives was a problem in promotion of Taiwanese investments in Slovenia.

Cooperation between Slovenia and Taiwan is at a much higher level when it comes to education. Universities in both countries have signed a number of memoranda of understanding.

"Our office in Vienna provides grants for studying and researching in Taiwan," said Shih, adding that an increasing number of Slovenians are studying in Taiwan.

She also pointed out that the number of Taiwanese tourists in Slovenia was increasing, including due to the abolishment of visas for Taiwanese citizens in the Schengen zone.

If a Slovenian wants to travel to Taiwan for a longer period of time, they must apply for a visa at the Taiwanese representation, not at the Chinese embassy, she said, adding that this was proof that Taiwan is a sovereign country.

STA, 14 November 2019 - The Slovenian-founded omni-channel retailer Studio Moderna got a new CEO, as Jan Heere, former global managing director of the cosmetic division at Percassi Group, was appointed to the post on Thursday. He will succeed Adrian Burleton, who was CEO for the last eight years. Burleton will go on to become chairman.

Prior to his post at Percassi Group, Heere held various senior positions at a Spanish multinational clothing company Inditex, and also served as international director at Marks and Spencer.

Studio Moderna, founded in 1992 by Sandi Češko, one of the richest Slovenians, started out as a distribution channel for Kosmodisk, a product against back pain, and has since evolved into a leading omni-channel e-commerce and direct-to-consumer platform in Central and East Europe.

Mr & Mrs Login the Richest Slovenians Again, with an Estimated €689m

It currently employs some 7,000 people, while its network reaches more than 360 million consumers across 21 markets.

Češko has recently sold his half of the Studio Moderna Holdings, which is headquartered in the Netherlands and holds a key role in Studio Moderna, to the owners of the other half, financial funds Insight Venture Partners, Templeton, General Atlantic and JH Partners.

Češko has only kept the part of the company specialising in mattresses, encompassing the brands Dormeo and Octaspring, but only for western markets, Asia and the US, the newspaper Finance reported in September.

Češko told the paper that the Studio Moderna group's revenue totalled EUR 470 million last year.

Češko's 55% share in the holding was estimated at EUR 283 million last year, but this included the Netherlands-based company Studio Moderna Brands, whose value was estimated at EUR 50 million. The latter remains in Češko's ownership, according to Finance.

STA, 14 November 2019 - Matjaž Merkan, the chairman and CEO of the state-owned telecoms incumbent Telekom Slovenije, has resigned after less than two months on the job effective immediately.

 The resignation, submitted at a supervisory board session on Thursday, comes after days of media reports that Merkan was on his way out.

Radio Slovenija said he stepped down after refusing to launch an inquiry into his predecessor Rudolf Skobe, whose tenure has been in the spotlight after Telekom has been ordered by an arbitration tribunal to pay millions to the Greek Antenna Group, which wants to exit a media joint venture.

TV Slovenija has quoted anonymous people privy to information that he was not up to the job.

The company today rejected these reports and said he was resigning for personal reasons.

His deputy, Tomaž Seljak, will serve as interim boss until a new chairman is appointed, Telekom announced.

Before coming to Telekom, Merkan headed Weiler Abrasives, the maker of abrasives formerly known as SwatyComet, for just over six years.

In the afternoon, Telekom issued a statement that the supervisors also decided to change Skobe's termination contract today.

In April, Telekom and Skobe agreed that his employment would be terminated on 29 February 2020. But under the changes made today, Skobe's employment will be terminated at the end of the month.

TV Slovenija said that Skobe was no longer needed by the supervisors. Earlier termination means Skobe will not get ten salaries and severance as stipulated in the original agreement but only seven salaries.

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.

A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here

This summary is provided by the STA:

Tonin tells congress NSi determined opponent of both radical left and savage capitalism

MARIBOR - New Slovenia - Christian Democrats (NSi) leader Matej Tonin argued at the opposition party's congress that the NSi was a centrist party both in terms of its values and principles of operation. Addressing some 500 delegates and 200 supporters at the meeting that cements the NSi's move to the political centre, Tonin said the radical left in Slovenia tried to introduce equality in poverty and devalue work, while there was also savage capitalism that brutally exploited workers in an economy controlled by intertwined political and financial networks. The party adopted a new platform entitled For All People and meaning to place people rather than the state or capital at the centre of the agenda.

Poll sees LMŠ extending lead but majority feel govt doing bad job

LJUBLJANA - The November Vox Populi poll commissioned by public broadcaster TV Slovenija and the newspapers Dnevnik and Večer shows the senior coalition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) extending its lead ahead of the opposition Democrats (SDS) but it also shows more people disappointed than happy with the government for the first time this year. The LMŠ gained 1.2 percentage points compared to the October survey to poll at 21.3%, while the SDS lost 1.2 percentage points to 13.5%. Standing out among the remaining parties are the opposition New Slovenia (NSi) and coalition SocDems, the former having jumped to third place by gaining 2.2 points to 7.4% and the latter having fallen to fourth by shedding 3.3 percentage points to 7.1%.

Catalan foreign minister urges Slovenia to promote dialogue

LJUBLJANA - Catalan Foreign Minister Alfred Bosch has called on Slovenian officials to support dialogue between Barcelona and Madrid during a two-day visit to Ljubljana. "We're not imposing a Catalan republic on anyone. We want to sit down and discuss how the people can decide," he said at a debate on Saturday, adding that it is the Spanish government, not the Spanish people, that are Catalonia's political opponents. Bosch is in Slovenia at the invitation of the youth wing of the Social Democrats (SD), whose leadership resigned just days ago, one of the reasons reportedly being the invitation extended to Bosch.

Iskratel looking for strategic partner

KRANJ - Telecoms equipment maker Iskratel generated EUR 4.02 million in net profit at group level in 2018, a 21.2% increase on the year before. Looking to keep up with the latest trends, the company has announced changes to its organisation and business model, while it is also looking for a strategic partner. Iskratel's boss Željko Puljić has told the STA that a structured search for a strategic partner is under way. He did not disclose any details, but he did confirm that unsuccessful talks had been held with the German venture capital fund Bavaria Industries Group.

Slovenia beat Latvia, but miss out on UEFA Euro 2020

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian men's national football team beat Latvia 1:0 in Ljubljana on Saturday evening in the penultimate round of qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2020, but the door to the tournament have been closed as Austria defeated North Macedonia to claim the second place in Group G. With 14 points out of nine matches, Slovenia are currently third in the group, trailing Austria (19) and Poland (22), whom they will play in Warsaw on Tuesday to wrap up the unsuccessful qualifiers.

Visiting Ljubljana? Check out what's on this week, while all our stories on Slovenia, from newest to oldest, are here

If you're learning Slovenian then you can find all our dual texts here

STA, 17 November 2019 - The rain in Slovenia will persist this afternoon. Moving from the west to the east, it is likely to bring flooding along the Drava river on the border with Austria in the north-east during the night.

Floods in Slovenia, Especially Along Drava (Videos) – October 2018

The rain is expected to stop by Monday morning and the day will see some morning sun. Temperatures are to range between 3 to 9 degrees Celsius in the morning and later reach up to 15 degrees.

Meanwhile, the authorities have already started to put in place flood barriers in Dravograd in Vuzenica and following a meeting with Austrian colleagues the bridge in Bleiburg was closed at noon.

Old Photos: Floods in Slovenia, 2010

The night will be critical, with projections putting the flow of the Drava river at 1,600 cubic metres per second, meaning some damage to exposed houses is not excluded.

Minor flooding is also still reported from the coast and from the most exposed areas of the Ljubljanica river.

Meanwhile, things are expected to improve a little on Tuesday when sporadic rain will mostly be limited to western Slovenia. Cloudy but mostly dry weather is forecast for Wednesday.

STA, 17 November 2019 - Some 46% of 20-24-year-olds in Slovenia are students, which is the highest share among EU countries, according to the Statistics Office. Slovenia had almost 76,000 students in the 2018/19 academic year, mostly women. More than half of all students enrolled in the first cycle graduate successfully, the statistics show.

In terms of the share of students among people aged between 20 and 24, Slovenia is followed in the EU by Greece (44%) and Poland (40%), the Statistics Office said ahead of World Students' Day, 17 November.

Slovenia Attracting Growing Number of Foreign Students

There are more women studying in Slovenia than men, and the share of women is also higher in most fields of tertiary education - pedagogy, health, social security, humanities, art, social sciences, information sciences, business and administrative studies, law, agronomy, veterinary studies, natural sciences, mathematics and hospitality and tourism.

Male students predominate only in technical studies, construction and ICT.

Some 60% of women and 42% of men enrolled in the first cycle of tertiary studies in 2010/11 finished their studies.

According to the Statistics Office, young people whose parents have tertiary education are more likely to enrol in tertiary education. In 2017/18, 71% of 19-24-year-olds with at least one parent who finished at least tertiary education enrolled in tertiary education.

All our stories about studying in Slovenia are here, while more statistics are here, and the SURS report for International Students Day, 2019, is below

STA, 17 November 2019 - The Slovenian men's national football team beat Latvia 1:0 in Ljubljana on Saturday evening in the penultimate round of qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2020, but the door to the tournament have been closed as Austria defeated North Macedonia to claim the second place in Group G.

 Despite having only slight theoretical chances of making it to the UEFA Euro 2020, Slovenia played very well in front of the home crowd of some 11,000 in the rainy Stožice Stadium, but failed to score in the first half.

It was actually Latvia's Igors Tarasovs who scored an own goal in the 53rd minute to give Slovenia an 1:0 advantage, which they kept until the end, while having some more good chances to increase the lead.

However, the win was to no avail as Austria, the main rivals for the second spot in the group, which directly leads to the final tournament, beat North Macedonia 2:1 in Vienna last evening to join the group winners Poland as the runner-up.

Speaking after the match, which ended before Austria played North Macedonia, Slovenia's head coach Matjaž Kek said that "we showed our will and desire, but also uncertainty in certain moments."

Forward Andraž Šporar said that it was a must-win game after the two losses in the October round of the qualifying, in which the Latvians "eventually scored an own goal, if we weren't able to, but the three points is what counts."

With 14 points out of nine matches, Slovenia are currently third in the group, trailing Austria (19) and Poland (22), whom they will play in Warsaw on Tuesday to wrap up the unsuccessful qualifiers.

STA, 14 November - The 26th Biennial of Design (BIO 26) opened in Ljubljana on Thursday. Running until 9 February under the title Common Knowledge, it will explore the information crisis and the struggles of traditional bearers of truth.

Elaborating on the concept of BIO 26 for the STA, its curator Thomas Geisler said design, in particular graphic design, had always had the task of translating information and knowledge or visualising complex content.

Geisler added design was less product-oriented than it used to be, having instead developed more systematic approaches. The history of the Ljubljana biennial is a case in point. What used to be an exhibition of well-designed products has evolved into an experimental platform for new approaches in design that seem more relevant today.

The organisers of BIO 26 have identified the inflation and chaos in the field of information as a key challenge in society, with science, academia, the media and journalism struggling to preserve their Enlightenment status as the four pillars of truth.

The notion of common knowledge relates and refers to what people know; more broadly, if refers to what people think and how they structure their ideas, feelings, and beliefs.

Furthermore, the term common knowledge carries a sense of communal or shared knowledge, with Geisler stressing the need to make access to knowledge not a privilege but something accessible as widely as possible.

BIO 26 will feature a curated exhibition at the Museum of Architecture and Design (Muzej za arhitekturo in oblikovanje - MAO), which Geisler said would provide insight into how and where design can be active in the field of information and communication.

The opening section of the show will present the information crisis, while the hierarchical model of information, starting with data and ending with wisdom, will be outlined later on.

The festival will moreover present six winning projects selected through the Designathon, in which groups of designers and non-designers took on in recent months the challenges pressing on the institutions of knowledge production and knowledge transmission.

Geisler pointed out that traditional institutions, for instance the National University Library, which is build on concepts from the 19th century, are struggling as a result of social changes and digitalisation. Unlike in the 19th century, interaction is the primary mode of information sharing today; the library's users would share knowledge, but the architecture in itself prevents this.

Traditional institutions of knowledge are also very slow to change and the projects started as part of BIO 26 sough to identify ways to adapt to the new challenges.

"This is actually the most we can do. We cannot serve them detailed answers and of course also cannot solve their problems," said the Austrian curator, who is assisted by curator and journalist Aline Lara Rezende.

Along with the library, BIO 26 has also involved the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova, the University of Ljubljana, publisher Delo, as well as an elderly home and the Ljubljana Botanical Gardens.

Geisler pointed out that the transmission of knowledge from older people was a tradition that had already disappeared decades ago, while the Anthropocene epoch had also completely divorced humankind from nature, leaving people without even basic knowledge about it.

The projects will be presented at the participating institutions. Pointing out that probably not many of Delo's readers had ever entered the publisher's premises, Geisler said that the idea was getting people to go to these institutions.

He sees the installations as prototypes that will allow the institutions to also get some feedback and use it all in future projects.

You can see the full programme here, while you can see what else is on in Ljubljana this week here