Omicron variant confirmed in Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - The highly infectious Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 has been confirmed in Slovenia with PM Janez Janša announcing the news in parliament before Miroslav Petrovec, the head of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, told reporters the new variant was confirmed in four samples, all of them from Ljubljana. One of the persons had already had Covid last year. The samples are from the period between 29 November and 6 December.
Covid-19 vaccination of children aged 5-11 starting
LJUBLJANA - Vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 is starting in Slovenia as the vaccine for them is already available. Vaccination will take place at vaccination centres, and from Thursday on, also at UKC Ljubljana hospital's Paediatric Clinic, where 70 children have been already registered for a jab. This comes as the advisory group on immunization at the National Institute of Public Health yesterday backed a proposal by paediatricians to recommend Covid-19 vaccination for children in this age group.
Decline in coronavirus infection numbers slows down
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 1,712 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, down by about a tenth on the week before, as the decline in daily caseload appears to be slowing down. A further 14 Covid-19 patients died, while Covid-19 hospitalisations dropped by 57 from yesterday to 817, as ICU cases declined by one to 235, government data shows. Over the last month daily cases were declining by 20%-30% on a weekly basis, but Monday marked the second day in a row that the case count dropped by only a tenth.
Decision on energy vouchers expected end of January
LJUBLJANA - The government will decide on whether to introduce energy vouchers for the poorest households in January, when it has more data about energy price increases. Before that, the main measure to combat rising prices will be the special allowance for pensioners, included in the latest Covid relief package, PM Janez Janša told MPs. The energy vouchers under consideration would be distributed to "slightly over 60,000" people but "only if the situation lasts longer than predicted".
SMC deputy Udovč defects to Our Land party
LJUBLJANA - Mateja Udovč, a member of the deputy group of the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC), is joining the Our Land party of former Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec, the latter party confirmed for the STA. The SMC said that it had not been informed about the move. It is not yet clear whether Udovč will stay in the deputy group or exit it, and whether she will support the coalition in future votes in the National Assembly or whether the coalition will lose another vote in parliament.
Opposition, coalition and Janša clash over "mafia state"
LJUBLJANA - Centre-left opposition MPs clashed with PM Janez Janša during the questions and answers time in parliament over what they claim is mafia-style governance of the country by Janša, his SDS party and the government. Janša dismissed the allegations, while saying mafia-style governance indeed existed, had very deep roots, yet came from the transition left.
Expo: Koritnik says AI basis for efficient digital transformation
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Artificial intelligence with an emphasis on sustainable development is a foundation for an efficient digital transformation, said Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik as he took part in a conference on blockchain technology and artificial intelligence at Expo 2020. The event revolved around the impact of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence on sustainability as expressed through the 2030 sustainable development goals, the ministry said.
Interior ministry rep discusses migration at Salzburg Forum meet
VIENNA, Austria - The interior ministers of the Salzburg Forum, a Central European security partnership, discussed illegal migration at an online conference, with Slovenia's Interior Ministry State Secretary Božo Predalič stressing the importance of cooperation on the Balkan migration route. "We welcomed the Joint Coordination Platform initiative, which aims to improve the effectiveness of mutual cooperation in dealing with migration issues along the Balkan migration route," Predalič said.
Slovenian presidency welcomes revival of Serbia's accession process
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Foreign Ministry State Secretary Gašper Dovžan chaired a ministerial session of the intergovernmental conference with Serbia on EU accession that saw the Western Balkan country getting the green light to open talks on four policy areas. Dovžan said this was the first time such progress had happened under the new enlargement methodology. He also chaired a session of EU ministers in charge of foreign affairs that adopted EU enlargement resolutions, but no progress regarding the most pressing enlargement issue - the start of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania - has been made.
Three new ambassadors present credentials
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor received the credentials of three new ambassadors accredited to Slovenia, Kosovo's Valdet Sadiku, the Dominican Republic's Laura V. Faxas and New Zealand's Brian Joseph Hewson, at the Presidential Palace. The Kosovo ambassador is based in Ljubljana. The ambassador of the Dominican Republic and the ambassador of New Zealand are meanwhile headquartered in Austria's Vienna.
EU ministers reach agreement on fishing quotas for 2022
BRUSSELS, Belgium - EU ministers in charge of fisheries reached agreement on fishing rights in the Atlantic, the North Sea, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea for 2022 based on a proposal drawn up by the Slovenian presidency. Announcing the deal, Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek said the talks were tough. Catch limits are set by the Council each December based on a proposal drawn up by the European Commission.
New bill on communicable diseases tabled
LJUBLJANA - The deputy group of unaffiliated MPs filed into parliamentary procedure amendments to the communicable diseases act drawn up by NGO Legal Network for the Protection of Democracy in cooperation with experts to make measures aimed at preventing the spread of contagious diseases in line with the constitution. Speaker Igor Zorčič said unaffiliated MPs had assessed the proposal was good and would bring an end to governing by means of executive decisions that are not in line with the constitution.
Police reportedly search national lab over Covid test verification
LJUBLJANA - Crime investigators visited the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food (NLZOH) to interview director Tjaša Žohar Čretnik, reportedly over verification of rapid antigen tests bought by the state late last year. While the police said house searches were under way at several locations around the country, media reports say police also visited Majbert Pharm, the company picked in December last year to supply test kits used for voluntary mass testing.
Illegal migration down 35% in January-November year-on-year
LJUBLJANA - The police caught 9,158 illegal migrants in the first eleven months of the year, a 35% decrease on the same period in 2020. Most persons attempting to cross Slovenia's borders illegally from January through November this year were citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan or Bangladesh. On the other hand, the police recorded a significant decrease in illegal migrants from Morocco and Algeria.
Garnbret, Pogačar, men's basketball team declared best in 2021
LJUBLJANA - Sport climber Janja Garnbret, cyclist Tadej Pogačar and the national men's basketball team have fetched the main accolades at the 2021 Athlete of the Year ceremony. Garnbret, the Tokyo Olympic gold medal winner, collected 333 points to be followed by judoka Tina Trstenjak, while Pogačar, who won his second consecutive Tour de France this year and grabbed bronze in the road race at the Olympics, topped the vote in the men's category with 262 points for his first Athlete of the Year title. He was followed by the fellow cyclist Primož Roglič (218), who won the gold medal in Tokyo in time trial.
Ana Barič Moder wins French Institute translation prize
LJUBLJANA - The French Institute in Slovenia presented its Charles Nodier Award to Ana Barič Moder for her translation of the novel Handbook For Exiles (Priročnik za izgnance, 2020), written in French by Velibor Čolić, a writer from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The judging panel said that Barič Moder "transposed several important works of modern francophone prose into Slovenian and acquainted the public with trends in French literature, while her texts also demonstrate a pleasure in translating". They praised her knowledge of the French language, literature and culture, also acknowledging skills in Slovenian.
Immigration to Slovenia accelerating
LJUBLJANA - Immigration to Slovenia is accelerating and as of 1 January this year one in seven residents, or 13.9% of the entire population, were born abroad. This compares to 8.5% ten years ago, show Statistics Office data. Almost two-thirds of foreign-born residents immigrated after Slovenia's independence and one in five arrived between 2018 and 2020. In 2020 a record 23,383 immigrants were recorded. Former Yugoslav republics are by far the biggest source of immigration.
