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STA, 6 August 2021 - Janja Garnbret won gold in the women's combined sport climbing at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday in what is the third gold medal for Slovenia at the Games. Miho Nonaka of Japan won the silver medal and her compatriot Akiyo Noguchi earned bronze in what is the first time that the sport featured as any Olympic discipline.
In speed, Janja Garnbret finished fifth, setting the Slovenian record in this category by clocking 7.81 seconds, after she beat US Brooke Raboutou and Austria's Jessica Pilz. She failed to make it to the top four in speed after initially losing to one of the best speed climbers in the world, Anouck Jaubert of France.
This is what #JanjaGarnbret is capable of. Only two other climbers even completed this boulder at all, and she flew up it first time like it was nothing.
— ⚕️Rick Cox MS, LAT, ATC, CSCS⚕️ (@RickCox_AT) August 4, 2021
This is why she’s the best in the world. pic.twitter.com/CgzUJLwc42
Poland's Aleksandra Miroslaw, two-time speed climbing world champion, was the best in this category, beating Jaubert and setting a new world record with 6.84 seconds.
In bouldering, Garnbret ranked the highest. She first faced a 35 degree wall which posed an insurmountable challenge for quite a few competitors, but she was the first and only climber to crack this tough nut and climb right to the top.
In the qualification the 22-year-old dominated in bouldering, clinching four tops and a similar scenario played out in the final where she was the only one to have made it to the top twice in what was a challenge of climbing three different boulders.
Her ascent to the top of the second boulder was especially impressive as she made it look almost easy, succeeding in her first attempt.
In lead, where Garnbret is known to be best, holding two World Champion titles, she again dominated as she made it almost to the top, having gripped 37+ holds.
In her first comment after becoming Olympic Champion, she was visibly moved, displaying tears of joy. "The weight is now off my shoulder," she said, pointing out that when she bounced back in speed to set the national record, she knew she had it in herself to go for the gold.
STA, 5 August 2021 - The first ever public demonstration of fully encrypted quantum communication between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia took place during the meeting of G20 digital economy ministers in Trieste on Thursday.
It was the first time in history that fully quantum encrypted communication was made possible by means of optical fibres connecting three nodes, in Trieste, Ljubljana and Rijeka.
In Ljubljana, the event was held at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (FMF), whose dean Anton Ramšak noted that quantum communication would allow what have so far been unattainable levels of communication security.
"Comparing the security of encryption methods established so far and quantum communication is like comparing bows and arrows with guns," Ramšak illustrated.
The technology uses quantum keys, sequences of random numbers established remotely through exchange of individual photons of light.
5. 8. je potekala prva javna demonstracija medvladne kvantne komunikacije. Prvič v zgodovini je bil omogočen povsem kvantno šifrirani prenos med vozlišči 3 držav (Trst, Ljubljana in Reka). Sodelovali so tudi fiziki @FMF_UL, prof. dr. Rainer Kaltenbaek in prof. dr. Anton Ramšak. pic.twitter.com/3eNTiSSLq7
— FMF UL (@FMF_UL) August 6, 2021
The exchange protocol is based on quantum mechanics and if anyone tried to intercept the key, they would leave behind a trace that would alert those involved in communication and allow them to respond immediately.
In all other established technologies of information transfer, a copy of the key may be intercepted and copied without leaving a trace.
The quantum communication was tested by FMF physicists Rainer Kaltenbaek and Anton Ramšak in cooperation with their colleagues at the University of Trieste's Department of Physics and the National Research Council of Italy and Croatian physicists from the Ruđer Bošković Institute.
In his address, Kaltenbaek noted that Europe pioneered the field as early as 2012, but since the relevant institutions had not been willing to provide sufficient financial support, it was larger countries, mainly China which later took the initiative in implementing the technology.
Today's demonstration was also important in the context of the future European quantum communication infrastructure (EuroQCI), which is being promoted by the 27 EU member countries and the European Commission with the support of the European Space Agency.
The event depended on technical support of the link between Trieste and the FMF in Ljubljana via Postojna that was made possible by the telecommunications provider Telekom Slovenije through its modern network of optical links by means of dark fibres.
The test was the first ever application of quantum laws of nature outside science labs with the purpose of establishing fully secure communication.
After addresses by keynote speakers, a short concert was performed by musicians from the Giuseppe Tartini State Conservatory of Trieste and the academies of music in Ljubljana and Zagreb using the breakthrough quantum communication technology.
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This summary is provided by the STA:
Slovenia to play for bronze after losing to France
TOKYO, Japan - The Slovenian men's basketball team lost 89:90 against France in the semi-finals of the Olympic basketball tournament on Thursday and will hence play for the bronze medal against Australia on Saturday. This is Slovenia's first loss at the tournament after the team sailed through the group phase and outperformed Germany in the quarter-finals. In scoring, Slovenia were led by Mike Tobey with 23 points and Klemen Prepelič with 17 points, while NBA superstar Luka Dončić scored a triple-double, collecting 16 points, 10 rebounds and 18 assists for only a third Olympics triple-double ever.
Two non-appointed delegated prosecutors suing govt again
LJUBLJANA - Prosecutors Tanja Frank Eler and Matej Oštir have filed another suit against the government over its decision not to appoint them Slovenia's European delegated prosecutors as proposed by the Justice Ministry after they were vetted by the Prosecution Council. The Ljubljana Administrative Court said it had received the lawsuit on Wednesday and would process it during the summer recess as a matter of priority.
EU law is not above member states' constitutions, Janša tells PAP
WARSAW, Poland - Prime Minister Janez Janša has discussed the judiciary and the issue of primacy of EU law in an interview with the Polish news agency PAP, saying that EU law is above national laws, but not above member states' constitutions. He talked of the importance of understanding the countries' historical circumstances and starting positions. "EU law is above national laws, but it does not take primacy over the constitutions of member states. No EU institution has a right to impose on a member state anything that goes against its constitutional order," Janša said.
Carinthian Slovenians critical of Austrian minorities report
KLAGENFURT, Austria - The National Council of Carinthian Slovenians (NSKS) is very critical in its response to Austria's report to the Council of Europe on the implementation of the CoE Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The report suggests that everything is fine with minorities in Austria, which is not the case, said lawyer Rudi Vouk, the author of the NSKS response to the 254-page report that Austria submitted to Strasbourg.
138 new coronavirus infections confirmed on Wednesday
LJUBLJANA - The week-on-week growth in new coronavirus cases continued in Slovenia for the 8th straight day, as 138 new infections were detected in 1,610 PCR tests on Wednesday, according to data by the National Institute of Public Health. The estimated number of active cases rose by 69 to 1,293, while the number of new cases was down by one compared to Tuesday.
Govt adopts decree on Covid certificate checks
LJUBLJANA - The government has adopted a decree setting down the method of checking compliance with the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule. Under a decision made at a correspondence session on Wednesday, the user scanning the Covid certificate QR code using a relevant app will have access to the certificate holder's name and year of birth. Information Commissioner Mojca Prelesnik said she would suspend the app-related procedure to ask the Constitutional Court to review the decree.
England puts Slovenia on its green travel list
LONDON, UK - Late on Wednesday, the British government updated its entry requirements and placed several countries, including Slovenia, on the green list. As of Sunday morning, travellers from Slovenia will only need a negative Covid test to enter England, regardless of the person's vaccination status, foreign news agencies report.
NIJZ orders more doses of flu vaccine than last year
LJUBLJANA - The National Institute of Public Health has ordered 360,000 doses of flu vaccine for this season, which is more than last year, when demand exceeded expectations. It is not clear yet whether the vaccine will be available for free this year as well. Flu vaccination usually starts in October. Last year, 270,000 doses were ordered, but the vaccine ran out within weeks due to the high demand.
SID Bank to get new management as long-serving CEO Svilan bids farewell
LJUBLJANA - SID Bank, Slovenia's development and export bank, will get a new management in January 2022 as the term of the management led by Sibil Svilan expires at the end of 2021. The fully state-owned bank will be led by Damijan Dolinar, with Gašpar Ogris Martič and Stanka Šarc Majdič serving as board members. However, since Dolinar will take over on 1 February, Ogris Matič will lead the bank in January, to move to the post of a board member in February.
SSk worried about autonomy of Slovenian education in Italy
TRIESTE/GORIZIA, Italy - The Slovenian Community (SSk), a party of the Slovenian minority in Italy, said it was worried about Slovenian education in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, opposing plans to cut the number of teachers. In recent days the head of the Office for Slovenian Schools, which is part of the Regional Education Office, broke the news that the number of teachers at Slovenian schools in Friuli Venezia Giulia will be cut by around 50.
Koper police help migrants caught in a storm
KOPER - Koper police on Wednesday helped a group of migrants caught in a storm, and pulled over a van with eleven illegal migrants in south-western Slovenia, the Koper Police Department said. Police received a phone call from an Afghan citizen who said that a group of migrants was caught in a storm "somewhere in the hills".
Tina Šutej fifth in Olympic pole vault
TOKYO, Japan - Tina Šutej placed fifth in the women's pole vault at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. The 32-year-old national record holder cleared 4.50 metres in the final and then failed to clear the height of 4.70 metres to join the top four. US Katie Nageotte cleared the final height of 4.90 metres to win gold. The Slovenian shared the fifth best result with Ukraine's Maryna Kylypko and Finland's Wilma Murto in what is her career-high in major outdoor pole vaulting events.
Italy, Slovenia and Croatia set up quantum communication
TRIESTE, Italy - The first ever public demonstration of fully encrypted quantum communication between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia took place during a meeting of G20 digital economy ministers. It was the first time in history that fully quantum encrypted communication was made possible by means of optical fibres connecting three nodes. The technology uses quantum keys, sequences of random numbers established remotely through exchange of individual photons of light.
STA, 5 August 2021 - Property prices kept rising in Slovenia in the coronavirus year 2020 while transactions on the property market decreased. Transactions meanwhile rose in early 2021 to reach approximately the pre-pandemic 2019 levels in April, as prices keep rising, the Mapping and Surveying Authority (GURS) said on Thursday.
The number of housing transactions fell by 17% in 2020 compared to 2019 and business property transactions by 30%, shows the 2020 Slovenian property market report.
"The fall in housing transactions was almost exclusively a result of state-imposed restrictions to contain the epidemic, which limited normal property business for most of the year," GURS said in a statement.
GURS said the large drop in business property transactions revealed the uncertainty of businesses about economic consequences of the epidemic.
Transactions in agricultural land and forests dropped by 12%.
However, the epidemic did not affect demand for housing or building land, as supply of new housing on the market lags behind demand.
As a result, transactions in building land rose by 4%, as more and more people want to build their own family homes.
GURS said this trend is a result of flats in large cities getting more expensive, which drives people to build their homes outside large cities.
Since demand for property outstrips supply especially in urban and tourist areas, prices are growing.
"There is a lot of demand for housing despite high prices because of historically low interest rates and a lot of household savings."
GURS said that low interest rates encourage purchases of homes for own use and as investment.
Housing prices and prices of building land increased by 3-4% in 2020, practically around the entire country, while the growth would have probably been heftier in the absence of the epidemic.
Housing prices continued growing in the first quarter of 2021, also as a result of considerable growth in building material prices, a trend fuelled by a global rise in the prices of transport and materials due to the pandemic.
There are however considerable differences in property prices around the country.
The highest prices have been recorded in Ljubljana, municipalities in Gorenjska region (Kranjska Gora, Bled) or coastal tourism municipalities (Portorož, Piran), as well as in the broader area around Ljubljana (Lavrica, Škofljica, Brezovica, Grosuplje, Domžale, Trzin, Mengeš and Medvode) and in Kranj.
"In these areas the prices have increased the most in the past five years. The exception is the coastal area, where the still hefty growth was not among the heftiest, which means that housing prices in Kranjska Gora and Bled have recently exceeded the prices on the coast."
GURS recorded around 31,800 property transactions in 2020 in the total value of EUR 2.2 billion, down 13% and 21%, respectively, over 2019.
Both figures were lowest after 2015, when the Slovenian property market witnessed a turn in price growth.
Housing transactions accounted for almost EUR 1.5 billion, or two-thirds of the total value of transactions.
STA, 5 August 2021 - The government has adopted a decree setting down checking compliance with the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule. Under a decision taken at a correspondence session on Wednesday, the party scanning the Covid certificate QR code using a relevant app will have access only to the certificate holder's name and year of birth.
The decision comes after Milan Krek, the head of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), said on Tuesday that a legal basis for the app was in the works.
NIJZ told the STA on Thursday a new app will be launched today or tomorrow based on the decree after two apps have already been taken down, one due to privacy concerns and the other due to a risk of abuse.
The app, to be managed by NIJZ, will be used when the validity of the Covid certificate is checked using a QR code, the Government Communication Office (UKOM) said.
If an individual produces another form to show compliance with the rule of being vaccinated, tested or reconvalescent under relevant laws, this certificate will be checked.
The decree says that checking compliance with the rule takes place if the person whose status will be checked consents to giving access to their personal data.
After the QR code is scanned, the app will not reveal which of the three conditions have been met to produce a valid Covid certificate.
The user of the app will only get access to the certificate holder's name and year of birth to prevent any abuse of the system.
The decree says that the app must not enable data storage or processing or be linked to any database, according to UKOM.
The decree has been published in the Official Gazette and is effective from today. It will be in place until other related decrees setting down Covid measures are revoked.
NIJZ released an app for checking the validity of Covid certificates on 23 July, when organisers of public events and gatherings became obligated to check visitors' certificates, only to delete it on the same day due to privacy concerns. Hospitality providers in Slovenia have been required to check guests' certificates since 26 July.
The second app was then launched on 30 July, revealing merely the fact the individual meets the Covid requirement, but experts have warned it paves the way for abuses.
Before the government adopted the latest decree, Information Commissioner Mojca Prelesnik warned that a relevant legal basis should be adopted to enable checking of Covid certificates in hospitality and event industries.
NIJZ replied to Prelesnik on Wednesday, presenting the latest method of checking compliance and highlighting that the new app was not linked with any database apart from the required central app server and a server storing rules to check validity of the certificates.
Today, Prelesnik said that she would suspend the app-related procedure to ask the Constitutional Court to review the decree.
She said in a press release any personal data processing interferes with human rights guaranteed by the constitution, so it cannot be regulated in a government decree.
"Adopting a government decree does not provide for the same level of democratic process as decision-making in parliament," she explained her decision.
Prelesnik said she understood the urgency of measures due to the epidemiological situation, but stressed that a law is needed to determine personal data processing.
STA, 5 August 2021 - The Slovenian men's basketball team lost 89:90 to France in the semi-finals of their debut Olympic basketball tournament on Thursday to play for the bronze medal against Australia on Saturday at 1pm CET.
This is Slovenia's first loss at the tournament after the team sailed through the group phase and outperformed Germany in the semi-finals.
In scoring, Slovenia were led by Mike Tobey with 23 points and Klemen Prepelič with 17 points, while NBA superstar Luka Dončić scored a triple-double, collecting 16 points, 10 rebounds and 18 assists.
It was actually the first loss for Slovenia in official matches after Dončić joined the team, as they rang up 17 wins in a row, including at the 2017 EuroBasket, only to lose today to France, who will play the United States in the finals.
The Slovenian became only a third player ever to record a triple-double in an Olympic tournament to join Russian Alexander Belov (1976) and American LeBron James (2012).
Slovenia had the chance to win the match in the last seconds, with Prepelič attempting a lay-up, which was blocked by France's Nicolas Batum. One possession earlier, Prepelič put Slovenia in the position for a win with a three pointer.
Nevertheless, Slovenia are less than 48 hour away from a chance to win the bronze medal, which would be the first medal for the country in team sports at the Summer Olympics ever.
Slovenia's head coach Aleksander Sekulić said it was a "good game with an excellent opponent" and praised his players for going all out on the court.
Dončić said he was proud of the team. "We lost, although we had a nice opportunity at the end to win. Everybody gave their best. We worked hard for two months to show this level of play here and we surprised a lot of people."
He added that Slovenia had not given up at all, as there was another goal of winning a medal, on which the entire team would focus.
France's head coach Vincent Collet said that the team had been well prepared for Dončić, as his game had been analysed. "We kept throwing our best players at him, tried to wear him down, but he nevertheless collected 18 assists."
France's Nando de Colo, who was the top scorer of the match with 25 points, said it was "one of the toughest matches I've ever played. We had much respect of Slovenia and the team play and the coach's strategy was decisive."
STA, 5 August 2021 - Late on Wednesday, the British government updated its entry requirements and placed several countries, including Slovenia, on the green list. As of Sunday morning, travellers from Slovenia will only need a negative Covid test to enter England, regardless of the person's vaccination status, foreign news agencies report.
In addition to Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway have also been added to the green list.
Travellers from these countries will no longer need a vaccination certificate, but must be tested for the new coronavirus before and after entering England. As part of the update, England has further relaxed restrictions for France.
The British government in London can impose health and travel restrictions for England. For Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, these decisions are taken by the authorities there, but often follow England's lead.
The UK has been phasing out restrictive measures in recent weeks, as the number of vaccinated persons increases and the number of hospital admissions of Covid patients decreases.
So far, around 88.7% of all adults in the UK have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while 73.2% have already been fully immunised.
STA, 4 August 2021 - A cross-border natural hazards portal has been launched by Slovenia and Austria as a result of a three-year project. Cooperation between the two countries has led to new and improved systems of weather monitoring, forecasts and warnings of floods and avalanches.
Seven organisations from both countries participated in the Crossrisk project, which was launched in June 2018. Wrapping up the project on Wednesday, they presented the results of the initiative at a meeting near the Ljubelj mountain pass practically on the Slovenian-Austrian border.
The portal, available at www.crossrisk.eu, delivers forecasts and warnings in Slovenian, German and English for Slovenia and the southern part of Austria where heavy rain and snow can cause severe damage.
Innovative systems warn about floods, snow melting, snowfall, snow weight and avalanches as well as help users plan outdoor activities, particularly hiking in winter or ski touring, said Miha Pavšek from the ZRC SAZU research centre, one of the participating organisations.
The project was also based on cooperation between Slovenian and Austrian environment agencies with Aleš Poredoš of the former noting that users would benefit from cross-border daily forecasts and warnings regarding winter mountain conditions. Local authorities and ski resorts could consult the portal when deciding on potential evacuation or closure.
Moreover, Crossrisk also provides information on the impact of climate change on precipitation. The EUR 1.3 million project was funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.
This summary is provided by the STA:
Coronavirus case count at 139 on Tuesday
LJUBLJANA - A total of 139 people tested positive for coronavirus in Slovenia on Tuesday, as the week-on-week growth in new cases continued for the 7th straight day, shows data from the National Institute of Public Health. As rising trend continues, the 7-day average of new cases has now topped 100, at 105, up eight from the day before. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents increased by two to 57. There are now an estimated 1,224 active cases in the country.
Slovenia sends firefighters to N Macedonia
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia deployed a civil protection unit and vehicles to North Macedonia to help fight wildfires there in response to the country's asking for help through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Slovenia sent 48 members of civil protection specialising in fighting wildfires with 17 vehicles, including fire engines, the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration said.
Ministry condemns tweet labelling Adolf Hitler a hero
LJUBLJANA - The Culture Ministry condemned as reprehensible a tweet labelling Adolf Hitler a hero by Urban Purgar, the president of the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Values, an NGO in public interest in the field of culture. It also resolutely rejected incitement of hatred and totalitarian ideas. The ministry told the STA that the association had been awarded the special status under all rules for the relevant administrative procedure. The tweet will be investigated by the Ljubljana District Prosecution.
Three police officers given warnings over conduct in two protests
LJUBLJANA - The General Police Directorate confirmed for the STA that three officers of the Ljubljana Police Department have been given written warnings before termination of employment due to violations of the employment contract in relation to their conduct in two separate protests - an alternative celebration of Statehood Day in Ljubljana on 25 June by anti-government protesters and a rally by anti-maskers in front of parliament from 5 to 7 July. The SPS police trade union said this was an unlawful and inadmissible measure. Reportedly, all three officers hold senior positions at the department.
Petrol launches its second wind farm in Croatia
KNIN, Croatia - Slovenian energy company Petrol has opened its second wind farm in Croatia. Ljubač, situated near the town of Knin in south Croatia, has nine turbines, which should generate around 96 gigawatts of electricity a year, covering the needs of 30,000 households. The company built its first wind farm in Croatia, near the coastal town of Šibenik, in 2017.
Slovenia's joblessness keeps falling
LJUBLJANA - A total of 70,655 people were registered as unemployed in Slovenia in July, a decline of 0.6% from June and down as much as 21% from July 2020, according to a report released by the Employment Service. The total kept falling despite the number of the newly registered rising by 54% from June to 5,443. The latter figure was still nearly 34% below last year's.
Sailing: Mrak and Macarol finish fifth at Tokyo Olympics
TOKYO, Japan - Slovenian Olympic sailors Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol finished fifth in the 470 class at the Tokyo Olympics, losing one more place (69 points) after the final medal race, in which they finished seventh. The gold was won by Britain's Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre (37 points). Poland's Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Jolanta Ogar finished second, while France's Aloise Retornaz and Camille Lecointre finished third.
Slovenia's Mišmaš Zrimšek sixth in 3000-meter steeplechase
TOKYO, Japan - Slovenia's Maruša Mišmaš Zrimšek placed sixth in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase at the Olympic Games in Tokyo after securing the finals on Sunday. By clocking 9:14.84 at what are her debut Olympics, she set a new Slovenian record. Gold went to Peruth Chemutai from Uganda, who finished 13.39 seconds ahead of her.
STA, 3 August 2021 - Slovenian archaeologists have discovered several finds along the river Ljubljanica during the renovation Zlata Ladjica house, including the foundations of the Butcher's Bridge, which has since the Middle Ages been replaced by the current Shoemaker's Bridge.
The find did not come as a surprise because the Butcher's Bridge in what is now Jurčič Square was known from historical records, yet it is the first material evidence to prove its existence, Martin Horvat, an archaeologist at the Ljubljana Museum and Galleries (MGML), told the STA on Tuesday.
Arheologi so na Jurčičevem trgu v Stari Ljubljani odkrili temelje srednjeveškega Mesarskega mostu, ki je stal na mestu sedanjega Čevljarskega mostu, kar vzbuja zanimanje sprehajalcev. Več zanimivih zgodb o mostovih je podal arheolog Martin Horvat iz @mgml.https://t.co/FowdRzWfqk pic.twitter.com/xruc4Fnyop
— Turizem Ljubljana (@TurizemLJ) August 5, 2021
The Butcher's Bridge was first indirectly mentioned around 1280, when a piece of information appeared about an Old Bridge, located where the Triple Bridge stands now. The mention of the Old Bridge meant a new bridge - the Butcher's Bridge - must have been built by then where the Shoemaker's Bridge is now.
"At first it was very probably fully made of wood, including the foundations on both river banks," said Horvat.
Still, the newly discovered foundations are from sometime later, probably the 14th century. They are made of a kind of bricks, while the bridge itself was probably made of wood.
In the second half of the 19th century, the bridge was replaced by an iron bridge and renamed after Mayor Johann Nepomuk Hradecky, while in the 1930s, the current Shoemaker's Bridge was build there, designed by architect Jože Plečnik.
The bridge names reflected the business being done there: butcher's shops on the Butcher's Bridge were mentioned in the 16th century, but were banned from it at the start of the 17th century for the smell and water pollution. The bridge was then occupied by other craftsmen, increasingly by shoe makers, hence the name the Shoemaker's Bridge.
The excavations in Jurčič Square have also led to the discovery of the remains of Roman and Medieval riverbanks, while a bit earlier, archaeologists were surprised to discover finds related to a blacksmith's shop from the 12th century. Another interesting find is a giant sewage pipe from the end of the 17th or early 18th century.
The archaeologists started working in Jurčič Square around two months ago to supervise the start of construction work.
While the excavations have been completed there, they have moved to the other side of the Zlata Ladjica (Golden Ship) house, where they expect to come across more finds related to the blacksmith's shops as well as more of the riverbanks from the Middle Ages and later.
In the Middle Ages, one to three metres of the riverbank was "acquired" by way of using various materials to narrow the river, Horvat explained.
He also highlighted that this area - known as Breg - used to be Ljubljana's main port for all goods transported on the Ljubljanica, with all the needed facilities such as warehouses or customs offices, some of whose foundations Horvat hopes will be found.
STA, 3 August 2021 - Ljubljana police have arrested seven suspects, of whom two foreigners, as part of two criminal rings that organised transport of over 200 illegal migrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina via Slovenia to Italy for financial gain in 2020 and 2021. Six suspects have been remanded in custody and one is in house arrest.
The first ring is suspected of having organised illegal crossing of the border and transport for 116 citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Ljubljana Police Department said on Tuesday.
The investigation targeted five suspects, each of whom had a specific task in the ring, which was led by a Slovenian citizen from the area of Ljubljana.
In Italy, the ring had at least three unidentified ring leaders.
The manner in which the ring helped illegal migrants get from Bosnia to Italy was such to pose a risk to the lives of the migrants, the police said.
Each illegal migrant was also charged some EUR 3,500 for the journey, with the ring estimated to have gained at least EUR 406,000 in illegal gain.
On 10 May Ljubljana police arrested three ring members, of whom two Slovenian citizens and one Bosnian.
The other ring is suspected of having organised illegal transport for at least 91 foreigners from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and Bangladesh.
Six persons had been investigated, and four arrested in the sting on 17 June, of whom three were Slovenian citizens and one Serbian. The investigating judge then sent one of them into house arrest.
The gang is estimated to have gained at least around EUR 28,700.
In the first investigation, the Slovenian police cooperated with Italian authorities to exchange information, and in the second one with police from Italy and Croatia.
