Morning headlines for Slovenia: Thursday, June 23, 2022

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the stories of “morning headlines” here. You can also follow us on Facebook and receive all the news in your feed.
This summary is provided by the STA:
The National Assembly paves the way for the overhaul of the government
LJUBLJANA – The National Assembly has passed changes to the government law allowing Prime Minister Robert Golob to shape his government as he wishes, as he hijacked an attempt by opposition Democrats (SDS) to hold a referendum on the law. While Prime Minister Robert Golob said the restructured government should be in power by the end of the summer, the SDS indicated that it could organize another referendum attempt, this time collecting signatures from citizens. instead of following the parliamentary route. Freedom Movement group deputy leader Borut Sajovic said another referendum attempt would make it clear to even the most naive that this was an intentional disturbance.
Pahor: Russian aggression confirms the need for a highly trained army
LJUBLJANA — President Borut Pahor said Russian aggression against Ukraine confirmed Slovenia’s need for a highly trained and professional military, addressing Slovenian soldiers serving in missions via video call. Pahor, Supreme Commander of the Slovenian Armed Forces, noted that this was the first time video conferencing with troops serving overseas had been held in the midst of a war in Europe.
Works council asks general manager of RTV Slovenija to resign
LJUBLJANA – The works council of public broadcaster RTV Slovenija has urged chief executive Andrej Grah Whatmough to “resign immediately and irrevocably”, outlining a number of reasons for his decision, which was taken on Tuesday, a day after staff of RTV went on strike while the talks that followed the May 23 strike did not bring any major progress. Grah Whatmough was asked to resign due to breach of the law, mismanagement and “numerous irregularities and reasonable suspicion of illegality and having exceeded his powers”.
Committee urges end to pressure on RTV’s editorial autonomy
LJUBLJANA – The Culture Committee has called on the management of RTV Slovenija to systematically guarantee the constitutional right to information, to immediately stop undermining the editorial independence and autonomy of the public broadcaster and to restore the conditions for independent journalism. Management should also stop implementing politically motivated staff and other changes, and stop discrediting RTV staff or exerting pressure on them, in accordance with resolutions adopted at a session.
The remains of more than 500 victims killed after the Second World War near Brežice have been excavated
BREŽICE – The remains of at least 529 people executed in summary executions after World War II have been unearthed from an anti-tank trench in Mostec near Brežice in eastern Slovenia, according to the Military Heritage Administration . Archaeological excavations at the site were carried out due to the construction of a chain of power stations on the Sava River. In 2020, the remains of at least 276 people were found in about twenty meters of trench. This year’s excavation works a further 30 meters to reveal the remains of at least another 253 people.
Farmers offer government to buy all Slovenian wheat
LJUTOMER — A cross-party grain commission has proposed that the government buy all the wheat that Slovenian farmers will harvest this year and then sell it to millers during the year. Slovenian farmers will grow 100,000 tonnes of wheat suitable for food in 2022, commission head Franc Küčan said. There are foreign buyers interested in Slovenian wheat, but Küčan said “farmers would like to sell Slovenian wheat to Slovenian millers”. If the price is not good, they will sell to anyone willing to pay more.
Archbishop wants Church-State dialogue to continue
LJUBLJANA – The Archbishop of Ljubljana Stanislav Zore expressed the wish for a continuation of the dialogue between the State and the Roman Catholic Church, as he reprimanded the previous governments for not showing a will to solve all the problems in suspense. “There has never been a concrete will to address all the remaining open issues,” he said in a sermon at a mass celebrating the anniversary of Slovenian statehood. “Let’s hope that the government that has now taken power in Slovenia will find the will to tackle the open issues.”
Covid curve bends upwards
LJUBLJANA – Covid cases continue to grow as Slovenia enters a new wave of the pandemic. Health authorities reported 670 new cases for Tuesday, up nearly 50% from the previous week, with the share of positive PCR tests exceeding 6%. While incidence has risen at a steady pace – the 14-day case notification rate per 100,000 population is 260 from 189 a week ago – the number of hospitals remains low, according to the National Institute of public health.
30 years of diplomatic relations between Slovenia and Australia marked
CANBERRA, Australia – The Slovenian Embassy in Canberra celebrated the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Slovenia and Australia and the upcoming Slovenian Statehood Day earlier this week. The reception was attended by over 100 Australian officials, diplomats, representatives of Slovenian and Australian organizations and other guests. The event included a performance by the Australian Army Band Corps.
Minister for Slovenes Abroad meets the Community in Austria
KLAGENFURT, Austria – Minister for Slovenes Abroad Matej Arčon traveled to Klagenfurt for his first official visit with the Slovenian community in Austria as Minister. After meeting with key community representatives, Arçon stressed the importance of regular dialogue and thanked the various organizations for their dedicated work. Arčon met Valentin Inzko from the National Council of Slovenes in Carinthia, Marjan Sturm from the Association of Slovene Organizations in Carinthia and Heribert Kulmesch from the Community of Slovenes in Carinthia.
Unior sells its stake in the Romanian Unior Tepid for 2.5 million euros
ZREČE – Unior, the Zreče-based automotive tool maker and supplier, last week reached a €2.5 million agreement with a Romanian buyer for the sale of its 49% stake in Unior Tepid SRL, Romania , announced the Slovenian company. Unior signed the sales contract a week ago, on June 15, and the buyer, Unior Tepid CEO Dan Dabuleanu, paid the purchase price a day later, the statement read. Press.
Two licensed SSH supervisors
LJUBLJANA – The National Assembly has sacked two supervisors of Slovenia’s Sovereign Holding (SSH) a week after the government declared that Božo Emeršič and Leon Cizelj did not meet the requirements for the post. The former is no longer qualified as he was appointed CFO of rail builder 2TDK in April 2021, while the latter never met the job requirements in the first place, not having had the 10 years of experience. required in management.
Consumer confidence drops again in June
LJUBLJANA — Slovenian consumer confidence in June fell two percentage points from the previous month and 16 percentage points year-on-year, representing a decline for the second month in a row, the Bureau of Statistics said. The decline in the confidence indicator at the monthly level was driven by more pessimistic consumer expectations on the financial situation of households (down four points), the current financial situation of households (down three) and the economic situation of the country (down two).
Private sector wages down in April
LJUBLJANA – Slovenians earned an average net salary of 1,304.32 euros in April, up 0.2% in nominal terms and 2.7% in real terms from March, according to new data from the Office of Statistics. The average gross salary for the month of April amounted to 2,001.93 euros, down 0.3% in nominal terms and 2.8% in real terms compared to March, with an increase of 1. 2% in the public sector and 3.3% in state administration, while the private sector saw a decline of 1.1%.
Court issues suspended sentences in Tušmobil abuse of power case
CELJE – Businessman Mirko Tuš and his wife Tanja Tuš received suspended prison sentences after pleading guilty to abuse of power and money laundering. Mirko Tuš received a suspended two-year prison sentence, three-year probation and a fine of EUR 450,000. Tanja Tuš was given a one-year suspended prison sentence with a two-year probation and a fine of 90,000 euros. The case concerned the transfer between 2011 and 2016 of the mobile phone brand Tušmobil which had been reported by creditors as an attempted fraud.
Supreme Court acquits defendant in 2014 torture case
LJUBLJANA – The Supreme Court has acquitted Milan Trivković, one of four men convicted of kidnapping and brutally torturing Zorica Škrbić, a 32-year-old woman whose kidnapping and death in June 2014 shocked Slovenia. Trivković will sue the state for damages for the five years he spent in detention and in prison, news portal siol.net reported. Trivković maintained his innocence in several court proceedings, while his friends said he was throwing a party at the time of the crime.
Hailstorms are raging in parts of the country, most damage in the southeast
LJUBLJANA – Hailstorms raged through parts of Slovenia again on Tuesday evening, causing most of the destruction in the southeast and north of the country. In some areas hailstones were almost the size of tennis balls. The hardest hit municipalities are Hoče-Slivnica, Lenart, Laško, Radenci and Novo Mesto, as well as Črnomelj, Metlika and Semič.