Freedom Movement & partners keen to form govt by 3 June
LJUBLJANA - The Freedom Movement, the party that won the 24 April election, and its prospective coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SD) and the Left, would like to form a government by 3 June and will set out the distribution of ministerial briefs between them by the end of the week after they met for their first round of talks today. "The pre-condition is that we've agreed on most points before 13 May so that we can go ahead with fast-track formation of parliament," Golob said after meeting SD leader Tanja Fajon and the Left's Luka Mesec.
Slovenia down 18 spots in World Press Freedom Index
PARIS, France - Slovenia is down 18 spots in the latest World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to rank 54th among 180 countries. Although the legal framework protecting press freedom remains strong, the media are subject to political pressure and strategic lawsuits against public participation, the report says about Slovenia. Jernej Amon Prodnik of the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences, the main journalism school in Slovenia, sees the drop as a result of attacks on journalists and demolition of the media space taken on systematically by the Janez Janša government when it assumed power in 2020.
Slight restructuring of government portfolios in the making
LJUBLJANA - As the potential future coalition partners launched official talks, there are indications that changes to the government act are in the making to slightly reshuffle the structure and responsibilities of individual ministries. Freedom Movement leader Robert Golob announced before the talks started that he would split the current Ministry of Education, Science and Sport into two ministries - a ministry of education and sport and a ministry of higher education, science, innovation and digitalisation. At the same time, the infrastructure and environment ministries could be merged into one department.
Journalists call for autonomy on World Press Freedom Day
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Journalists' Trade Union and RTV Slovenija journalists pledged to continue to insist on journalist autonomy and fight against politics interfering as they held a news conference to speak about the situation at the public broadcaster on World Press Freedom Day in front of RTV Slovenija premises. Alenka Potočnik, the union's president, regretted that since a campaign for the survival of the STA was launched a year ago following the government's refusal to grant it funds for public service, the state of the media in Slovenia had deteriorated further.
Pahor stresses need to support Ukraine in interview for Der Spiegel
BERLIN, Germany - President Borut Pahor argued in an interview for Der Spiegel in favour of continued arms supplies to Ukraine and warned of the unpredictability of Russian President Vladmir Putin, saying it could lead to a nuclear conflict. He warned against underestimating the Russian military and noted the risk of the conflict spreading to Moldova, Georgia and the Western Balkans.
Defence ministers discuss Ukraine, W Balkans, cooperation
MALI LOŠINJ, Croatia - Defence Minister Matej Tonin met his Croatian counterpart Mario Banožić in the Croatian town of Mali Lošinj, discussing the situation in Ukraine and the Western Balkans, and exchanging experience with transporting military equipment, the Slovenian Defence Ministry said. The pair assessed bilateral cooperation as very good. Tonin, who visited Croatia with Major General Robert Glavaš, chief of the general staff, proposed the countries intensify the cooperation in training and education.
Golob suspects price fixing among fuel retailers
LJUBLJANA - Robert Golob, the presumptive PM-designate, criticised the outgoing government's decision not to extend fuel price administration beyond April. He feels that smart regulation would be an answer to what he sees as a malfunctioning market, while he also suspects cartel agreement behind the very similar price hikes on 1 May. Responding to Golob's statements, Slovenia's largest fuel retailer Petrol said it determined its pricing policy independently.
Officer shared protester's personal info with Russian embassy
LJUBLJANA - The police and the Information Commissioner have launched a probe after the personal information of a Polish citizen who took part in a recent protest in front of the Russian Embassy in Ljubljana was shared with an embassy employee by a police officer, the newspaper Delo reported. The Polish citizen, protesting at a security fence of the heavily guarded embassy, was asked by a police officer to step back and was IDed.
Children from Ukrainian orphanage arrive in Slovenia
POSTOJNA - Twenty children from a Ukrainian orphanage arrived safely in the village of Slavina near Postojna, where they will stay until the end of the war in their country. Most of them are between one and three and a half years old. Sandi Curk, commander of civil protection of the Notranjska region, told the STA that they had been warmly welcomed. They were also greeted by kindergarten teachers from Postojna, who helped carry them from the bus and helped them with their first meal.
Yield on Slovenian bonds highest since bank bailout
LJUBLJANA - High inflation and the prospect of monetary policy restrictions have dampened interest in state bonds in the secondary market, driving up the yield on state debt. The yield on the Slovenian 10-year bond has topped 2%. The yield on the benchmark German bond on the MTS electronic exchange briefly reached 1% for the first time since 2015 when the eurozone was still recovering from the debt crisis in some member states. It currently trades at 0.95%.
Factor Banka's art collection to be transferred to the state
LJUBLJANA - The art collection of the liquidated bank Factor Banka, the largest collection of art pieces from the late 1980s to 2012, which was transferred to the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC) in 2016, will be transferred to the state, the newspaper Delo reported. "BAMC has already taken a decision on the transfer of all art pieces to the state, the process has already been launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, and BAMC has removed all the art pieces from sale," the bad bank told the paper.
Pandemic curve continues to flatten
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 455 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, a drop of more than 70% over the week before amidst severely reduced testing due to the holiday. Hospital figures remain flat, but two patients with Covid-19 died, Health Ministry data show. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 population dropped by 156 to 684 whereas the number of active cases is broadly flat at just under 13,000.
Slovenian journalist in prison in Iraq
LJUBLJANA - Matej Kavčič, a reporter for the Slovenian independent radio station Radio Student who was arrested in Iraq two weeks ago together with German journalist Marlene Foerster, is alive and well, a Slovenian Foreign Ministry official told TV Slovenija. Andrej Šter, head of the ministry's consular service, said Kavčič was in prison in Baghdad, and the ministry was trying hard to contact him and have him released. The reason for their arrest is not known yet. Kavčič headed for Iraq with Foerster in January to report on the Yezidis. He has an international press card, which was however not recognised by the Iraqi authorities.
Slovenian killed in robbery in Kenya
LJUBLJANA - A 56-year-old Slovenian citizen was killed in a robbery in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi a week ago, the Slovenian N1 news portal reported, citing Kenyan media. The Slovenian Foreign Ministry confirmed the news of the death, saying they were in contact with the relatives but could not provide other details. The robbery and murder occurred as the man and his girlfriend were returning to their accommodation in Mlolongo area from a club in a car with their driver.
Slovenia defeat Lithuania as Division I Championship starts
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia opened the Group A tournament of the Ice Hockey World Championship Division I, hosted by Ljubljana's Tivoli Arena, with a 4:2 win against Lithuania to establish themselves as a contender for advancing to the elite group. In the first match of the day, Hungary defeated South Korea 5:1 to atop of the group standings with a goal difference of +4. Slovenia are second with the same number of points and a goal difference of +2. On Wednesday, Lithuania will play Hungary and the hosts Slovenia will take on Romania, who were idle today.
