News

16 Aug 2022, 16:17 PM

Ljubljana Tightens Rules on Food Couriers

STA, 16 August 2022 - The local authorities in Ljubljana have announced that couriers of the food delivery companies Wolt and Glovo will have to wear identification numbers so that their traffic violations could be reported in what is an attempt to improve traffic safety in the centre of the capital and respond to the growing number of complaints.

As Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković announced at Tuesday's press conference, this will be done in agreement with the two companies that have the largest number of delivery staff in Ljubljana.

Janković assessed that "a very large number of delivery staff in the city centre violate traffic rules", with the local authorities receiving up to ten complaints a day.

A particularly large number of violations are being reported in Čopova Street, which connects the Slovenska Road with Prešeren Square and the Ljubljanica riverfront south of the square.

As of today, each courier of Wolt and Glovo will have their own personal number displayed in a visible place, Janković said, adding that "order must be respected".

The mayor noted that the move was about safety for pedestrians, especially the elderly and children, as there had been quite a few accidents.

Clemens Brugger, the director of the Slovenian branch of Wolt, and the regional courier manager at Glovo Blaž Marolt have agreed that the common goal of the initiative was safe traffic for all residents of Ljubljana and of couriers.

Brugger said that the vast majority of their couriers delivered food on time and without committing traffic violations, adding that the project would "help identify the handful of violators".

Marolt added that the company would "talk with the violators who will be reported multiple times, and if complaints continue, they will be dismissed".

Brugger said it was not up to Wolt to punish traffic violations, which was in the domain of the competent authorities, and Janković added that it would not be possible to punish violators if they were not caught by the police or traffic wardens.

Reservations have also been expressed about the idea as the financial standing of couriers could suffer as the pay depends on the number of performed deliveries.

The mayor said that couriers who think so should present better proposals, while a courier who participated in the press conference added that "if you think that you don't have enough time for a delivery, you can reject it."

"There is no need to rush," he said, while expressing scepticism that identification numbers will resolve the situation fully, although it is expected to reduce the number of violations.

Janković added that further steps could be taken depending on the number of complaints and information provided by the competent authorities.

16 Aug 2022, 11:17 AM

Economic Growth Slows to 8.2% in Q2

STA, 16 August 2022 - Slovenia's economy grew at an annual rate of 8.2% in the second quarter of the year driven by domestic and foreign demand, according to preliminary figures released by the Statistics Office on Tuesday. The rate is a slowdown from the nominal annual rate of 9.6% in the quarter before as the latest data shows.

Household expenditure was the biggest driver of domestic consumption, as trade in services had the most positive effect on foreign demand.

Domestic consumption increased by 8% with household expenditure going up by 10.6%. Gross fixed capital formation rose by 6.4%. Changes in inventories contributed 1.1 percentage points to GDP growth.

Exports growth outpaced growth in imports as a result of a high increase in exports of services. Total exports went up by 8.7% and imports by 8.5% over the second quarter of 2021.

Exports of services increased by 38.7% as imports of services rose by 22.4%. By contrast, merchandise exports rose at a slower pace than imports of goods like in the previous four quarters.

External trade balance contributed 0.6 percentage points to GDP growth.

Total value added increased by 8.7% compared with the second quarter of 2021. Trade activity grew by 20.8% to have the most positive impact for the third consecutive quarter.

Services continued to grow strong, with the information and communication industry expanding by 13.7% and professional, scientific and technical activities expanding by 12.4%.

Meanwhile, growth in manufacturing had been slowing for the fifth consecutive quarter, but it remained positive, at 2.7% year-on-year in the second quarter.

Total employment in the second quarter increased by 3.4% year-on-year to 1,080,000 persons. Most new jobs were created in construction, manufacturing and professional, scientific and technical activities.

According to data adjusted for season and work days, which is used for comparisons within the EU, Slovenia's economy expanded by 8.3% year-on-year in the second quarter. It grew by 0.9% on the quarter before.

The Statistics Office will present more detailed data at a news conference on Thursday.

More on this data

16 Aug 2022, 11:09 AM

25th Mladi Levi Performing Arts Festival in Ljubljana, 19–27 August

STA, 16 August 2022 - A packed programme revolving around "tradition, transience and repetition" awaits visitors of the 25th edition of the international contemporary performing arts festival Mladi Levi (Young Lions), which will run in Ljubljana from 19 and 27 August.

The jubilee edition, put together by a new curator trio, will kick off with two performances, scheduled simultaneously on Friday.

The Stara Elektrarna venue will feature This Song My Father Used to Sing, an intimate piece by Thai director Wichaya Artama, while the Puppet Theatre's Stage under the Stars will host Bodybodybodybody, a show by Belgian musicians Dag Taeldeman and Andrew Van Ostade which curator Lea Kukovič said encompassed the whole of the 21st century.

What Kukovič labelled the likely most divisive performance of the festival will take place at Stara Elektrarna on Saturday. German director and artist Julian Hetzel's Campo: All Inclusive puts the Escape Gallery on stage to present works of art entirely made of several kilograms of rubble from the Syrian conflict zone.

Mornings at the festival will be marked by performances by Petra Varl, a Slovenian visual artist currently interested in the spectator, their position and experience in space.

Chilean artists Ebama Garin Corronel and Luisa Guenela Sota are bringing two performances to the festival. Minga of a Ruined House, scheduled on 23 August, deals with the meaning of home, while Mutilated focuses on police violence.

Both will take place at Stara Elektrarna, as will on 25 August the concluding event of the nine-year project Create to Connect Create to connect - Create to impact, which mostly deals with forms of ties between artists and communities and the impact of art in society.

Mladi Levi 2022 will end with a performance led by Slovenian artists Katja Legin in Bojana Robinson entitled Oh How Very Ordinary and dealing with how a closer look at ordinary lives shows they are actually full of interesting phenomena.

The programme moreover includes a premiere of Slovenian artist Neja Tomšič and Nonument Group's Circle, an immersive documentary installation with narration focusing on the park of railroad workers in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

The festival will also feature two panel debates, whose main topic will be the future in the context of art, social influence and outer space.

The entry fee for all performances is 1 euro, but visitors are welcome to contribute more.

Learn more at the website

16 Aug 2022, 07:28 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Tuesday, 16 August 2022

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:

Archbishop urges people to contribute to coexistence, peace

BREZJE - Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore urged people to live by the word of God and contribute to cooperation and peace as he delivered a sermon to mark the Feast of the Assumption. "We have to realise that everyone has the duty to do everything they can to foster coexistence, mutual cooperation and sincere efforts for peace among people, groups, political parties and nations," he said.

Roglič confirmed for La Vuelta

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian cycling star Primož Roglič will compete at La Vuelta, his team Jumbo Visma confirmed. The three-time La Vuelta winner had sustained serious injuries in a crash at the Tour de France and it was uncertain whether he will be ready for the Spanish race. Now, he has received the green light from doctors.

Food supply chain ombudsman calls for equal distribution of risk

LJUBLJANA - A report by the Food Supply Chain Relations Ombudsman for 2021 calls for equal distribution of risks throughout the food supply chain, and fair and transparent relationships. "Direct purchases from producers help prevent price hikes and self-sufficiency is also a significant factor in this," says the report, adding that the food supply chain breaks down in crisis situations and that suppliers and producers are the weakest links.

Dobrna spa quadruples profit in 2021

DOBRNA - Terme Dobrna, a spa in north-eastern Slovenia, has reported a net profit of EUR 892,000 for 2021, which compares to EUR 248,000 the year before. Net sales revenue increased by 26% to EUR 11.1 million. The annual report attributes the recovery to the fact that Slovenian tourists preferred to vacate closer to home. Foreign tourists accounted for only 5% of stays.

Households experience rise in income over past year

LJUBLJANA - More than a quarter of Slovenian households have seen their incomes rise over the past year, while the share of households that have had problems paying their housing costs has also increased, shows a report by the Statistics Office. Meanwhile, 18% of households struggled to make ends meet with their income.

15 Aug 2022, 08:48 AM

National Holiday in Slovenia – Feast of the Assumption

STA, 15 August 2022 - Christians are celebrating the Feast of the Assumption on Monday, the most important and one of the oldest Church holidays dedicated to Mary, and a national holiday in Slovenia. Bishops will say Mass at the country's main pilgrimage sites, as well as at the many churches dedicated to Virgin Mary around the country.

Catholic bishops symbolically entrusted the Slovenian nation into Mary's hands in Brezje, the main pilgrimage site, in 1992, and the same year, 15 August became a bank holiday.

This year, the bishops will renew this bond, with Archbishop of Ljubljana Stanislav Zore saying Mass in front of the Mary Help of Christians Basilica in Brezje, north-west.

Archbishop of Maribor Alojzij Cvikl will celebrate Mass at the basilica dedicated to the Virgin Protectress on Ptujska Gora hill, another major pilgrimage site.

The Slovenian Bishops' Conference says that the Slovenian religious tradition is deeply pervaded by the Assumption.

There are many churches dedicated to Virgin Mary, the oldest being in towns Christianity initially reached from Aquileia, present-day Italy, while the basilica in Brezje is the country's national shrine dedicated to her.

Those not going to church but interested in literature will meanwhile have the opportunity to listen to the adaptation of French author Paul Claudel's 1912 play The Annunciation of Mary on ARS, public broadcaster's Radio Slovenija channel three.

15 Aug 2022, 04:15 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Monday, 15 August 2022

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:

Garnbret wins second gold at Munich European Championships

MUNICH, Germany - Janja Garnbret triumphed in the women's bouldering competition to win her second title at European Championships in sport climbing in Munich after taking the title in lead on Saturday. Considering her performance this far, the 23-year-old Slovenian Olympic and world champion is well set to win her third gold in Munich with the Olympic combined discipline due here on Wednesday. She already won the European title in the discipline in 2017.

Gajser secures 4th World Championship title in MXGP class

HELSINKI, Finland - Slovenian racer Tim Gajser secured his fourth Motocross World Championship title in the elite MXGP class, having built an unassailable lead at the event in Finland's Hyvinkää with two more races to go to the end of the season. It is the fourth title for the 25-year-old in the MXGP class after those in 2016, 2019 and 2020 and his fifth career title overall including the 2015 title of the world champion in the weaker MX2 class.

Petrol service stations closed for lack of staff

KRANJSKA GORA - Slovenia's largest fuel retailer Petrol has temporarily shut down some of its service stations across the country or shortened their opening hours due to a shortage of staff as a result of an increase in Covid-19 infections. The measure has also affected the north-western region of Gorenjska, which is seeing a surge in visitor numbers and holiday traffic at this time of year. In the alpine resort of Kranjska Gora one service station is closed as others are seeing long lines of vehicles.

After 15 years of remediation efforts, lead still in children's blood

MEŽICA - The 15-year long programme to remediate the environment of the Upper Mežica Valley in the wake of its lead and zinc mining past is drawing to a close this year but traces of lead can still be found in children's blood. The latest tests of blood taken from 3-year-olds show the levels are low but still above those in other parts of the country. The local authorities are happy with the measures taken in the EUR 14.4 million project, but also say roughly EUR 6.5-7 million more is needed for a follow-on project.

14 Aug 2022, 19:06 PM

Sport Climbing: Garnbret Wins Second Gold at European Championships (Video)

STA, 14 August 2022 - Janja Garnbret triumphed in the women's bouldering competition on Sunday to win her second title at European Championships in sport climbing in Munich after taking the title in lead on Saturday.

Considering her performance this far, the 23-year-old Slovenian Olympic and world champion is well set to win her third gold in Munich with the Olympic combined discipline due here on Wednesday. She already won the European title in the discipline in 2017.

Despite injuring her right-hand index finger in the lead final, Garnbret made an excellent showing in the boulder semis-finals and finals, dominating the event throughout.

In the semis she was the only one to solve all four boulder challenges and the only to finish the route on the second boulder.

In the finals she failed to solve the first challenge, reaching the second zone to place third after the first bolder. However, she reached the top of the next two boulders on first attempts to take the lead and it was clear the title was hears even before she attempted the fourth bolder, which like ker rivals she failed to tackle.

"The final didn't go according to my plans. It started pretty bad with the first boulder, which I failed to solve. I didn't know how many did, I thought everyone did except for me," Garnbret commented for RTV Slovenija.

However, she stayed positive: "I enjoyed myself, didn't panic in the least. I have quite some competition experience and I know anything can happen in the end.

"I did great on the next two boulders, reached the top on first attempt. The last boulder was rather difficult, I know I could have climbed it but it wasn't until the last ten seconds that I figured out the right sequence. Still, I'm super happy," said Garnbret.

Home favourite Hannah Meul won silver and French Oriane Bertone won bronze.

14 Aug 2022, 18:56 PM

Motocross: Gajser Gets 4th World Championship in MXGP Class (Video)

STA, 14 August 2022 - Slovenian racer Tim Gajser has secured his fourth Motocross World Championship title in the elite MXGP class, having built an unassailable lead at the event in Finland's Hyvinkää on Sunday with two more races to go to the end of the season.

Gajser placed sixth today to score 29 points for 674 points in the overall ranking, 104 points ahead of his closest rival, Jeremy Seewer of Switzerland, who finished second today. Even if Seewer won both the remaining races he could not clinch 100 more points.

It is the fourth title for the 25-year-old Slovenian in the MXGP class after he already won championships in 2016, 2019 and 2020 and his fifth career title including the 2015 title of the world champion in the weaker MX2 class.

"Amazing, even winning one title is an exceptional achievement, I'm at fifth now," Gajser was proud of his feat.

He admitted that he was a bit nervous today, thanking everyone who stood by his side, his Honda team, his girlfriend, his friends and everyone cheering for him at home.

Andrej Brglez, the head of AMZS, the Slovenian automobile and motorcycle association, congratulated Gajser as one of the world's best motocross riders of all times and Slovenia's best athletes. With young people having such an idol Breznik is not concerned about the future of motocross racing in Slovenia.

Today's race was won by Glenn Coldenhoff of the Netherlands ahead of Seewer in second and Maxime Renaux of France in third.

14 Aug 2022, 04:04 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Sunday, 14 August 2022

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:

Slovenian PEN condemns attack on Salman Rushdie

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian PEN Centre joined writers, celebrities and politicians in the West in condeming Friday's attack on award-winning author Salman Rushdie at an event in the US, which has left him with severe stab wounds in hospital. "Salman Rushdie is an inspiration to all those who fight against obscurantism and the abuse of religion for political purposes," Slovenian PEN president Tanja Tuma wrote in response to the attack on the author of the 1988 novel The Satanic Verses. Tuma, who is also head of the International Writers for Peace Committee, pointed to International PEN's statement in which its president Burhan Sonmez said "no one should be attacked, let alone attacked for peacefully expressing their views".

Climber Janja Garnbret crowned European champion

MUNICH, Germany - Slovenia's best climber Janja Garnbret was crowned the European champion in lead, which is her second European champion title after winning one in combined in 2017. The Olympic champion in combined from Tokyo is aiming at another two gold medals at the European Championships in Germany, in combined and bouldering. The other Slovenian in the final was Mia Krampl, who finish fourth.

Govt officials express condolences over shooting in Montenegro

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian PM Robert Golob has strongly condemned the shooting spree in Montenegro in wich a man killed eleven people in the streets of Cetinje on Friday. He took to Twitter on Friday evening to express his condolences to the relatives of the victims and to his Montenegrin counterpart Dritan Abazović. Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon followed suit on Saturday, expressing sincere condolences to the relatives of the victims and to the people of Montenegro, where a three-day period of mourning started today.

Over 15% state-owned stake in Cetis up for sale

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) is seeking binding bids for a 15.4% stake in Cetis, a Celje-based company specialised in printing secure documents such as passports. Potential investors have until 9 September to send their binding bids for a total of 30,803 Cetis shares owned by SSH and state-run fund KAD. SSH has been seeking a buyer for the stake several times before, the last time in November 2020. Cetis posted a net profit of EUR 7.2 million in 2021 on revenue of EUR 78.3 million.

Tourism figures nearing or already topping pre-Covid levels

LJUBLJANA/KOPER - Tourism workers across the country are happy with this year's summer tourist season as figures have either closed in on the pre-Covid levels or even surpassed them. The coast, the capital, mountainous regions and several spa resorts have hit new post-pandemic highs. Although there are some problems with staff shortages, this has not significantly affected the situation, tourism workers on the coast say, happy that foreign tourists have returned post-pandemic.

Slovenian prisons lack 15% of prison officers

LJUBLJANA - Prisons lack more than 100 prison officers to meet the security standards, a problem exacerbated by low pay and low interest in this career. The Prison Administration employs 554 prison officers and 16 candidates for the job, while it should have as many as 672 under the 2018 staffing standards, Justice Ministry data shows. The shortage is also an issue when prison officers have to escort inmates to institutions outside prisons, including courts.

Hikers warned against using navigation in mountains

LJUBLJANA - The Kranj Police Department has called on those heading to the mountains to use marked trails and official maps rather than resorting to GPS navigation, which can lead them into dangerous situations. The appeal comes after rescue teams had to rescue several hikers - all foreign citizens - in the area of Mt Vogel in the Julian Alps four times in the last month. The route that was the reason for two of the four rescue operations has already been deleted from Google maps, the release said.

13 Aug 2022, 04:17 AM

Last Week in Slovenia: 6 - 11 August, 2022

What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.

If you’d like to keep up on the daily headlines then follow those here, or get all our stories in your feed on Facebook.

FRIDAY, 5 August
        LJUBLJANA - Police officers acted unprofessionally and used disproportionate force in four separate instances at anti-government protests held throughout 2021, shows an Interior Ministry report on complaints against police work. The Interior Ministry has notified the State Prosecution of its findings and taken unspecified action against several individuals.
        LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar has ordered a review of the construction of a new building for the Interior Ministry and the police, the Necenzurirano news portal reported. The portal says that the contractor, the state-owned real estate investment firm DSU, rushed with the drafting of the project dossier to get the project so far ahead that it could no longer be stopped.
        LJUBLJANA - The government is in favour of a gradual introduction of free period products for women in public institutions and will look into the possibility of dedicated funding, the Government Communications Office (UKOM) told the STA after a recent call for this by the Slovenian Secondary-School Student Organization and the Slovenian Student Union.
        BREZJE - A two-seat aircraft crash-landed on the A2 motorway near Brezje in north Slovenia. There were two passengers on board and both survived the emergency landing without injuries. The pilot reported engine problems and decided to land the aircraft on the motorway instead of flying back to the nearby Lesce airfield.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenian basketball star Goran Dragić has decided to rejoin the Slovenian men's team to defend the 2017 title at this year's EuroBasket in what is a change of heart after bidding his teammates farewell. Dragić tweeted "I'm back" along with the hashtag EuroBasket and a photo of himself holding the 2017 cup.
        LJUBLJANA - Kostja Gatnik, a versatile visual artist, has died at the age of 76, his family told the STA. He was best known as an illustrator and comic book author. He received a number of awards, including the Prešeren Prize for lifetime achievement, the country's top accolade in the arts world.

SUNDAY, 7 August
        LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Robert Golob and President Borut Pahor have sent condolences to their Polish counterparts after the fatal crash of a Polish bus in Croatia. Golob wrote to Mateusz Morawiecki to express sincere condolences, extending his sympathy to the families of all those killed in the crash. Pahor expressed his condolences to President Andrzej Duda and wished a speedy recovery to all passengers injured in the accident.
        SINJ, Croatia - President Borut Pahor was the guest of honour at the traditional Sinjska Alka equestrian competition in the at the invitation of his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanović. He was the first foreign statesman in this capacity at the tournament.
        HALIFAX, Canada - Slovenia's Anja Osterman has won silver at the Canoe Sprint World Championships, finishing a second behind Lisa Carrington of New Zealand in the 200-metre event. This is the fourth medal at a World Championship for the 29-year-old but the first in an individual event.

MONDAY, 8 August
        PTUJ - A retrial in the case of a man who murdered his estranged spouse and her parents in front of his four-year-old son on Christmas Day 2020 ended with a sentence of 30 years behind bars as Silvo Drevenšek was found guilty of all counts. He was handed 29 years each for the three murders and four more for the neglect and cruel treatment of a minor.
        LJUBLJANA - Petrol and diesel will be slightly more expensive as of 17 August, as the government decided to reintroduce energy efficiency contributions, which had been abolished temporarily to reduce energy prices. Diesel will thus be 0.8 cents more expensive per litre and petrol will be 0.736 cents dearer per litre.
        LJUBLJANA - Delo reported that Novo Mesto Bishop Andrej Saje is suspected of tax evasion and that a criminal complaint had been sent to Slovenian tax authorities and the prosecution. It alleges he had received pay for helping out with mass at two parishes in the Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt in Austria. Saje told the STA he had no knowledge of the criminal complaint and could not comment on it in detail.

TUESDAY, 9 August
        ANKARA, Turkey - President Borut Pahor started a two-day state visit to Turkey by meeting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu. The pair discussed the war in Ukraine and its consequences for the Western Balkans, with Pahor praising Turkey for its role as mediator between Russia and Ukraine.
        LJUBLJANA - Bojana Beović, head of the advisory committee on immunisation at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), recommended those over 80 and those with chronic diseases to get a second booster immediately given that the number of those hospitalised with Covid has not been decreasing despite lower influx of new cases.
        LJUBLJANA - The new school year is expected to start with home coronavirus testing for those showing symptoms and those who have been in contact with an infected person, according to guidance issued by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) coronavirus advisory group.
        LJUBLJANA - Public broadcaster TV Slovenija reported that 12 Indian workers had been forced to work 60-hour weeks at a Ljubljana car wash for less than the minimum wage after having their passports taken away. The group eventually ran away from the Avtostop car wash and two of them turned for help to an NGO specialising in the rights of migrant workers. Inspection procedures are ongoing.
        LJUBLJANA - The information commissioner asked for constitutional review of several provisions of the new prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing act due to broad powers the Office for the Prevention of Money Laundering has with regard to access to personal information.
        LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković promised the residents they will be kept warm this winter despite the energy crisis. Coal reserves are sufficient to provide district heating to nearly half of all homes and there will be enough natural gas, but the question is at what price gas will be available, he said.

WEDNESDAY, 10 August
        ANKARA, Turkey - President Borut Pahor met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan before wrapping up his two-day state visit to Ankara. They discussed the war in Ukraine and the Western Balkans, agreeing to meet again on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in late September to revisit the topics.
        LJUBLJANA - Jadranko Grlić, the country's chief labour inspector, resigned in the wake of a TV report on another case of exploitation of foreign workers in recent months. The Labour Inspectorate said he had stepped down over differences of opinion with the Labour Ministry about the powers and manner of work of the inspectorate.
        ROME, Italy - The Italian government launched infringement proceedings against Slovenia to defend the authenticity of its geographically protected balsamic vinegar, according to several reports by international media.
        LJUBLJANA - Gynaecologist Sabina Senčar joined ten hopefuls who have so far announced their bids for the 23 October presidential election. She intends to run with the support of Resni.ca, a non-parliamentary party founded amid the Covid epidemic to oppose restrictions.
        LJUBLJANA - GEN Energija, the parent company of the state-owned power group that also includes the Krško nuclear power plant, got a new supervisory board after the previous members were dismissed by Slovenian Sovereign Holding for loss of trust over "appropriate corporate governance at GEN Group".

THURSDAY, 11 August
        LJUBLJANA - TV Slovenija journalist Petra Bezjak Cirman was appointed acting director of the government Communications Office (UKOM) after Dragan Barbutovski quitting after only a little more than two months on the job. Barbutovski, who Prime Minister Robert Golob said was better suited for a different job, will work at the PM's office as foreign communications officer.
        LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Rober Golob met with representatives of NGOs advocating for the young and the old. The meeting, which Golob said was "definitely not the last", agreed on the creation of task forces which will address some of the most urgent issues including scholarships for the young, the pensioners' expectations regarding pension increase, and access to mental health services for the young.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest banking group, NLB, reported EUR 287 million in profit after tax for the first half of 2022, a 105% increase year-on-year. The growth was mainly driven by positive effects related to the acquisition of N Banka, formerly Sberbank.
        LJUBLJANA - Business associations expressed opposition to government plan to revoke parts of the tax reform adopted by the previous government. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Trade Crafts and Small Business and the Association of Employers in Trade Crafts and Smalls Business find the proposal would annul the positive effects of the amendments to the personal income tax act passed in March before they are even fully implemented.
        STAVANGER, Norway - Hana Mazi Jamnik, an up-and-coming cross-country skier, has been killed in a traffic accident during training in Norway. The 19-year-old was roller skiing through a tunnel on the road between Forsand and Joerpeland in south Norway when she was hit by a lorry. She was badly injured in the crash and airlifted to a hospital in Stavanger

13 Aug 2022, 08:16 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Saturday, 13 August 2022

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:

Slovenia examining initiative to ban Russian tourists

LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry is still examining the proposal to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens. Slovenia will continue to "look for solutions together with EU member states", it said. PM Robert Golob said he had not been formally acquainted with the proposal. "Once we've been acquainted and there's discussion in appropriate fora, we'll ... conduct discussion on the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee and then have our position," he told reporters. EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the matter at the end of the month.

Govt to introduce food allowance if necessary, PM says

LJUBLJANA - The government might introduce a food allowance in the autumn if the soft measures of price monitoring that should start in September fail to bring results, PM Robert Golob announced after attending an unrelated event. "In October, we will see whether more rigorous measures will be needed as regards food price regulation." He said the government had first approached the energy price hikes because they were a much bigger problem, as prices had gone up by 300-500%.

Golob announces prompt renovation of country's leading theatre

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob announced a prompt start of renovation works at SNG Drama Ljubljana after he visited the country's leading theatre in the company of Culture Minister Asta Vrečko after delayed renovation preparations. He expressed surprise at how the building had been allowed to decay to its current state. Golob announced the government will include the project into the national programme of developments projects to get public funding as it supplements the national budgets for 2022 and 2023 at the end of August, which should promptly kick-start the renovation.

Ukrainian community opposes Netrebko's Ljubljana concert

LJUBLJANA - The Ukrainian community in Slovenia has called on the organiser of the Ljubljana Festival to cancel the 26 August concert by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko in a petition that has been signed by more than 700 people. "Culture is the strongest weapon in the war against Russia," reads the petition, declaring "performances by artists who directly support the criminal regime of dictator Putin" unacceptable. The lead petitioner is Evgeny Goreshnik, a researcher at the Jožef Stefan Institute.

Gap between young and old widening but solidarity strong

LJUBLJANA - This year's International Youth Day is dedicated to intergenerational solidarity, with Slovenia having a number of projects involving the young and old, from digital skills courses to aid for the elderly provided by students. Some 100,000 youths are involved in community works. Meanwhile, statistics show that Slovenia's society is ageing quite significantly, with the population of 15-29-year-olds dropping by 15% over the past decade, as the number of those aged 65 or more increased by 29%.

Court allows culling of 222 bears

LJUBLJANA - An environmental organisation has lost a legal battle against the Environment Ministry's decision to allow the culling of 222 brown bears in Slovenia this year, by the end of September. In a decision taken on 16 June, the Administrative Court ruled the lawsuit by Alpe Adria Green was unwarranted. The judgement is non-appealable. The decision to allow the culling by 30 September was issued by the Environment Ministry in February but was stayed by the court in March. With the culling of the 222 bears, the country's brown bear population will be reduced from an estimated 1,000.

Hop harvest likely to be much lower than last year

ŽALEC - Due to high temperatures and drought this year's hops harvest is expected to be rather poor. Preliminary estimates put the output at roughly 1,300 tonnes, 40% less than last year. Talking with the STA ahead of Hop Growers Day on Sunday, which marks the official start of the hops harvest in the Lower Savinja Valley, hops expert Irena Friškovec said much would depend on the weather in the next two weeks, as favourable conditions could positively affect the development of cones in late hop varieties.

Salus reports lower H1 profit on higher revenue

LJUBLJANA - Salus, the Ljubljana-based pharmaceutical wholesaler, generated EUR 247 million in sales revenue in the first half of the year, an increase of 14% on the same period a year ago. Net profit was down by 13% to EUR 6.4 million, which the company linked to a successfully settled lawsuit against a pharmacy in receivership. For the whole year the company projects net sales revenue to the tune of EUR 449.4 million and a net profit of EUR 12.7 million.

Covid figures slightly down in weekly comparison

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia logged 1,387 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, down by 4% week-on-week, as the two-week epidemic decline seems to be flattening. Another two Covid-19 patients died, the latest Health Ministry data shows. Hospital figures remain stable. The 14-day case notification rate per 100,000 of the population dropped by six in a day to 958 and the 7-day case average is down by ten to 1,396, shows data by the National Institute of Public Health.

Ljubljana and Sarajevo become twin towns

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Mayor of Ljubljana Zoran Janković and Mayor of Sarajevo Benjamina Karić signed an agreement on the Slovenian and Bosnian capitals becoming twin towns as the pair met in Sarajevo. Both mayors stressed the twinning was an upgrade of the two cities' long and successful cooperation in a number of areas, the Ljubljana municipality said.

Solkan hydro power plant shuts down due to low water

NOVA GORICA - The Solkan hydro power station on the river Soča was stopped once again due to low water levels on Tuesday evening, the operator, Soške Elektrarne Nova Gorica, said. The plant was stopped after being up and running for less than a week following a week-long shutdown in late July also caused by drought. Rainfall has been forecast for today and tomorrow in Slovenia, but it does not seem that the Soča valley in the west will get much of it.

Brežice festival hosting six early music concerts

BREŽICE - Brežice Seviqc, an internationally renowned festival of early music, gets under way at the Devil's Tower near spa town Dolenjske Toplice with a concert by Serbian lutenist Andrej Jovanić. The festival will take place at picturesque venues in Dolenjske Toplice, Brežice, Šmartno pri Litiji, and Loška Dolina, featuring the Slovenian trio OperArija, Italian cellist Federico Toffano, Spanish violinist Jorge Jimenez and the Slovenian ensemble Messa di Voce, among others.

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