News

12 Nov 2019, 10:30 AM

Rea Kolbl Dominates Spartan Ultra 112-km Obstacle Race (Videos)

STA, 11 November 2019 - Slovenian Rea Kolbl has defended her title of the women's world champion in the top category at the Spartan Ultra obstacle course race in Sweden's Aare, covering 112 kilometres in difficult weather conditions and terrain in a challenge lasting a full 24 hours.

The 28-year-old Slovenian was the last woman standing in the race in the elite category, and the only one to run the last, 14th lap, to celebrate victory in what was probably the most difficult course in the history of the series.

Kolbl started the race at midnight, defying extreme conditions, including sub-zero temperatures, to conquer more than 8,500 metres in altitude difference and go over 350 obstacles.

"It was very difficult. I had to improvise a lot, but the beauty of such races is exactly in being able to solve problems quickly when many things start to go wrong, from the weather to selection of food and equipment," she said.

"I had started thinking about giving up one lap before the end because of cramps, but I'm happy that I pushed myself some more and beat all the competitors," she added after winning her third title in a row.

Born in Ljubljana, Kolbl has lived and trained in Colorado, US, for ten years, and is the only Slovenian competitor in obstacle course racing in the world at the highest level.

As a youngster she trained artistic gymnastics, winning a national championship several times and representing Slovenia internationally.

After finishing secondary school in Ljubljana, Kolbl graduated in astrophysics at University of California, Berkeley, publishing her first article in the Science academic journal at 22 years of age.

It was in the US that she fell in love with running, cycling and skiing, establishing herself as a trail runner in distances up to 50 miles between 2012 and 2016, setting several records.

Later on, she added skyrunning - extreme mountain running above 2,000 metres of altitude - and obstacle course racing, being particularly fond of the challenges in the Spartan Race series.

More than 200 events are taking place each year as part of the series, featuring more than a million competitors, from elite athletes to recreationists, in around 40 countries.

Kolbl also came to Sweden as an ambassador of Spartan Race Slovenia, the first mountain obstacle course race in the country, which will be hosted by Kranjska Gora between 22 and 24 May 2020.

"I would like to inspire people to go outdoor, to join me in the mountains and competition courses," she had told the newspaper Dnevnik.

12 Nov 2019, 08:30 AM

Union Claims Up To 70% of Postal Workers Joined Strike

STA, 11 November - As of midnight, employees of the national postal company are on strike, with the representative union saying that the participation rate in the morning shift was above all expectations, with as many as 70% of postal workers deciding to join what is the first ever strike in Pošta Slovenije.

Saša Gržinič, the president of the Trade Union of Postal Workers, told the STA that "according to the preliminary data, there is almost no post office in Slovenia where postmen are not on strike."

According to him, they have been joined by many workers in post offices, and although there are no official numbers, the strike is supported by more than half of all employees of Pošta Slovenije.

Gržinič said that work had stopped all around Slovenia, with the strike being the most intense in the coastal area, where the trade union was based, while the participation rate was also high in Maribor, Celje, Novo Mesto and Kranj.

"We did not expect such a response. We have a thousand members, and we have made 1,600 badges saying STRIKE, and we ran out of them as early as half past seven," he said, adding that non-members had apparently also joined the strike.

Probably joining the strike are Pošta Slovenije employees who are members of the Trade Union of Transport and Communications Workers, which had formally not joined the strike demands and strike.

Postal workers have expressed several demands when announcing the strike a fortnight ago, including a 10% pay rise and an increase in staff by 300 in the company which employs around 6,300 people.

Gržinič said that the state-owned company could not argue that the strike was unwarranted, as the management had issued the instruction that postal workers would have to work overtime in order to take care of mandatory deliveries despite the strike.

According to the trade union, the delivery system collapsed already in the morning due to the high participation rate, as postmen perform only the minimum amount of work required by the relevant law.

"This proves what we have been constantly arguing - that there is a shortage of employees," said Gržinič, adding that the strike was not directed against customers, who indeed already feel the impact of the industrial action.

Letters and packages of up to 10 kilos are delivered as usual, as are international and urgent mail. The services affected include the dissemination of advertisement material, packages of over 10 kilos, payment services, and sale of merchandise at post offices.

The management gave a news conference later in the day at its seat in Maribor, with director general Boris Novak stressing they were willing to discuss a pay rise but in a way that would not jeopardise business and jobs.

Meeting the demand for a 10% pay rise, which would cost the company EUR 12 million a year, would result in Pošta Slovenije starting to operate in the red in 2020.

"We cannot agree to such an unrealistic pay rise. We see the strike as unwarranted, because the existing agreement already improves working conditions," he said.

He also noted the Trade Union of Transport and Communications Workers had not joined the strike, as it considered the two-year deal reached in February as good.

Novak added that a pay rise could be transferred to 2020, when talks on a new collective bargaining agreement would start.

Postmen currently get an average monthly net pay of EUR 1,040, while post office counter employees receive an average EUR 1,194.

The management's goal is to bring positions of the two sides closer together, said Andrej Rihter, a member of the board, so talks with representatives of the striking postal workers are to resume tomorrow.

Rihter questioned the number of striking postal workers provided by the union, noting less than a third of postmen was on strike, the majority in Koper and Celje.

Karmen Lebe Grajf, who represents the company in the talks with the striking workers, admitted any strike was a shock, especially for a system as big as the postal company, but she rejected the trade union's statement that the delivery system had collapsed already in the morning due to the high participation rate.

Novak meanwhile said the damage caused to the company had not yet been accurately assessed, but noted individual clients had already started cancelling contracts.

12 Nov 2019, 04:21 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Tuesday, 12 October 2017

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:

Postal workers on strike over higher pay, more staff

LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR - Postmen at national postal company Pošta Slovenije went on strike demanding a 10% rise in wages and some 300 new staff. The Trade Union of Postal Workers said that 70% of postmen had joined what is the first ever strike at Pošta Slovenije and that the strike was supported by more than half of all employees. Responding to the strike, the management said it was willing to discuss a pay rise but in a way that would not jeopardise business and jobs. Meeting the demand for a 10% pay rise, which translates into EUR 12 million a year, would result in Pošta starting to generate loss in 2020, said director general Boris Novak. The damage caused to the copany has not yet been assessed, but the management said less than a third of postmen was on strike. The talks will resume on Tuesday.

Report pins blame for arbitration scandal on Slovenia's agent

LJUBLJANA - Simona Drenik, one of the Foreign Ministry officials who represented Slovenia in the Slovenian-Croatian border arbitration procedure, has been singled out as the person whose actions allowed Croatia to obtain wiretaps that ultimately led to Croatia rejecting arbitration, in what was a major scandal in 2015. The public portion of a classified report compiled by the parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Commission shows that despite receiving training from Slovenian intelligence services, she ignored security protocol and used an open land-line telephone to discuss arbitration with Slovenian arbiter Jernej Sekolec. The report implies that SOVA, Slovenia's intelligence agency, had done its job briefing officials about the requisite security measures. Drenik responded by saying she insisted she had not violated the law on classified information and noted that by investigating the matter, the parliamentary commission had exceeded its powers.

LMŠ, SDS neck and neck in Delo poll, support doubles for Left

LJUBLJANA - The senior coalition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) remains the most popular party in the country, according to the latest Delo poll, but it is now almost neck and neck with the opposition Democrats (SDS). Moreover, the opposition Left has climbed to third place, seeing its support rating double compared to the October poll. The LMŠ and SDS received 15.4% and 15.2%, respectively, losing 1.4 and 0.5 percentage points since the last poll. This is the closest the SDS has gotten to the LMŠ after the latter took the lead in the Mediana-conducted poll in February.

Bratušek, Čufer defend massive 2013 bank bailout as urgent

LJUBLJANA - Former PM Alenka Bratušek and her Finance Minister Uroš Čufer, who served from mid-March 2013 to mid-September 2014, defended the government's decision to bail out banks in December 2013, which cost taxpayers some EUR 5 billion, as they were interviewed by the parliamentary inquiry into suspected abuse of office at the bad bank. The bailout was key to avoid the European troika and encourage economic growth, Bratušek said. However, had it been carried out earlier, it would have been by EUR 2 billion cheaper, she said, pointing the finger at Finance Minister Franci Križanič and central bank Governor Marko Kranjec. Standing even more firmly behind Bratušek's government decision on the bailout, Čufer said the bank recapitalisation was adequate, noting "I'm truly proud of this period, we did a good job." He is convinced the state has already received back the invested money through the sales of claims by the bad bank or privatisations.

Supervisors dismiss Intereuropa CEO

KOPER - The supervisors of logistics company Intereuropa dismissed director general Ernest Gortan, citing a delay in introducing an adequate system of corporate governance and corruption detection and prevention. However, news portal Siol said the real reason was EUR 1.6 million worth of suspicious payments by the company's subsidiary in Croatia. Siol said the supervisors suspected the receipts for these payments may have been fictitious. The dismissal comes just over half a year after Gortan's term at the helm of the company, which he has led since mid-2009, was extended by two years and amidst a sale procedure that will see Intereuropa taken over by postal company Pošta Slovenije. Management member Marko Cegnar will take over as interim director general on Tuesday.

Slovenian job market remains tight

LJUBLJANA - The job market in Slovenia remains tight as the number of job vacancies remains high, show Employment Service figures. Demand is particularly high for skilled workers with technological know-how. In a country long grappling with precarious forms of employment, in particular among youths, the number of full-time posts on open-ended contracts has been increasing and such job offers now account for almost a third of all advertised positions. The highest number of open-ended job offers is in technology, almost 60%, with the shares also high in legal professions, business, management and consulting.

Petrol to hold general meeting on 12 December

LJUBLJANA - The shareholders of energy company Petrol will get an opportunity to learn more about the reasons for the 24 October resignation of the management board at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for 12 December, according to a release posted on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. The new interim Petrol management called the general meeting after it was requested by Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH), which represents the interests of the state. The well-performing Tomaž Berločnik-led management resigned "by mutual agreement" after losing the trust of the supervisory board. The media was full of speculation about the reasons for the management and supervisory boards parting ways, as the supervisors provided little information about the background of the move, citing "significantly different views on the implementation of Petrol's 2018-2022 strategy".

Idea to loosen fiscal rule not gaining traction

LJUBLJANA - With Slovenia's economic growth gradually slowing, the ruling Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) has recently suggested it might be a good idea to loosen the fiscal rule, a constitutional provision that requires governments to run surpluses in all but the most desperate times. At present, the idea does not seem to be gaining a lot of traction. The government's problem is that the fiscal rule is enshrined in the Constitution and changing it would require a two-thirds majority in parliament, significantly beyond the reach of the current minority government. Even within the coalition's ranks the LMŠ idea is not universally accepted: the Modern Centre Party (SMC) is reserved considering that Slovenia's public debt remains high, having stood at nearly 68% of GDP in the second quarter of this year.

Experts urge politicians to tackle climate change immediately

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian scientists studying weather, climate and climate change presented an open letter to President Borut Pahor, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and the speakers of the lower and upper chambers of parliament, Dejan Židan and Alojz Kovšca, warning about the "threat of catastrophic climate change" and urging them to take immediate measures to mitigate the impact of and adjust to climate change. Despite studies showing that climate change endangers the lives of more than a billion people, causing mass extinction of animal and plant species and threatening with irreparable economic damage, Slovenia is one of the countries that are not willing to respond to the threat with decisive measures, the scientists said.

Days of Slovenian Tourism promote plastic-free tourism

LJUBLJANA - As part of the Days of Slovenian Tourism, the main tourism industry event in Slovenia, a campaign promoting environmentally friendly practices in the hoospitality sector was launched to reduce the use of disposable plastic products. According to the head of the Tourism and Hospitality Chamber, Andrej Prebil, Slovenian tourism has been transforming in the last few years, but its focus must be on staff training, improving products and services, and on sustainable developmen. The event will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday with a plenary featuring top tourism officials discussing the challenges ahead and the measures necessary to raise the added value of tourist services. Prime Minister Marjan Šarec will also address the event.

Study shows companies wait long time for payments by business clients

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian companies wait to get paid by their business clients for an average 81 days, according to a study by the EOS international organisation for claims management, highlighting this period is the longest among 17 participating countries. Nonetheless, the companies do not consider this a threat to their business. But according to Natalija Zupan of the EOS KSI group, the Slovenian branch of EOS, Slovenian companies waiting to get paid for such a long time means that the cycle of settling claims in the country is much slower, which has a negative impact on business productivity and efficiency.

Slovenian dominates the most extreme obstacle course race

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Rea Kolbl has defended her title of the women's world champion in the top category at the Spartan Ultra obstacle course race in Sweden's Aare, covering 112 kilometres in difficult weather conditions and terrain in a challenge lasting a full 24 hours. The 28-year-old Slovenian was the last woman standing in the race in the elite category, and the only one to run the last, 14th lap, to celebrate victory in what was probably the most difficult course in the history of the series.

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

11 Nov 2019, 17:25 PM

Study Reveals Slovenian Firms Face Long Payment Delays from Business Clients

STA, 11 November 2019 - Slovenian companies wait to get paid by their business clients for 81 days on average, shows a study by the EOS international organisation for claims management, highlighting that this period is the longest among 17 participating countries. Nonetheless, the companies do not consider this predicament a threat to their business.

On average, payment deadlines for consumers and business clients have been somewhat shortened in the past few years and currently stand at 33 days - 30 days in the participating western European countries and 34 days in participating eastern European countries.

In Slovenia, approved payment deadlines are set at 14 days on average for consumers and at 43 days for business clients, with the latter deadline being one of the most generous among the participating countries - longer deadlines for companies are found only in Greece (51 days) and Spain (44 days).

Meanwhile, the shortest deadlines for companies are in Germany (26 days) and in Denmark (28 days).

Average delays in payments have been stabilised in the participating countries in the recent years. In Slovenia, they stand at 32 days on average - 38 days for companies and 20 days for consumers.

According to Natalija Zupan of the EOS KSI group, the Slovenian branch of EOS, Slovenian companies waiting to get paid for such a long time means that the cycle of settling claims in the country is much slower, which has a negative impact on business productivity and efficiency.

On the other hand, Slovenia has a large share of invoices which are settled due date - 89%, higher than the study's average, which is mainly a result of consumers' payment discipline.

However, the case is different for companies, with only 74% of invoices being paid on time, five percentage points below the average.

Nevertheless, the companies appear calm in the face of these results since such a situation has been a constant in the Slovenian business arena. Apart from Germany and Denmark, where payment discipline is the highest, the Slovenian companies are the least worried when it comes to payment delays.

Only 8% of them believe that their existence is jeopardised due to such delays, while 17% think that because of that they have suffered loss of profit and 21% believe they have experienced liquidity problems.

A total of 6% raise their prices or limit their business due to such delays. Zupan believes that Slovenian companies are thus feeling safe in this environment.

They do implement certain measures to tackle the delays though, using ways of checking companies' ratings and their payment practices more than their European counterparts, swiftly issuing invoices and payment reminders; however, they hire professional claims recovery services considerably less than the European average.

The Germany-based organisation has conducted a phone poll about payment practices for the 12th consecutive year. The study included 17 countries and 3,400 companies with annual turnover above EUR 5 million and employing more than 20 people.

In the recent years, the annual study has involved 200 Slovenian companies as well.

11 Nov 2019, 14:29 PM

Winter Tyres Mandatory in Slovenia From November 15 to March 15, 2020

Winter equipment is mandatory on Slovenian roads from November 15 to March 15 every year, regardless of the weather. The exception are roads within the coastal belt from Kozina to Sečovlje.

Winter equipment consists of winter tyres with a tread depth of at least 3mm or summer tyres with a 3mm tread depth and snow chains on drive wheels.

Mandatory winter equipment in the neighbouring countries:

Croatia: From November 15 to April 15: winter tyres with a tread depth of at least 4mm or summer tires of the 4mm tread depth and snow chains on the drive wheels are mandatory in the most of the northern roads and highways.

Austria: From November 1 to April 15: winter tyres with a tread depth of at least 4mm or summer tyres with 4mm tread depth and snow chains on drive wheels. In high elevation areas snow chains are mandatory for winter tyres as well. In case of slush or partially snowy roads the use of snow chains is not allowed.

Italy: Every region’s got its own regulations: In Friuli Venezia Giulia winter equipment is mandatory from November 15, in Veneto from November 1, while in Trentino it is only mandatory in case of snowy weather.

Hungary: No dates are specified by the law. In case of heavy snowfall road signs can be placed demanding the use of mandatory snow chains on drive wheels.

11 Nov 2019, 12:15 PM

Creative Forum Ljubljana Seeks to Boost, Connect Slovenia's Creative Economy, 12 – 15 November

STA, 11 November 2019 - The second instalment of Creative Forum Ljubljana will be under way tomorrow, bearing the title of Creative Capital United. Focusing on the Western Balkans and the Southern Mediterranean, the event will unite more than 200 participants from 20 countries in an effort to strengthen ties in support of the creative economy.

The forum, running from 12 to 15 November, is organised by the Foreign Ministry, the Union for the Mediterranean and GIZ, the German Agency for International Cooperation.

It will feature representatives of creative hubs, entrepreneurs, civil society, international institutions and local organisations as well as high representatives of EU institutions and ministries from both regions.

In town and looking for something to do? Check out what’s on in Ljubljana, or just learn 25 things to know about the city…

Petra Kežman, the head of the Foreign Ministry sector for public diplomatic and international cooperation in culture, who runs the project, told the STA the forum was about providing a support environment for the creative sector in the region and beyond.

The event also strengthens Slovenia as a creative country, helping attract creatives from abroad and also opening doors to Slovenian creatives on foreign markets, she added, arguing the essence of the forum was connecting the Western Balkans, the Southern Mediterranean and the EU.

This year's slogan, Creative Capital United, also highlights the importance of cooperation, both at regional level and among individual fields and players in culture, economy and education, Kežman said.

She explained the programme was based on the concrete needs of the creative sector at national and regional level, a key one being space for dialogue, both within the sector and with political representatives.

While culture does not seem to be directly linked to foreign politics at first glance, Slovenia sees it as a very important foreign policy instrument and is striving to raise awareness about the importance of culture in this respect among policy makers in the region and beyond, Kežman said.

She noted culture's role with respect to "intercultural dialogue, stabilisation, peace, security and above all securing good living conditions for the most vulnerable groups, for instance the young".

The forum will start on Tuesday with a keynote address by Macedonian architect Jana Konstantinova and a discussion with legendary Slovenian inventor Peter Florjančič.

The second day will be dedicated to creative hubs and entrepreneurs, who will attend workshops and get informed about examples of good practice in Slovenia.

The forum's main event is scheduled for Thursday at Ljubljana's Poligon centre for creative communities in the form of a high-level political conference, while participants will also attend the launch of the BIO26 biennial of design. The final day is reserved for a creative tourism study trip.

The list of participants at the forum includes Algerian Minister of Industry Djamila Tamazirt, Montenegro Culture Minister Aleksandar Bogdanović, the Kosovo Minister of Economic Development Valdrin Lluka, the Palestine Economy Minister Khaled Al-Osaily, and the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean Nasser Kamel.

Slovenian high-level guests include Foreign Minister Miro Cerar, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and Culture Minister Zoran Poznič.

You can learn more about the forum here

11 Nov 2019, 11:16 AM

Supervisory Board Claims Petrol Managers Submitted Misleading Documents, Hundreds of Millions in Error

STA, 8 November 2019 - The supervisory board of energy trader Petrol, which has been subject to mounting criticism in recent weeks for failing to explain October's unexpected management board overhaul, said on Friday the former management had never put forward credible documentation to support plans that substantially departed from the company's strategy.

The explanation comes after the supervisors cited "significant differences of views with respect to the implementation of the 2018-2022 strategic business plan" on 25 October and later argued the former management did not consent to the disclosure of detailed circumstances.

Friday's press release says the Tomaž Berločnik-led management had been urged on several occasions to draw up credible documents that would allow the supervisors to take an informed decision.

This was done because "the material contained errors in the magnitude of several hundred millions when it comes to calculated cash flow and the amount of new debt needed to finance the investments".

"The supervisory board assessed the material to be misleading, which is why it was unable to adopt any decisions on its basis."

The supervisors wrote that the management's plans departed from the strategy until 2022 in that they involved "multifold" increases regarding the size of the investment and the sources needed to finance it.

The supervisors added the documentation had been supplemented several times as a result of the doubts expressed, "but the remarks and demands of the supervisory board for additional explanations and corrections were not observed".

They are confident the documentation was misleading in that it presented a substantially incorrect amount and type of credit, including costlier subordinated debt.

"The importance of the dynamics and size of the planned investment and the associated risks are also highlighted by Standard & Poor's Rating Services in its credit rating justification, where it notes the key risk of major investment (in the amount of EUR 521 million in line with the adopted strategy) in the coming years, mostly outside of the company's core activities," the supervisory board wrote.

The former Petrol management board retorted by accusing the supervisory board of withholding information.

"We have consented to the disclosure of agreements on early termination to secure equal access to information to the shareholders. Clearly the supervisory board is withholding the content of these agreements so that it can offer its positions to the public," the former managers said in a message circulated by the Zdolšek Law Firm.

"The shareholders' meeting is the body which decides on disagreements between management and the supervisory board when they occur. We hope to be given the opportunity to explain our positions."

Explanations regarding the 25 October management overhaul were recently also requested from the supervisors by the government through the SSH state asset custodian.

SSH announced a shareholders' meeting by the end of this week after assessing the scarce additional explanations provided on 30 October as insufficient. The supervisors in turn said they would discuss the call for a shareholders' meeting at their session next Thursday.

Media reported last week that a legal opinion drawn up for the supervisors had revealed the management had changed the sum total of the planned investment several times. The fresh debt needed to finance it was put at around a billion euros, twice the sum envisaged in the 2022 strategy.

The supervisors subsequently explained they had not approved this and that the strategic plan remained unchanged.

11 Nov 2019, 09:02 AM

Slovenia & Vietnam Look For Greater Cooperation in Logistics, ICT & Tourism

STA, 8 November 2019 - Slovenia and Vietnam listed logistics, information and communications technology (ICT) and tourism as areas with most untapped potential for cooperation at the second session of the Slovenian-Vietnamese intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation, chaired by Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and his counterpart Tran Tuan Anh.

The ministers met ahead of the session, discussing current issues of the two countries' economic cooperation and coming to a conclusion that there are opportunities for strengthening cooperation in various sectors, in particular in transport and logistics, ICT and tourism, said the Economy Ministry.

Vietnam has the greatest potential for reinforcing Slovenian exports among all countries of South East Asia, according to the ministry.

Bilateral trade, reaching over EUR 52 million last year and more than EUR 26 million in the first half of 2019, is still below the capacities of both economies; however, it shows a positive trend.

The commission has an important role in recognising those opportunities, with the two sessions focussing on specific ways to strengthen the economic cooperation in the areas with most potential as well as in agricultural mechanisation and food processing.

Počivalšek held talks with Industry Minister Tran Tuan Anh and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh to discuss opportunities in foreign direct investments, digitalisation, agricultural machinery and the wood processing industry.

He said the recent signing of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement would lead to increased trade since "a stable and predictable business environment creates new opportunities for the trading partners".

Počivalšek started a two-day visit to Vietnam on Thursday accompanied by a government and business delegation, including eleven Slovenian executives who held separate meetings with government officials.

A business conference was held in Hanoi where business opportunities in Slovenia and Vietnam were presented; more than 40 Slovenian and Vietnamese companies participated in bilateral business meetings.

11 Nov 2019, 04:39 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Monday, 11 November 2019

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, but today:

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary inquiry commission investigating the late-2013 bank bailout will interview the finance and prime minister at the time, Aleš Čufer and Alenka Bratušek.
LJUBLJANA - The Employment Service will talk about a shortage of labour force.
LJUBLJANA - Employees at the national postal company are expected to go on strike.
LJUBLJANA - Days of Slovenian Tourism, a three-day event for tourism industry professionals, will kick off.
NURSULTAN, Kazakhstan - Danilo Türk, Slovenia's former president, will attend the annual meeting of the Astana Club.
LJUBLJANA - A selection of books from the Frankfurt Book Fair will be displayed at the Frankfurt after Frankfurt show, until 16 November.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Nova24TV poll shows LMŠ on top of party ranking

LJUBLJANA - A public opinion survey commissioned by the commercial broadcaster Nova24TV showed the senior coalition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) topping the party ranking with the support of 25.9% of respondents. The opposition Democrats (SDS) follow in place two with 24.8%. The opposition Left is in third place among parties with the support of 8.9% of the respondents, followed by the Social Democrats (SD) with 6.6%. The rest of the parties failed to reach the 4% threshold to make it into the National Assembly. While 47.1% said the government is doing a poor job, 45.7% of respondents believe the opposite.

Maribor offering luxury glamping in Chocolate Village

MARIBOR - Chocoholics are in for a dream-come-true experience in Maribor, where a Chocolate Village opened its doors to visitors. Guests of this special glamping resort will be able to enjoy a chocolate bath, admire a chocolate fountain and even brush their teeth with a chocolate-flavoured toothpaste. The Slovenian-made houses are named after three cocoa varieties and offer a view of the Maribor Lake park.

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

10 Nov 2019, 16:35 PM

Meet the People: Karsten Fatur, Ethnobotanist Exploring Hallucinogenic Plants in Slovenia

If your experience of Slovenia is anything like mine you’ll have friends and family who live in the country, know the land well, and are accomplished foragers, bringing home mushrooms, herbs, flowers, berries greens and other edibles from walks in the forest along routes that are jealously guarded, and followed when the season and weather is right.

Of course, such activities require certain knowledge, not least of which is what’ll kill you in the kitchen. Which is a roundabout way of introducing the work of Karsten Fatur, a PhD student at Ljubljana University who recently published a paper with the intriguing title “Sagas of the Solanaceae: Speculative ethnobotanical perspectives on the Norse berserkers”. Having read it, and learned more about the author, including his projects on Ritual plant usage among pagan groups in Slovenia, "Hexing herbs" - use of anticholinergic Solanaceae in Slovenia, and Hallucinogenic plant use in Slovenia, I got in touch with some questions, and he was kind enough to reply.

mandrake www.fs.fed.us.jpg

Wikipedia: Medieval illustration of a mandrake root

What did you focus on in your master’s degree, and what was the experience of studying in the UK (at the University of Kent) like?

My master’s degree was in ethnobotany, with my dissertation focusing on ritual plant usage among Staroverci [“People of the old religion”, i.e., pagans] here in Slovenia. I already had an interest in hallucinogenic plants, and surprisingly few were mentioned in religious rituals here during my research. As such, I ended up deciding to focus on this more as part of my doctoral work as I knew people here surely were making use of such plants and mushrooms.

As for the experience in England, it was very wet! The stereotype of it always being rainy in England is unfortunately true. So it wasn't very nice to live there and never see the sun, but the rain does make the vegetation seem very lush, and walking in the woods there it somehow seems more vibrant and alive than here. The vegetation is also a bit different than here, so it was interesting to experience living around and studying those plants.

wikimedia - franz eugen köhler, köhler's medizinal-pflanzen pblic domain 884px-atropa_belladonna_-_köhler–s_medizinal-pflanzen-018.jpg

Wikimedia: Atropa belladonna

How would you describe the field of ethnobotany, and how did you get interested in it?

Ethnobotany is difficult to define as it is inherently situated between academic fields. Honestly, there are probably more definitions than there are ethnobotanists! I tend to describe it informally as a crossing between anthropology and botany that focuses on how people use plants, though many people I know and have studied with would accuse me of oversimplifying in saying that. Still, for my purposes, it works.

As for how I got interested in it, I had a book suggested to me when I was an undergraduate student (One River, by the ethnobotanist Wade Davis, a student of Robert Schultes) and after reading it completely fell in love with the field. Before this I had worked and volunteered in greenhouses and taken botany courses as electives, but wasn't sure how to combine my love of plants with my desire to do ethnographic fieldwork, but this showed me the way to do it.

wikimedia - jlpc cc-by-3.0 datura metel 732px-datura_fr_2012.jpg

Wikimedia: Datura metel

Your current research is on Solanaceae plants in Slovenia. Can you give a brief introduction to these plants?

Solanaceae is a family of plants that includes potato, tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, and many others that are familiar to most people. That being said, it also includes some very poisonous plants that have hallucinogenic effects, and these are the plants I focus on. In Slovenia, this means Atropa belladonna, Datura and Brugmansia spp., Hyoscyamus niger, Scopolia carniolica, and Mandragora spp.

Again, all of these plants are incredibly poisonous and should not even be touched let alone used. I certainly do not advise using any of them, though some people do and have for millennia. They have been used for many things, but a quick list includes medicine (the only difference between a medicine and a poison is dose!), as recreational drugs (again, usually ending with people in the hospital, so not advisable), and as poisons by assassins. I actually have an article coming out within the next few months that reviews the uses in Europe much more specifically, so that is something to look out for, for those who are interested.

Most use has stopped since the plants are so dangerous, and now they are used much less. My research is actually focusing on just how much and how they are still being used. The effects of these plants are incredibly varied, but usually include confusion, hallucinations, flushing of the skin, irritability, as well as having effects on the smooth muscles of our bodies that can affect our respiratory and cardiovascular systems, potentially leading to death. These plants are incredibly dangerous, since the amount of active substance that they produce varies immensely, so even collecting plant material from the same organism can lead to very different doses; this makes overdosing more of a rule than an exception since there is no way to know how much of the toxic ingredients you are ingesting.

wikimedia paul k from sydney cc-by-2.0 brugmansia_bicolor.jpg

Wikimedia: Brugmansia sp, Paul K from Sydney cc-by-2.0

What are some of the surprising things you’ve learned about these plants?

One of my favourite weird discoveries about these plants is a theory that I published a few months ago in a paper that can be found here, or a summary article published on the popular science blog, IFLscience, that can be found here.

In brief, after a lot of reading for other purposes, I found that the famous Viking Berserkers were probably using one of these plants to create their wild warrior frenzy! A lot of theories have been presented for what may have been the cause of the states of rage they entered in battle, but they all are lacking in some ways. The most popular one involves a hallucinogenic mushroom, Amanita muscaria, but the symptoms that this mushroom cause are not as similar to what records show for the berserkers as those that would be seen from one of these Solanaceae plants.

wikimedia tato grasso cc-by-sa-2.5 1024px-mandragora_autumnalis1432.jpg

Wikimedia: Mandragora spp., tato grasso CC-by-SA-2.5

In terms of Slovenian ethnobotany, what other plants are of interest?

This is a good question, which unfortunately needs to be answered with "I don't know... yet!"

There has been some ethnobotanical research done in Slovenia, but not very much. My current research is seeking to address this through two main projects: uses of hallucinogenic plants, and uses of medicinal plants. Within both I am also seeking information specifically on the uses of these Solanaceae plants, but also more general information about other plants.

That being said, plants are used for many other things! Wood is used for carving and building, flowers are used in many rituals related to death and burial (for example), and many food crops are used. All of these aspects of ethnobotany would be interesting areas of study in Slovenia! Unfortunately, I can only do so many things at once!

wikimedia - h. zell gnu free license 767px-hyoscyamus_niger_0002.jpg

Wikimedia: Hyoscyamus niger, h. zell gnu free license

What are the most exciting developments in the wider world of ethnobotany?

This depends on what most interests someone. For some people, discovery of a new weaving technique for baskets made from reeds may be the most exciting thing. In general, though, a lot of ethnobotany is linked to drug discovery.

Many medicines that we use today are actually from (or at least were first discovered in) plants. So many of the great discoveries of ethnobotany involve seeing medicinal plants being used and then isolating the active ingredients to see what substances may be responsible for their medicinal effects. This is where the line between ethnobotany and pharmacy begins to blur. So even though we cannot directly study ethnobotany in Slovenia, there is a great biological pharmacy department that teaches the pharmaceutical side of things. As a doctoral student though, things get more flexible. I am technically a student at the biotechnical faculty studying biology, but my mentor is a professor at the faculty of pharmacy in this department. People can also specialize in ethnobotany by studying anthropology (that's exactly what my bachelor’s degree was in), but a background in botany is also very important in this case.

wikimedia flobbadob - cc-by-0 1280px-img_5018_scopolia_carniolica_jacq.jpg

Wikimedia: Scopolia carniolica, flobbadob, CC-by-0

Where can people follow your work?

The best way to do that is probably my Research Gate profile, where I put up articles that I have published. There are only a couple there now, but I have quite a few going through the publication process now, so hopefully soon there will be lots of interest there.

10 Nov 2019, 15:51 PM

Pelicon Launches Novembeer

The St Martin’s Day (Martinovanje) celebration of this year’s wine is upon us, but November isn’t only for new wine, it’s also for new beer. A time to welcome the change in seasons by picking up something more full bodied and warming, with a little more cheer than usual to ease you into the winter. That’s the idea behind Novembeer, the perfect follow up to Sober October and the brainchild of Ajdovščina’s own Pelicon Brewery.

Photo: JL Flanner

Founded in 2013, Pelicon’s already one of the old names on the Slovenian craft beer, making a splash with its early IPAs, distinctive, black and white packaging and often names – Out of China is a play of Ajdovščina, The Third Pill is a Žižek reference, W. Wheat is Breaking Bad, and so on. For this promotion there are two new beers and three variations on old favourites. The first of the new brews is a 6% IPL – or Indian Pale Lager – while the second is Harvest Moon 2019 (5.4%). The promotion also includes some already well-loved beers that are well suited to colder days and longer nights: Black Aurora (a porter, 6.2%), Quantum (a double IPA, 8%), Veliki IPA (a 10% IPA – you have been warned), Coffee Stout (made with real coffee and 8%), and Winter Warmer (a traditional end-of-year beer, with 8.4% of added warmth).

Photo: JL Flanner

While some of these beers can be purchased in bottles, most are making their current appearances on tap. In Ljubljana you can find them at Sir Williams Pub, Dobra poteza⁠ - the boardgame café, Patrick's Irish Pub, and Pop's Place⁠. In Maribor you can explore the new beers at Isabella food&wine⁠, while in Ajdovščina you should head to Bar Hiša Mladih.

jan čermelj. 03.jpeg

Miha Bratina of Bratinov Gin. Photo: Jan Čermelj

Still, not everyone drinks beer, or alcohol, and thus Pelicon is also launching its collaboration with Bratinov Gin, the Hoppy Collins lemonade. This is a fresh, high quality Slovenian mixer, nad one that you can expect to see at in more and more bars over the festive season.

Photo: Pelicon

Up next for Pelicon is another of its international collaborations, this one with the Yeastie Boys team from the UK, as the brewer continues to help spread the word on Slovenian craft beer and share ideas with the best and most interesting brewers around the world.

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