News roundup - Thursday, 27 July

Slovenia, N Macedonia explore cooperation in forestry, rural development, agriculture

LJUBLJANA - Agriculture, Forestry and Food Minister Irena Šinko and her Macedonian counterpart Ljupco Nikolovski discussed forests, young people in rural areas, and cooperatives as Nikolovski began a two-day visit to Slovenia. Šinko told the press that Slovenia and North Macedonia had been exchanging knowledge in forestry, rural development and agriculture, and that the meeting with Nikolovski aimed to strengthen and build on this exchange. Nikolovski thanked Slovenia for support on North Macedonia's EU path.

Damage to farmland in NE Slovenia this year estimated at EUR 40m

SVETA ANA - The extreme weather with downpours, hail and strong winds has caused extensive damage to agricultural land in the northeast of Slovenia this year, with local officials estimating damage in the area of Štajerska and Pomurje at up to EUR 40 million. "The entire crop has been destroyed in some areas", said Stanko Kapun, the head of the Murska Sobota unit of the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry (KGZS) as Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Darij Krajčič visited the Prekmurje region.

Adapting agriculture to climate change only partly effective

LJUBLJANA - The Agriculture Ministry's efforts in adapting agriculture to climate change were only partly effective in the period between the start of 2018 and mid-2022, shows a report released by the Court of Audit. The ministry did ensure the implementation of measures to further these efforts, but they were not comprehensive, systematically planned or coordinated. The ministry started turning things around already while the audit was underway.

PM's partner causes upset with nutria comments

LJUBLJANA - Tina Gaber, the life companion of Prime Minister Robert Golob, has caused controversy for suggesting corruption linked to the plans to remove nutrias from the Ljubljana Marshes. An influencer and animal rights activist, Gaber alleged a "clearly stated motive of future systemic corruption" in a 2019 study that put forward measures to manage the populations of nutrias and muskrats as an alien species in the Ljubljana Marshes landscape park. Analyst Aljaž Pengov Bitenc said that as the prime minister's partner Gaber should better understand the power of her words, and should exercise self-restraint.

Situation at veterinary sector authority raising dust

LJUBLJANA - Following a brief return to the helm of the food safety and veterinary sector administration, Janez Posedi has stepped down, and the person rumoured to replace him, veterinary inspector Danuša Štiglic, does not enjoy the trust of farmers and vets. There is also speculation about a conflict of interest involving her and the prime minister's partner Tina Gaber, an animal rights activist. Agriculture Minister Irena Šinko said the government is expected to appoint Posedi's successor immediately after the summer recess, but refused to discuss any other details or speculations.

Head of office for healthcare investment dismissed

LJUBLJANA - The government dismissed Aleš Šabeder as the head of the Office for Control, Quality and Investment in Healthcare. The office was set up by Danijel Bešič Loredan, who was forced to resign as health minister in early July over divergence of views with Prime Minister Robert Golob. As acting head of the office the government appointed Tomaž Pliberšek, who served as Health Ministry state secretary between March 2019 and March 2020 when Šabeder was minister.

Carinthian assembly adopts report on minority

KLAGENFURT, Austria - The assembly of the Austrian state of Carinthia discussed and adopted a report on the situation of the Slovenian minority. Minority member Franc Jožef Smrtnik of the Team Carinthia party said that progress could be seen with regard to bilingual signs, while noting shortcomings in the use of Slovenian in the courts. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) was the only deputy group to vote against the report, the Austrian public broadcaster ORF announced on the Slovenian programme website.

Retail sales in H1 drop year-on-year

LJUBLJANA - Retail turnover in Slovenia in the first half of the year decreased by 6.6% year-on-year. mostly on account of lower sales of fuels (-9.5%), non-food products (-4.9%) and food (-4.8%). In June alone, turnover dropped for the third month in a row, both at the monthly (-2.6%) and annual (-15.7%) levels, the Statistics Office said. Meanwhile, the latest data on turnover from sales of services shows an upward trend. In May, the figure went up by 7.6% year-on-year.

Freediver Alenka Artnik with new world record

NASSAU, Bahamas - Slovenia's freediver Alenka Artnik has set another world record, diving 109 metres deep in bi-fin discipline (CWTB) at the Vertical Blue competition in the Bahamas. The 41-year-old from Koper dived 107 metres on the third day of the competition to break personal and national records only to dive two metres deeper three days later to become the world-record holder. She is considered one of the greatest freedivers ever, and held until last May the world record in monofin at 122 metres.

Dutchman gets more jail time for attempted murder

KOPER - The Koper Higher Court raised the sentence of Dutch citizen Brian Boerkamp for attempted murder of a Macedonian man he stabbed twice in a fight in the Slovenian town of Portorož in July 2021. Instead of serving four and a half years, he will have to do five years and five months, the newspaper Večer reported. The higher court agreed with the prosecution that the original sentence was even below the minimum sentence for this crime and that the first instance court failed to take sufficiently into account the fact that Boerkamp had a record of violent crimes in the Netherlands.