Daily headlines - Wednesday, 29 June

DELO

Pensions
"Annual bonus on top of pensions tomorrow": Tomorrow, pensioners will get their annual bonus, ranging from EUR 140 to EUR 450. The Labour Ministry supports calls for higher pensions. (front page, page 3)

School
"Results are out": This year's National Knowledge Assessment in primary schools brought similar results as in previous years. Sixth and ninth graders did well in English, but less so in Slovenian. The former got highest grades for English and the latter were the best in maths. (front page, page 4)

Basketball
"Golden heroes together in Stožice for the last time": Tickets for tomorrow's qualifier for the 2023 Basketball World Cup were sold out in less than three hours as the match will mark the last time Goran Dragić, one of the key players responsible for Slovenia's gold at EuroBasket 2017, will play for the country. (front page, page 18)

DNEVNIK

Covid
"Trust key factor in management of fifth wave": A new eleven-member advisory group that will work under the public health authority and not the Health Ministry will take over the management of the Covid epidemic. Headed by Mario Fafangel, Slovenia's chief epidemiologist, the group signals a return to an expert-led approach, officials said. (front page, page 3)

Ljubljana
"Cause of fight with city warden is same punishment for all offenders": A week after a fight between a Ljubljana city warden and a bike rider that attracted a lot of attention on social media and caused a stir, Ljubljana officials regret the incident and vow that it will be investigated properly. (front page, page 9, commentary 14)

FINANCE

Financial market
"What financiers with largest turnover expect in financial markets": Recession is very likely, bonds will be an attractive addition to portfolios and geopolitical developments will be increasingly important, said participants of a conference held by the ACI Slovenia financial markets association. (front page, pages 2, 3)

Energy
"Germans and Austrians reactivating thermal power plants, can we bring the Trbovlje plant back to life?": As Germany and Austria are reopening coal-powered thermal plants in the wake of the energy crisis, the paper wonders whether Slovenia could make use of the decommissioned plant in Trbovlje. (front page, pages 4, 5)

Salaries
"What were salary trends in the EU and Slovenia in recent years": In most EU member states wages grew more in the public sector than in the private sector in the years before the Covid crisis, but the pandemic changed this dynamic, shows a study by IMAD, the government's macroeconomic forecaster, that notes the gaps between EU countries. (front page, pages 6, 7)

VEČER

Presidential election
"Desired presidential post": The list of candidates vying to become Slovenia's new president in the autumn election is getting increasingly longer. Certain names have been circulating as potential further candidates. (front page, pages 2, 3)

Pensions
"Annual bonus tomorrow": More than 615,000 pensioners and recipients of disability allowance will receive the annual bonus tomorrow. In total, over EUR 161 million will be allocated for this purpose. (front page, page 3)

Lent Festival
"Music, dance, singing and smiles": The 34th Folkart festival kicked off as part of the Maribor Lent Festival yesterday, bringing folk music groups from all over the world to Slovenia's second largest city. (front page, page 18)