News roundup - Monday, 30 August, until 3pm

143 new cases of coronavirus confirmed as hospital numbers surge

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 143 cases of coronavirus on Sunday, a quarter more than in the week before, as 16% of all PCR tests came back positive and hospitals continued to fill up amidst an exponential growth in new cases. There were 141 patients with Covid-19 in hospital this morning, up by twelve, whereas the number of ICU cases rose by four to 27, show data by the tracker Covid-19 Sledilnik. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 population rose by four to 241 and the number of active cases is estimated at 5,156, according to the National Institute of Public Health.

Slovenian shooter Tiršek wins silver at Tokyo Paralympics

TOKYO, Japan - Shooter Franček Gorazd Tiršek won the silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in the men's 10m air rifle standing competition in what is the first medal for Slovenia at the games. The gold was won by Philip Jonsson of Sweden with a new Paralympic Games record of 252.8 points, while bronze went to Andrea Liverani of Italy. For Tiršek, who was only 0.4 points behind the winner, this is the third medal at the Summer Paralympics, as he also won silver medals in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016 in the same discipline.

Defence Ministry's efforts to evacuate Afghan who helped Slovenia continue

LJUBLJANA - The Defence Ministry continues with its efforts to evacuate an Afghan who worked for the Slovenian Armed Forces and his family from Kabul. According to the army's spokesman Marjan Sirk, evacuation is now possible only through a UN humanitarian convoy or one of Afghanistan's neighbouring countries as virtually all of them offered to help. The family has been offered several options, but the final decision will be theirs, Sirk said.

Profit of Slovenian Henkel subsidiaries slightly down last year

MARIBOR - The two Slovenia-based subsidiaries of German chemical group Henkel recorded a combined EUR 81 million in revenue and over EUR 4 million in net profit last year. While the production company Henkel Maribor saw a slight drop in revenue, the revenue of the sales company Henkel Slovenija increased. Profit was down in both companies, with Henkel Maribor posting a net profit of almost EUR 2 million, and Henkel Slovenija recording a net profit of almost EUR 2.3 million.

Slovenian, international PEN centres urge govt to restore STA funding

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian PEN centre again called on the government to immediately settle its financial liabilities to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), saying that the "STA is undoubtedly an autonomous and unbiased source of information about events in Slovenia and abroad" and that its "financial revenue is clearly defined by law." The head of the International PEN Centre, Jennifer Clement, and several PEN centres from other countries joined the call.

Slovenian top football referee Damir Skomina retires

BRDO PRI KRANJU - The most successful Slovenian football referee Damir Skomina, whose record includes refereeing at the European championships, World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the 2019 Champions League final, officially announced the end of his career at a press conference. "Damir Skomina's successes should be a challenge to the many young football referees who are following his path," the Football Association of Slovenia (NZS) noted on the occasion. Skomina said he wanted to stay in football, revealing that he would run for the presidency of the third division team Izola.