Government Communication Office

Ljubljana – Defections of prominent journalists to politics are undoubtedly deepening the crisis of journalism and undermining its credibility, Delo says in Saturday’s front-page commentary after two journalists have joined the Government Communication Office (UKOM) and the ruling Freedom Movement PR teams this week.

Ljubljana – Uroš Urbanija, who served as the head of the Government Communication Office (UKOM) under the previous government, will be appointed director of TV Slovenija by RTV Slovenija general director Andrej Grah Whatmough on Monday, RTV Slovenija said in a press release on Friday.

Ljubljana – Igor Kadunc, the director of the Slovenian Press Agency, and Uroš Urbanija, the head of the Government Communication Office (UKOM), signed on Tuesday a contract on financing the STA’s public service in 2022. The deal maintains a system for the calculation of the relevant fee that is based on the actual amount of content the STA produces.

Ljubljana – The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, EUR 2.5 million granted by Slovenia to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) in compensation to fulfil its public service mission.

Ljubljana – The police is leading an investigation to determine whether there are elements of suspected criminal acts prosecutable ex officio based on allegations of irregularities regarding the STA. Investigators visited the STA chief supervisor based on a number of reports of these allegations and not based on a government decree, the police has said.

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša called on the director of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Bojan Veselinovič, to step down. “It is time for the director as a political tool of the extreme left to step down and take responsibility for his unlawful actions. And allow the STA to work and develop normally,” Janša wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

Ljubljana – A government task force charged with cutting red tape has drawn up an omnibus bill that would amend over a dozen laws in an effort to simplify bureaucratic procedures, according to two media outlets which have seen the bill.

Ljubljana – The Government Communication Office (UKOM) has informed the government that it is not able to implement the contract with the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) for 2020 and to conclude a contract for 2021. The STA has not received its monthly compensation for October from UKOM, which its leadership says threatens the agency’s future work.

Qatar has launched an investigation after heavy rains exposed poor construction in a country set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a deluge that saw water cascade through the roof of its $15 billion main airport.

The country has also banned contractors from leaving the small, oil-rich country as it carries out a probe into how heavy rains damaged buildings and roadways.