STA, 15 March 2022 - While the government decided to cap the prices of the two best-selling petrols, regular and diesel, for a month starting today, for heating oil only a temporary regulation of margins had been introduced, so the price went up by more than 24% today.

The price of heating oil went up from EUR 1.018 a litre to EUR 1.264, which is a 24.2% rise.

In the face of rising energy prices, the government introduced a temporary regulation of margins for distributors of heating oil at the start of the heating season in November 2021. Initially it was introduced for three months, and then extended by another three months in January.

Since February, excise duties on electricity and fuels, including heating oil, have been reduced to the lowest possible rate. But this does not necessarily mean lower prices, as the prices of raw materials went up significantly after Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Last November, when the margins were reduced, the price of heating oil dropped below one euro per litre. Then it rose somewhat and has been just over a euro this year. On Monday, it was EUR 1.018 a litre.

Meanwhile, the price of regular petrol is now capped at 1,503 per litre, about six cents below the lowest price at the pump on Monday, and diesel at EUR 1,541, roughly 13 cents cheaper. The new regime will be in place for at least 30 days.

STA, 14 March 2022 - The prices of the two best-selling petrols, regular and diesel, will be capped for a month starting today. Regular now costs 1,503 per litre, about six cents below the lowest price at the pump on Monday, and diesel is capped at EUR 1,541, roughly 13 cents cheaper.

The price cap was reintroduced by the government on Monday to arrest the surge in petrol prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which led to rising global oil prices.

"The aim is to calm the situation on the motor fuels market," Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said.

The price was capped based on calculations taking into account the seven-day representative average of prices that the Infrastructure Ministry sends to the European Commission.

The situation will be monitored during the next 30 days and the government will take further action if necessary.

The newspaper Finance assessed the government's decision will push fuel retailers into the red for at least this week.

Its calculations show that retailers are to lose more than 10 cents per litre of diesel sold and around 5 cents per litre of regular. Other costs included, the loss is even higher.

Since the demand at stations along the Italian border has now increased because the prices are much lower than in Italy, the losses of these stations will be even higher.

Retailers have so far been reserved in their reactions. OMV Slovenija told Finance that premium diesel had been removed from sale because its sale was no longer commercially viable.

Meanwhile, hauliers are happy with the capped prices, as fuel costs had accounted for a record 30% of all their costs after fuel prices went up by almost a third since the start of the year, according to Robert Sever from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS). Now they are down to 15%, he told the STA.

Finance has also calculated the effects of the government's decision on state revenue from excise duties on fuel. The state is to receive one cent fewer per litre of petrol, which is still one cent more than two weeks ago. For diesel the drop is two cents per litre, which is still one cent more than two weeks ago.

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Govt sets maximum prices of fuel

LJUBLJANA - In order to tackle the rising energy prices, the government capped retail prices for fuels at service stations. From Tuesday, regular petrol will cost EUR 1.503 per litre, about six cents below the lowest price at the pump on Monday, and diesel will cost EUR 1.541, roughly 13 cents cheaper. The cap will be in force for 30 days, said Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek. Announcing this earlier, PM Janez Janša said the government would not allow any speculation on the fuel prices market.

Janša accuses Russia of "ethnic cleansing" in Ukraine

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša accused Russia of conducting ethnic cleansing in Ukraine as he drew parallels between the current situation in Ukraine and the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina during questions time in parliament. "This is not just war or aggression, it is simply the ethnic cleansing of the coastal area along the Black Sea," he said, adding that the Russian army was trying to displace hundreds of thousands of people.

Pahor meeting Van der Bellen over Ukraine on Tuesday

VIENNA, Austria - President Borut Pahor will start a two-day visit to Vienna on Tuesday. He will first meet Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen to discuss Russia's military aggression in Ukraine and efforts to end it as soon as possible, and establish dialogue that could lead towards a peaceful solution. The next day, Pahor will give a talk at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna on the Western Balkans and the war in Ukraine and its implications for European and global peace.

Slovenia, US complete second strategic dialogue

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia and the US affirmed historical friendship and shared values as they completed the second strategic dialogue in Ljubljana led by Political Director at the Foreign Ministry Jernej Müller and Deputy Assistant Secretary Robin Dunnigan from the US Department of State's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. The officials exchanged views on the latest developments in Eastern Europe and its neighbourhood, including their joint condemnation of the war in Ukraine.

Army plans significant equipment purchases this year

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) is planning significant equipment purchases this year, including a new transport aircraft, new helicopters, 8x8 armoured vehicles, cargo vehicles, communication and information systems and ground sensors, the Defence Ministry's logistics director Uroš Korošec said. The purchases are not related to the current security situation in Europe, but have been planned in advance, he added.

Slovenia to send aid to Slovakia in face of refugee influx

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will send material assistance to Slovakia in the face of an increasing flow of refugees from Ukraine under a decision taken at the government's correspondence session. The estimated value of the aid is nearly EUR 380,000. The assistance will be in the form of sleeping bags, blankets, diesel generators and protective masks, the Government Communications Office said.

Administrative units returning to business as usual

LJUBLJANA - Administrative units will return to business as usual after the government revoked a decree that severely restricted in-person operations by requiring that customers schedule appointments for services such as issuance of documents. Clients will no longer have to do this now, but the option of scheduling will remain, the Government Communications Office said.

Slovenia, Croatia, Italy launch hydrogen valley cooperation

ZAGREB, Croatia - Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Blaž Košorok signed a letter of intent with his Croatian colleague Ivo Miletić and Massimiliano Fedriga, president of the Italian region Friuli Venezia-Giulia, to boost cooperation in building a cross-border hydrogen valley in the North Adriatic. The collaboration will contribute to efforts to achieve the targets set out in the European Green Deal and the European Hydrogen Strategy, the ministry said.

Slovenia just below EU average in barriers to wind and solar energy

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia ranks just below EU average in terms of barriers to wind and solar energy projects, with the biggest obstacle being the difficulty integrating such projects in spatial and environmental planning, the European Climate Foundation found in the first-of-its-kind report. The report puts Slovenia's barrier index at 0.82, which compares to 0.83 for the 27 EU countries and the UK. Slovenia thus ranks 18th among the EU countries and the UK.

Slovenia 7th in EU Commission's Transitions Performance Index

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia ranks seventh among all EU member states in the European Commission's Transitions Performance Index (TPI), a scoreboard that monitors and ranks countries based on implementation of sustainability policies between 2011 and 2020. The bloc has made an average progress of 4.9%, while the global rate was 4.3%. Slovenia's progress was 5%, the European Commission said.

Slovenian politicians regret the death of Erhard Busek

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian politicians, including Prime Minister Janez Janša, expressed regret at the news that Erhard Busek, former vice-chancellor of Austria, has died aged 80. The expert on the Western Balkans was considered Slovenia's ally, including during the country's independence efforts, and an advocate of Slovenia's EU accession. "Rest in peace, dear Erhard, we will never forget your support for Slovenia in the most challenging times," Janša wrote.

Ljubljana airport upbeat about summer season

BRNIK - Ljubljana airport plans to offer flights to several new destinations in the summer season that starts at the end of the month. Talks are still under way, but 16 airlines are expected to fly to 20 destinations, and several new charter flights are also planned. The airport's operator Fraport Slovenija said the increased demand showed the European aviation was recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. The company expects passenger numbers to double this year compared with 2021 to 52% of the 2019 figure.

Ljubljana sign infrastructure deal with govt

LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković and Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec signed a protocol to continue infrastructure projects and an agreement to develop railway stations in the capital. A total of 11 projects have been identified, including construction of underpasses under railway lines. The value of the planned projects and the timeline of the construction is not defined but Vrtovec said the state would earmark "tens of millions of euros".

New Ljubljana park named in honour of the erased

LJUBLJANA - A park in Ljubljana will be named in honour of some 25,000 nationals of former Yugoslav republics who were unlawfully erased from Slovenia's permanent residence register thirty years ago under a proposal confirmed by the City Council. The proposal was put forward by Amnesty International Slovenia and the Civil Initiative of Erased Persons.

Slovenians firmly on Ukraine's side, poll shows

LJUBLJANA - In Russia's war against Ukraine, Slovenians overwhelmingly support Ukraine and a plurality think Russia is to blame for the war, though many feel all sides are to blame, shows a poll carried by Dnevnik and Večer. More than a half of respondents fear that the war will spread to other countries, under a quarter said this was a local war, and 15% expressed the fear that the war will end with a nuclear confrontation.

Another poll shows gap narrowing between Freedom Movement and SDS

LJUBLJANA - The Freedom Party continues to lead the field in the latest poll run by the newspaper Delo, polling at 18.8%, but just like in a poll released a couple of days ago it has lost its margin ahead of the ruling Democrats (SDS). However, pollsters somewhat changed the methodology since. The approval rating for the government is up too.

Insurer Grawe's annual net profit drops by a quarter

MARIBOR - The Slovenian subsidiary of Austrian insurance group Grawe last year collected EUR 47.7 million in gross revenue from insurance premiums, which is 1.2% more year-on-year, while net profit was down by a quarter to EUR 1 million. The number of concluded insurance policies increased by 2.7% compared to 2020 to 408,839, Zavarovalnica Grawe said, noting that gross revenue from insurance premiums for 2021 was the highest in the last 31 years.

Cleangrad develops first sliding airtight doors for cleanrooms

LJUTOMER - Cleangrad, a Ljutomer company specialising in design and construction of cleanrooms, has become the world's first to develop sliding airtight doors for cleanrooms. A total of 25 such doors have been ordered so far, and if the demand increases, a new production facility will be built solely for this product. CEO Jernej Zupančič said the company had EUR 13 million worth of orders for this year after sales rose by EUR 1 million to EUR 18.5 million in 2021. They will celebrate 20th anniversary in June.

Steady climb in Covid-19 cases continues

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia logged 907 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, up 19% from the same day a week ago. Five more patients with Covid-19 died, Health Ministry data shows. A total of 233 patients are treated in hospitals due to Covid-19, including 59 in intensive care. This is three and five fewer, respectively, than yesterday and 22 and 15 fewer than a week ago. The 7-day average of new cases is now at 1,997 and the 14-day notification rate per 100,000 of the population at 1,220.

STA, 14 March 2022 - The government will adopt a regulation today to determine the maximum prices of fuel at service stations, Prime Minister Janez Janša told MPs, announcing reintroduction of regulated fuel prices from Tuesday.

Janša made the announcement in response to a question from Janja Sluga, the head of the group of unaffiliated MPs, about the government's moves in the face of energy and food price hikes.

The same pricing mechanism as had been in place until April 2016, when the first round of price liberalisation took place, will be used to calculate the prices. The government will not allow for any speculation on the fuel prices market, Janša said.

The move comes after a group of opposition and unaffiliated deputies filed a bill on regulation of prices of petroleum products last week.

Janša said the government had introduced several measures in the face of rising energy price, noting that electricity bills, which users were getting these days, were significantly lower.

"The government has suspended the paying of network fees and some other levies to significantly lower the expenses for the people and it will stay this way for a while," Janša said, adding that aid had been allocated to the most vulnerable groups.

As for the rising fuel prices, he said that panic had been caused, which had resulted in daily sales going up sixfold. He stressed there was no need for panic and that fuel supplies were sufficient.

Russian oil represents 12% of global supplies, and this can be quickly replaced, he said.

The government had been warning fuel retailers to disperse their sources but they still mostly signed contracts with Russian oil companies "because some traditions die hard and connections work", Janša said.

The government fully liberalised the fuel market in 2020, so fuel retailers have been free in setting the prices for all types of fuel since 1 October 2020.

In the face of rising energy prices and the then-upcoming heating season, the government introduced a temporary regulation of margins for distributors of heating oil in November 2021. Initially it was introduced for three months, and then extended in January.

STA, 14 March 2022 - Cleangrad, a Ljutomer-based company specialising in design and construction of cleanrooms, has become the first in the world to develop sliding airtight doors for cleanrooms. A total of 25 such doors have been ordered so far, and if the demand increases, a new production facility will be built solely for this product.

The company, which will celebrate 20th anniversary in June, has entered 2022 with 13 million euros in orders, Cleangrad director Jernej Zupančič has told the STA as he announced the development of the new product.

He said that 2021 was one of the best years in the company's history, as sales increased by about EUR 1 million euros and revenue amounted to EUR 18.5 million.

The company continued to hire additional staff last year to increase the workforce to 240, and is still looking for new staff. "We need engineers, project managers, security engineers, electricians," Zupančič said.

Cleangrad designs and manufactures cleanrooms for the production of vaccines and medications and for hospitals, and produces doors and special airtight doors, pass-box chambers and stainless steel furniture.

It supplies its products to large pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Jannsen and GlaxoSmithKline, and it has struck partnership with the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, the Indian Serum Institute.

Cleangrad has also scored its first major project in France, in a company that will fill Covid-19 medication pills, Zupančič said, noting that this deal had secured two and a half years of work for Cleangrad.

The company has a production facility in the former premises of the clothings maker Mura, and last year it built a new administrative building nearby, in the Ljutomer industrial zone in what was a EUR 2.5 million investment.

A special showroom will also be developed there to present the company's products and production processes, and there is some additional space and land at the new location for potential new production facilities, Zupančič said.

Learn more at Cleangrad’s website

STA, 13 March 2022 - Slovenian ski jumpers Domen Prevc, Peter Prevc, Timi Zajc and Anže Lanišek scored a convincing win in the team event at the Ski Flying World Championships in Vikersund, Norway, on Sunday. Slovenia beat their closest pursuers, Germany, by 128 points to bag their ninth World Championships medal, including their third gold.

While all the other teams had a weak link among their four competitors, the Slovenian jumpers performed very consistently and justified their role as favourites after their earlier performances in the individual event. On Saturday, Zajc finished second, Peter Prevc fourth, Lanišek fifth and Domen Prevc sixth.

Today, Slovenia boasted the best results in six of the eight jumps and led convincingly after the first round. Brothers Prevc, Zajc and Lanišek built up a 63.4 point lead over the Germans and 77.2 over the Austrians.

After the second round, the lead increased to 128 points. Zajc was deemed the best individual in the event, and Lanišek jumped the longest, at 234 metres. Germany won silver and bronze went to Norway after Austria dropped to fourth place.

"We were performing really well already in the individual competition, and today we flew far again," said Peter Prevc in his first statement to the International Ski Federation.

"We've clearly caught the right weekend. Sometimes we catch a good one, sometimes we don't, but this time everything fell into place. I think the fact that we have a lot of competition within the team contributed a lot to that," added the eldest of the Prevc brothers, who won his first gold medal in a ski flying team event.

"It feels very good. (...) It was difficult today, but nobody made a mistake so we did well," said Zajc, and Lanišek added: "We did it, we have a really strong team. We all flew superbly and kudos to the whole coaching team and the boys. I'm very happy."

"You have to be confident, do your job and be patient, because a lot can happen until the very end," noted Domen Prevc, the youngest of the Prevc brothers.

This is Slovenia's ninth overall medal and third team event medal at the Ski Flying World Championships, which have been held since 1972. It is also the country's third gold medal at such competitions.

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Connecting Slovenia believe they will decide next govt

CELJE - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek is confident that the alliance Connecting Slovenia, which also includes his party Concretely, will decide what the next government will be like. He urged voters on Saturday to secure them a double-digit vote needed for that. They will run with 88 candidates in the election, including four out of the five leaders of the parties making up the movement; Počivalšek plus Andrej Čuš (Greens), Franc Kangler (New People's Party), Andrej Magajna (New Social Democracy), and the movement's coordinator Nada Pavšer.

Janša says Slovenia to reach development peak under SDS leadership

LJUBLJANA - The ruling Democrats (SDS) marked their 33rd anniversary on Saturday. On the occasion, the party's head and Prime Minister Janez Janša said that under the leadership of the SDS, Slovenia would in a few years' time be among the most developed countries in the world. He noted that the developments in Ukraine would decide the future of Europe and its neighbourhood. There is a lot at stake, he said, and many of those who hold the instruments to do more are not fully aware of this.

Whistleblower Ivan Gale becomes head of new party Our Future

LJUBLJANA - The recently-established non-parliamentary party Our Future elected on Saturday Ivan Gale, a former senior employee of the Commodity Reserves Agency and a prominent whistleblower, as its president. Violeta Bulc, the former European commissioner, has become the party's vice president. The party, which will present its candidate list for the upcoming election in the coming days, will unveil its platform at its congress in April.

Covid cases continue to rise

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 1,108 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, up by 18% on the same day a week ago, as cases have been waxing for the ninth day in a row. A total of 172 patients were hospitalised due to Covid-19 this morning, including 64 in intensive care, down by 66 and five in daily comparison, respectively. Another six people with Covid died, according to government data.

Jaklitsch visits Slovenians in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch continued her visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday, meeting representatives of Slovenian communities from Sarajevo and from several other Bosnian cities or towns, including Kakanj, Breza and Zenica, her office said. She also visited the Slovenian Embassy in Sarajevo.

Ljubljana university holds meeting of Central-European universities

LJUBLJANA - The University of Ljubljana hosted on Saturday senior officials of the League of European Research Universities (LERU) and the chancellors of Central-European universities (CE7). The meeting was dedicated to the EU's development in research, innovation and education, as well as responses to the war in Ukraine in support of the academic-research community.

Slovenia win gold at Ski Flying World Championships

VIKERSUND, Norway - Slovenian ski jumpers Domen Prevc, Peter Prevc, Timi Zajc and Anže Lanišek scored a convincing win in the men's team event at the Ski Flying World Championships in Vikersund, Norway. Slovenia beat their closest pursuers, Germany, by 128 points to bag their ninth World Championships medal, including their third gold. Germany won silver and bronze went to Norway.

Podium sweep for Slovenia's female ski jumpers in Oberhof

OBERHOF, Germany - Slovenia's ski jumpers Urša Bogataj, Nika Križnar and Ema Klinec placed first, second and third, respectively, at the last women's ski jumping World Cup event of the season in Oberhof, Germany. Another Slovenian finished in the top ten - Špela Rogelj, who placed sixth in what was the last event of her career. It was confirmed that Zoran Zupančič was stepping down as the team's head coach.

Pogačar defends Tirreno-Adriatico title

ANCONA, Italy - Slovenia's cyclist Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won the Tirreno-Adriatico race, which goes from the western shores of Italy to the eastern coast, for the second time in a row. So far, he has won all the three races of this season he competed in. Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) placed second overall and Spain's Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) was third.

Roglič wins Paris-Nice race

NICE, France - Slovenian rider Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) won the Paris-Nice race after he held on to his advantage by finishing third in the final stage. This is his second win so far this season. Roglič's main rival in the race, Brit Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco), was second overall, and Colombia's Daniel Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers) was third.

Kristoffersen wins another Vitranc Cup event

KRANJSKA GORA - Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen won another of the two World Cup giant slalom races for the 61st Vitranc Cup in Kranjska Gora. Austria's Stefan Brennsteiner was second and Switzerland's Marco Odermatt third. The only Slovenian competitor in the race, Žan Kranjec, again finished tenth.

STA, 11 March 202s - The National Assembly endorsed on Friday amendments to the income tax act that bring higher take-home pay across the board, lower tax on capital gains and a lower top tax rate.

The legislation was slated for passage late last year but was put on the back burner because the coalition did not have a majority in parliament and due to the threat of a referendum pushed for by the Left.

But after Prime Minister Janez Janša in January raised the prospect of holding the referendum along with the general election in April, the Left abandoned the plan and said it would try to tweak the legislation after the election.

The vote was 45 in favour and 40 against today, the missing votes provided by MPs of the National Party (SNS) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), which are opposition parties but tend to vote with the government.

The centrepiece of the legislation is a gradual increase in the general tax relief that all taxpayers are eligible for. It will rise from the current level of EUR 3,500 to EUR 7,500 by 2025.

Average pay would thus net EUR 260 more in 2022, EUR 520 more in 2023, EUR 780 more in 2024 and EUR 1,000 more in 2025, according to Finance Ministry calculations.

The tax rate in the highest income bracket, for those making more than EUR 72,000 per year, will be cut from 50% to 45%, and income tax brackets will be indexed to inflation.

The rate of tax from income from interest, dividends and profits has been cut from 27.5% to 25%, with tax-free status kicking in after 15 years of ownership.

Rental income tax will be reduced from 27.5% to 15%, which is coupled with a reduction in normalised costs.

Several other kinds of tax relief will be available for seniors over the age of 70, firefighters and civil protection members, and employers hiring people below 29 or over 55 years of age.

The government has billed the tax cuts as a much needed relief in Slovenia's high-tax business environment that will promote competitiveness and ensure sustainable economic growth, and business organisations have welcomed in particular the prospect of lower labour costs for high-skilled professions.

The centre-left opposition and trade unions, on the other hand, have described the legislation as handouts for the wealthy that will impoverish the tax coffers and make it more difficult to finance social programmes.

STA, 12 March 2022 - Olympic champion Urša Bogataj won the penultimate event of the women's Ski Jumping World Cup in Oberhof ahead of Nika Križnar for the second double World Cup victory for Slovenian women ski jumpers this season.

Bogataj secured 266.8 points for her second individual World Cup career victory. She was the runner-up to Ema Klinec in Russia's Nizhny Tagil in November in the first ever such feat for Slovenian women ski jumpers.

Klinec placed 5th today and Germany's Katharina Althaus was third.

After no replacement has been found for the cancelled events in Russia, Oberhof is the last venue of the women's Ski Jumping World Cup circuit this season. The finale will be held tomorrow.

Placing sixth today, Austrian Marita Kramer has already secured the overall World Cup victory after she had to miss the Olympics due to coronavirus infection.

With 1,266 points she will succeed Kržnar as the crystal globe winner. Križnar is second overall with 1,111 points and Bogataj is third with 1,051. Klinec is 7th with 620.

Slovenia have all but secured the Nations' Cup being 558 ahead of Austria in second.

Timi Zajc wins silver at Ski Flying World Championships

STA, 12 March 2022 - Timi Zajc won silver at the Ski Flying World Championships in Vikersund, Norway, on Saturday for what is the 8th medal for Slovenia since the first championship in Planica 50 years ago.

Despite clinching the event's longest distances of 243.5 and 235.5 metres, Zajc was pipped to the gold by Beijing Olympic champion Marius Lindvik of Norway.

Zajc indicated he was aiming high with his personal best of 245 metres in the trial series. However, he failed to land in the Telemark style in the third series, which cost him the gold.

He scored 844.3 points, 9.9 points less than Lindvik. World record holder Stefan Kraft of Austria won bronze with 837.5 points.

Three more Slovenian jumpers trailed just below the podium. Peter Prevc placed 4th (808.2) Anže Lanišek 5th (806.1) and Domen Prevc 6th (802.2).

This augurs well for Slovenia ahead of the team event on Sunday.

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Defence minister visits Logatec refugee centre

LOGATEC - Defence Minister Matej Tonin visited the refugee accommodation centre in Logatec, assessing that Ukrainian refugees are well taken care of. "Slovenia has once again shown its sensitivity to fellow human beings and proved its humanitarian face," Tonin was quoted as saying in a press release from the Defence Ministry. He thanked Logatec people for the warm welcome they had given to the Ukrainian refugees. Tonin heads the taskforce coordinating humanitarian and technical aid for Ukraine.

Second shipment of Caritas Slovenia aid arrives in Ukraine

LJUBLJANA - A second shipment of aid raised by Caritas Slovenia for Ukraine, comprising 33 pallets of food, blankets, medicines and toiletries, reached the most threatened parts of the country such as Kharkiv, Dnipro and Vinnytsia. The charity thanked the company Intersport for a donation of sleeping bags and air beds and the Slovenian Medical Chamber for emergency medical supplies, as well as to the people raising aid. Several Slovenian companies and charities are contributing to the relief effort.

SDS nearly tied with Freedom Movement in Ninamedia poll

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša's Democrats (SDS) have nearly caught up with the Freedom Movement, the party of Robert Golob, as the voters' top choice in the latest poll conducted by Ninamedia for four newspapers. The Election 2022 poll shows the Freedom Movement losing 0.2 percentage points to 21% and the SDS gaining 1.1 point to 20.2% with a total of eight parties projected to make it to parliament in the 24 April general election. Golob's party is projected to win 24 seats and the SDS 23.

Ex-PM vows to protect country from second financial disaster

NOVA GORICA - Alenka Bratušek invoked her brief stint as prime minister nine years ago during the time Slovenia was on the verge of default as she told voters they could trust her party and its allies to prevent a second financial catastrophe that she said Slovenia was racing to. Bratušek addressed an event in Nova Gorica to present her SAB party's candidates for the 24 April general election, including all six current MPs as well as three former ministers, discounting Bratušek.

Minister meets Slovenian communities in Bosnia-Herzegovina

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch learned about the different ways in which Slovenian communities in Bosnia-Herzegovina foster their heritage and traditions as she visited Prijedor, Slatina and Banja Luka as part of her three-day tour of the country. The minister visited Kakanj in central Bosnia today and is due to meet Sarajevo Deputy Mayor Anja Margetić in the capital on Sunday before wrapping up her tour in Tuzla.

Slovenia's Covid-19 curve up for over a week

LJUBLJANA - A total of 2,257 people tested positive for coronavirus in Slovenia on Friday, up nearly a quarter from week ago as the case count has been rising for the eighth day running. Five patients died, shows data released by the health Ministry. A total of 238 patients remain hospitalised due to Covid-19, including 69 in intensive care, which is roughly on a par with the day before. The 14-day notification rate per 100,000 of the population is now at 1,199, up by 22 from the previous day.

One migrant killed, ten injured in road accident

CELJE - One person was killed and ten were injured in an accident involving a van carrying illegal migrants on the Štajerska leg of the A1 motorway just after Friday midnight. The police said the driver who caused the accident fled the scene on foot. He was carrying 11 illegal migrants in the van in the direction of Ljubljana as he swerved into the metal barrier on the Tepanje-Dramlje section north-east of Celje. The van rolled over several times. Two of the injured sustained serious injuries.

Timi Zajc wins silver at Ski Flying World Championships

VIKERSUND, Norway - Timi Zajc won silver at the Ski Flying World Championships in Vikersund, Norway, for what is the 8th medal for Slovenia since the first championship in Planica 50 years ago. Despite clinching the event's longest distances of 243.5 and 235.5 metres, Zajc was pipped to the gold by Beijing Olympic champion Marius Lindvik of Norway. World record holder Stefan Kraft of Austria won bronze. Three more Slovenians placed between 4th and 6th spots, which augurs well ahead of the team event on Sunday.

Another double win for Slovenian women ski jumpers

OBERHOF, Germany - Olympic champion Urša Bogataj won the penultimate event of the women's Ski Jumping World Cup in Oberhof ahead of Nika Križnar for the second double World Cup victory for Slovenian women ski jumpers this season. This is Bogataj's second individual World Cup career victory. Ema Klinec placed 5th and Germany's Katharina Althaus was third. Austrian Marita Kramer has already secured the overall World Cup victory ahead of Kržnar and Bogataj. Slovenia is in the lead in the Nations' Cup.

Kristoffersen wins first leg of Vitranc Cup

KRANJSKA GORA - Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen won the first of the two World Cup giant slalom races for the 61st Vitranc Cup in Kranjska Gora. His teammate Lucas Braathen tied for second with the Swiss Marco Odermatt, who secured the victory in the overall World Cup giant slalom standings this season. The only Slovenian skier to compete, Žan Kranjec missed the podium after finishing third in the first run, placing 10th, one spot ahead of France's Alexis Pinturault, who was in the lead after the first run.

Couch Festival blurs line between stage and crowd

MARIBOR - More than 120 kitchens, living rooms, backyards and other private spaces across the country will double as performance venues at Couch Festival, a unique event series which blurs the line between performers and spectators. Over a hundred groups from Slovenia and abroad will perform genres including folk music, world music and jazz, or put on stage performances and puppet shows. The events are held in private spaces whose location is not revealed until the visitor has bought the ticket.