RTVSLO: Alenka Bratušek will step down on Monday

Photo: BoBo

(RTVSLO) After the meeting of the coalition partners, Slovenia's Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek said she would step down on Monday and expressed hope that new elections would be held as soon as possible.

Read more:

http://www.rtvslo.si/news-in-english/alenka-bratusek-will-step-down-on-monday/335973

EUobserver: Arms deals and bribes: The downfall of Slovenia's former PM

Photo: 24ur.com

(EUobserver) LJUBLJANA - Former Slovene prime minister Janez Jansa was sentenced on Monday (28 April) to two years in prison over a high-profile scandal involving defence contracts and bribery.

The decision by the Higher Court in Ljubljana, which upholds an earlier ruling by a district court, is expected to be followed within weeks by a call for Jansa to start his custodial sentence.

Read more: 

http://euobserver.com/investigations/123961

The New Yorker: Jošt Franko's Disappearing Slovenia

Photo: Jošt Franko

(The New Yorker) In 2010, Jost Franko began photographing herders in Slovenia’s Velika Planina, a traditional community in the foothills of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. At seventeen, Franko was not old enough to legally drive, so he rode with a friend from his home in Ljubljana to the settlement, which has existed for more than five hundred years and is considered one of the most well preserved herding communities in Europe. Each June, herdsmen lead their cattle on a seven-hour journey to the highland pastures from the valleys of the Kamnik region. They travel overnight, to keep the animals from overheating, and graze the livestock in Velika Planina until the early fall.

Read more:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/2014/04/jost-franko-disappearing-slovenia.html#slide_ss_0=4

The New York Times: Slovenia Government Shaky After Premier Loses Key Vote

Photo: siol.net

(The New York Times) LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Slovenia’s government is facing a likely collapse after Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek, whose government made reforms to avoid the need for an international bailout, lost her post as her party’s leader on Saturday.

Read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/world/europe/slovenia-government-shaky-after-premier-loses-key-vote.html?_r=0

The Telegraph: Slovenia: a modern Ruritania at the crossroads of southern Europe

Lake Bohinj. Photo: The Telegraph

(The Telegraph Travel) Eschewing the daredevil pursuits on offer in the Julian Alps, Neil Tweedie finds himself beset by remembrance of the First World War’s savage Isonzo campaign.

Slovenia lies astride fault lines both geological and cultural. Here, in this compact country bounded by mountain, river and sea, the Eurasian and Adriatic tectonic plates grind against each other, a constant source of tension expressing itself in vaulting ranges and the occasional earthquake. Languages collide also. This is the junction of Slav, Latin and Teuton, the ethnic crossroads of southern central Europe.

Read more: 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/slovenia/10787463/Slovenia-a-modern-Ruritania-at-the-crossroads-of-southern-Europe.html

The Slovenia Times: Commissioner Potočnik: Slovenia in Ethical Crisis

Photo: European Commission

(The Slovenia Times) Janez Potočnik, Slovenia's EU commissioner, feels that ten years into EU membership, Slovenia's key challenge lies in restoring a sense of what is right.

While it is still seen as credible, the country has witnessed an erosion of values, Potočnik, who was Slovenia's chief negotiator in EU accession talks, has told the STA.

Read more:

http://www.sloveniatimes.com/commissioner-potocnik-slovenia-in-ethical-crisis-after-10-years-in-eu

Slovenia.si: Laibach: The band that survived itself

Photo: Maya Nightingale

(Slovenia.si; by Polona Prešeren) Laibach returned to the international stage in grand style this spring. After releasing a new studio album in March, the band performed for the first time in China and Hong Kong and is now on tour across Europe. In the fall, expect them at venues across the USA.

Read more: 
http://www.slovenia.si/culture/arts/music/laibach/

Photo of the Day

Ptuj, Slovenia

Photo: slo-link.si

RTVSLO: Easter eggs you need to see

Photo: RTVSLO

(RTVSLO) When Mira Zajc opened the door of her home, her creativity could immediately be noticed: on a windowsill, there were Easter eggs; on a wall, there were neatly made, shining mirrors; on the table, there was a bunch of artificial flowers, and next to them, there were small beautifully decorated boxes.

Read more and see the gallery:
http://www.rtvslo.si/news-in-english/easter-eggs-you-need-to-see/334932

Dalje.com: Slovenian foreign minister feels tricked by Croatia

Photo: mzz.gov.si

(Dalje.com) Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec believes that Croatia has tricked his country in the case of Yugoslav-era Croatian foreign currency savings deposits with the now defunct Slovenian bank Ljubljanska Banka, stressing that Slovenia would never have signed a memorandum on cooperation had it known that Croatia would later interpret a stay in court proceedings as meaning that it implies a time limit.

Read more:
http://dalje.com/en-croatia/slovenian-foreign-minister-feels-tricked-by-croatia/506486

International Gymnast Magazine: Ljubljana World Challenge Cup Begins in Slovenia

(International Gymnast Magazine) Slovenian gymnasts led three events in qualification as the 2014 Ljubljana World Challenge Cup began Friday in the Slovenian capital.

The competition, part of the FIG World Cup series, brought 54 female and 88 male gymnasts from more than 25 nations.

Read more:http://www.intlgymnast.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3998:ljubljana-world-challenge-cup-begins&catid=5:competition-reports&Itemid=164

FT: Slovenia offers property buyers the best of Europe – at a bargain

Property in Prekmurje. Photo: slovenia-trips.com

(Financial Times) Alpine skiing, Italian cuisine, pretty Adriatic beaches – and the lowest house prices for years

In central Europe, one small country is tempting overseas buyers back into the property market. Slovenia, like most of Europe, experienced a property boom in the mid-2000s, followed by several years of decline. Between 2008 and 2012, house prices fell by nearly 18 per cent, according to the country’s statistics office.

Read more:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/ac7b632e-bfdd-11e3-b6e8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2zPRw7Ra3

The Slovenia Times: Slovenia With Record 2.3M Foreign Tourists Last Year

Piran. Photo: The Slovenia Times

(The Slovenia Times) A total of 2.26 million foreign tourists visited Slovenia in 2013, generating nearly 6 million overnight stays, which are both all-time highs, figures from the Statistics Office show.

The total number of tourists in Slovenia was at 3.4m in 2013, with the number of domestic guests dropping by 1% to 1.13m

Read more:
http://www.sloveniatimes.com/slovenia-received-2-3m-foreign-tourists-last-year

RTVSLO: Nova Gorica University to Construct American-Style Campus

(RTVSLO) 25 million euros would be needed to kick-start the construction.

The University of Nova Gorica has accepted the offer from the Vipava municipality on constructing a campus.

Read more:http://www.rtvslo.si/news-in-english/nova-gorica-university-to-construct-american-style-campus/334898

The Huffington Post Travel: Blessing Easter Baskets on Easter Saturday at Slovenia's Tustanj Castle

(The Huffington Post Travel - The Blog; by Meg Pier) "I tentatively pushed opened the heavy wooden door

Photo: The Huffington Post

of Tuštanj Castle and peeked inside. An open air courtyard lay in front of me, enclosed by a graceful portico of grey stone arches. While I was expected by the owners of Slovenia's only non-nationalized castle, there was no one in sight and the only sound was the steady beat of the heavy rain."

Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meg-pier/blessing-easter-baskets-a_b_5152145.html

The Slovenia Times: Slovenian Florists to Decorate St Peter's Basilica

(The Slovenia Times) A couple of Slovenian florists have been chosen to decorate St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican for Easter celebrations.

Read more:
http://www.sloveniatimes.com/slovenian-florists-to-decorate-st-peter-s-basilica

Bloomberg: Toxic Loans Risk Slovenian Bond Rally: East Europe Credit

Uroš Čufer, Minster of Finance. Photo: balkaninside.com

(Bloomberg) Slovenia’s bond rally, the biggest among Europe’s former communist nations, risks faltering as a government budget dispute following the cleanup of toxic-bank loans threatens to unseat Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek.

Bratusek, the third premier since 2011, is trying to quell a challenge to her leadership and end a coalition quarrel that threatens to derail her deficit-cutting program after she spent almost 10 percent of economic output last year to clean up the nation’s banks, whose bad loans reached 11 billion euros ($15.2 billion). The government needs to boost revenue and overhaul state companies to sustain the fiscal improvement.

Read more:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-15/toxic-loans-risk-slovenian-bond-rally-east-europe-credit.html

Hurriyet Daily News: Slovenia's first Roma restaurant offers hope, integration

(Hurriyet Daily News) More than impressing food critics, the Romani Kafenava (Roma coffeeshop), which opened last week in the northern city of Maribor, aims to build ties with the local community and offer hope to an impoverished minority.  

Read more:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/slovenias-first-roma-restaurant-offers-hope-integration----.aspx?pageID=238&nID=65117&NewsCatID=351

The Slovenia Times: Plečnik Award Goes to High-End Residential Development

Photo: Situla Facebook

(The Slovenia Times) Architects Matija Bevk, Vasa Perović and Andrej Ukmar are the recipients of this year's Plečnik Award for the Situla, a luxurious residential complex in the centre of Slovenia's capital.

Read more:
http://www.sloveniatimes.com/plecnik-award-goes-to-high-end-residential-development

National Geographic: Recent Anniversary and Death Highlights Continued Struggle of “The Erased”

Photo: radiohit.si

(National Geographic) National Geographic grantee Riley Arthur is documenting the Erased of Slovenia- 25,000+ non-ethnic Slovenian residents were left without legal status after the country split from Yugoslavia in 1991. Over two decades later, the community is still fighting for documentation. These stories are about the Erased and the places they live. 

"February 26th, 2014 marked the 22nd anniversary of the Erasure. Throughout my fieldwork, people close to me have asked me variations of the same questions: Why should we care about the Slovene Erasure? Why is it still relevant? For those Erased, relatives of Erased people or those working with the Erased, it is still an everyday struggle."

Read more:
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/14/recent-anniversary-and-death-highlights-continued-struggle-of-the-erased/