09 Dec 2021, 14:30 PM

Govt, Opposition Working on Plans to Give Poorest Households Energy Vouchers

STA, 9 December - Amid rising energy prices, the government and the centre-left opposition are working on separate proposals to help the most vulnerable households with energy vouchers. The Infrastructure Ministry has indicated those could be available in the first quarter of 2022.

Energy prices are soaring across the EU, affecting companies as well as households where the biggest concern currently is hikes in the cost of heating, in particularly distance heating powered by natural gas or coal.

The Infrastructure Ministry has told the STA a legal basis for energy vouchers is being drafted. "As we expect prices for final consumers to rise mainly in heating, in the first quarter of next year, it makes sense to introduce the measure then, when the end users will need it the most."

Unofficially, 66,000 poorest families are to be eligible for the vouchers.

Meanwhile, the opposition Social Democrats (SD), Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Left and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) are finalising their bill on energy vouchers, which they plan to table on Monday.

Under the current draft, one out of six citizens would be eligible for EUR 150 vouchers. The EUR 25 million required is to be secured from the Climate Fund.

Presenting the proposal to reporters on Thursday, SD MP Franc Trček said they had made several appeals to the government over the past two months to tackle the aggravating energy poverty.

LMŠ deputy Edvard Paulič criticised Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec for his assessment in October that the energy market situation was stable. Instead the MP cited official statistics showing heating oil went up by about 44% in a year, fuel by 40% and power by 15% in what he said was the biggest hike in the EU.

Nataša Sukič of the Left said roughly 240,000 people faced the threat of "their radiators and furnaces being turned off because they cannot buy heating oil".

Solutions are also being sought at the local level. The Maribor city council has approved a plan to subsidise the cost of distance heating for households after the local utility hiked up prices by 120% year-on-year.

A survey by the Energy Agency focusing on nine Slovenian municipalities where almost 70% of the population gets their heating from distance systems has shown the cost for typical retail consumer has gone up by about 40% in a year.

09 Dec 2021, 13:07 PM

Google Reps Meet Slovenian Govt, Sign Cooperation Memorandum

STA, 9 December 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša and Digital Transformation Minister Mark Boris Andrijanič will meet on Thursday representatives of the US internet giant Google to talk the achievements of the Slovenian EU presidency in digital transformation. A memorandum of understanding on cooperation with Google will also be signed.

The meeting will be attended by Annette Kroeber-Riel, Senior Director of Public Policy and Government Relations for Europe, Rowan Barnett, Head of Google.org for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Marta Poslad, Director of Public Policy for Central and Eastern Europe.

It will focus on the achievements of the Slovenian EU presidency in digital transformation and Slovenia's competitive advantages in investments in information technology and development of artificial intelligence, the prime minister's office has announced.

The meeting in the Presidential Palace will be followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Government Office for Digital Transformation and Google.

The memorandum is expected to serve as the basic document for investments by Google in Slovenian know-how and solutions in digital transformation, social entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence.

"The agreement ... will strongly support digital transformation of the Slovenian economy and society, enabling projects through which young people, entrepreneurs, institutions and public institutions will access knowledge in digital skills, artificial intelligence and social entrepreneurship and funds to start projects," the office said.

Andrijanič, Kroeber-Riel and Barnett, as well as Slovenian Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Janez Cigler Kralj will speak to the press after the signing.

09 Dec 2021, 12:55 PM

Week-on-Week COVID Numbers Continue to Fall in Slovenia

STA, 9 December 2021 - Slovenia logged 1,687 new coronavirus infections for Wednesday as a week-on-week drop in cases continued, show fresh data by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ). Nine Covid-related deaths were recorded, according to government data.

The rolling 7-day average dropped further to 1,566, down by 63 from the day before, and the cumulative 14-day incidence was also down by 46 to 1,185, according to the NIJZ.

The estimated number of active cases, 24,979, fell by nearly 1,000 compared to the day before.

Government data show that the number of persons hospitalised with Covid-19 stood at 948, down by 15 compared to the day before, of whom 248 were in intensive care, a daily drop of 10.

The youngest patient in hospital is 19 years old, while the youngest in intensive care is 28.

The test positivity rate stood at 28.4% yesterday.

All the latest data on COVID and Slovenia

09 Dec 2021, 04:06 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Thursday, 9 December 2021

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:

Foreign Minister Logar to visit Washington on 20 Dec

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar has told the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee that he will visit the US on 20 December to meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss Slovenian-US cooperation. "I always emphasise this alliance is one of the key partnerships Slovenia has to build, nurture and develop. We advocate the same stance at EU level," he told the MPs.

Slovenia close to ratifying OCCAR agreement to buy 45 Boxer APCs

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee confirmed a bill ratifying the agreement between Slovenia and the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) for the purchase of 45 eight-wheeled Boxer armoured personnel carries (APCs). The vote in which nine MPs voted for and four against followed a debate in which Defence Ministry State Secretary Uroš Lampret said the final price was not yet known but it would not exceed EUR 410 million in any case.

European Parliament to vote on Slovenia resolution next week

STRASBOURG, France - The European Parliament will take a vote on a resolution on the rule of law and fundamental rights in Slovenia at the plenary session in Strasbourg next Thursday, follows from the agenda endorsed by the Conference of Presidents. The draft resolution needs to be submitted by Friday. Unofficially, the European People's Party wanted the resolution withdrawn as two key issues, the appointment of European delegated prosecutors from Slovenia and STA financing, have been resolved.

Fmr police commissioner says she was being bullied

LJUBLJANA - Tatjana Bobnar, who was replaced as police commissioner as the Janez Janša government took over in March 2020, told the parliamentary inquiry into alleged political interference in police work that she was being bullied for the past year and a half. She said she was sad to see police losing people's trust and that the current level of social dialogue within the force was so low. Meanwhile, incumbent Commissioner Anton Olaj rejected the allegations of political interference in police work, citing a survey showing improved sentiment among staff.

Govt official describes SDS financing inquiry as witch-hunt

LJUBLJANA - A parliamentary inquiry looking into allegedly unlawful financing of the ruling Democrats (SDS) was described on Tuesday as a "witch hunt" by Božo Predalič, one of the co-funders of Nova24, the company behind the private broadcaster Nova24TV. Predalič, now a state secretary, dismissed allegations about shady financing deals involving the media outlet. Allegations of wrongdoing were also denied by Nova24TV director Boris Tomašič and Interior Minister Aleš Hojs, a former director of Nova24TV, who said the broadcaster's services paid by Hungarian companies had not been a sham.

Debate calls for recognition of German-speaking community

LJUBLJANA - A panel discussion organised by the Institute of Ethnic Studies and the Umbrella Organisation of Cultural Associations of the German-Speaking Community in Slovenia heard participants call for the the German-speaking community in Slovenia to be formally recognised, but there was no consensus on how to attain that. The community's representative Christian Lautischer noted progress in terms of funding, but called for the community to be recognised in the Slovenian constitution.

Podgoršek advocates for fairer, greener agricultural policy

LJUBLJANA - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek presented at a virtual conference the main achievements of the Slovenian EU presidency in agriculture, environment and climate change, noting that the main file of the presidency had been the reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP) to make it fairer and greener. Podgoršek as the chair of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council took part in the virtual conference on efforts for better future of climate and environmental policies held under the auspices of the global youth climate coalition Generation Climate Europe and Slovenia's Youth Council.

EU trio holds consultations as end of Slovenia's stint nears

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia hosted on Tuesday consultations between the trio of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia in light of their joint 18-month presidency of the Council of the EU, with the importance of economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic being emphasised. The meeting, hosted by Barbara Sušnik, the head of the EU affairs directorate at the Slovenian Foreign Ministry, also featured Axel Dittmann representing Germany and Nuno Lucio representing Portugal.

Covid hospitalisations drop below 1,000

LJUBLJANA - The number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals fell below 1,000 for the first time in three weeks with 258 patients still in intensive care units. This was as 1,847 new coronavirus cases were confirmed on Tuesday, a daily drop of 5% and a weekly drop of 18% and 16 Covid-19 patients died. The National Institute of Public Health estimates 25,966 people are actively infected, down by over 9,100 from a week ago.

Anti-Covid drug molnupiravir available from next week

LJUBLJANA - The anti-viral drug molnupiravir will be available for treatment of Covid-19 in Slovenia expectedly from Monday after doses for over 5,700 treatments have already arrived in the country. The medicine will be prescribed to adults, except pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, who are likely to develop a severe form of Covid-19. The drug will be first available at four hospitals, UKC Ljubljana and UKC Maribor, Celje General Hospital and the Golnik Clinic for Respiratory Diseases.

Ban on blood donation for homosexual men found discriminatory

LJUBLJANA - Equal Opportunities Ombudsman Miha Lobnik found the permanent ban on blood donations for men who have sexual relations with men discriminatory, saying they are excluded from taking part in this philanthropic activity despite the fact that the safety of blood donations is ensured by additional testing for viruses. The Blood Transfusion Centre said Slovenia was due to change the current regulation in 2022 to introduce temporary bans on blood donation under which donors will be selected on the basis of the riskiness of their sexual behaviour, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

Adria Tehnika extends cooperation with Wizz Air

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian aircraft maintenance company Adria Tehnika announced it had signed a new long-term contract with Hungarian low-budget carrier Wizz Air. Even though the previous contract was still valid, long-term cooperation with Wizz Air will become more active under the new four-year deal, Adria Tehnika said. Adria Tehnika is expected to carry out the first inspection of a Wizz Air aircraft in autumn 2022.

Chemistry institute wins AmCham best business practice award

LJUBLJANA - AmCham Slovenia declared the Institute of Chemistry this year's winner of its best business practice award as part of the Best of the Best project. The institute earned the accolade with the CCEdit project for developing the use of the improved CRISPR gene editing system. The team led by Tomaž Bizjak of the institute's department for synthetic biology and immunology is also establishing an international business and development relationship with foreign organisations.

30 years since Badinter Commission declared Yugoslavia breakup

LJUBLJANA - Exactly thirty years have passed since an international commission established that the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had disintegrated and that there had been no secession of individual republics. Its findings paved the way for the international recognition of Slovenia and an agreement on succession to Yugoslavia. A few days after the commission's opinion was published, Slovenia was recognised on 19 December by Iceland, Germany and Sweden.

Documentary made on Garnbret's climb to Olympic gold

LJUBLJANA - After winning gold at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, Slovenia's sports climbing superstar Janja Garnbret will be paid tribute with a documentary film that follows her training for the competition along with three other climbers, Shauna Coxsey of the UK, Brooke Raboutou of the US and Miho Nonaka of Japan. The Wall - Climb for Gold, which is expected to be released this winter, was pre-screened for the Slovenian audience in the Cukrarna venue today.

08 Dec 2021, 19:46 PM

Ljubljana Rejects Ban on Serving Food, Drink at Outdoor Markets

STA, 8 December 2021 - Just days after the government imposed a ban on the serving of food and drinks at outdoor stalls, these reopened in the square by Ljubljana's main produce market on Wednesday, having been given the go-ahead from the city authorities.

Addressing a press conference, Andrej Orač, director of the utility operating the Ljubljana open-air markets, said market activity in Pogačar Square was allowed back in business, including hospitality.

He said the ban on sale at Ljubljana's open-air markets was incomprehensible as the goods involved were sold there throughout the year, which included the food court and stalls selling garments.

The city appears to have found a loophole, arguing that the ban affected hospitality at fairs rather than markets. The ban was imposed to prevent socialising and spread of coronavirus at Christmas markets.

Mojca Škrinjar, an MP for the ruling Democratic Party (SDS), accused the city authorities of "bending the rules", and Mayor Zoran Janković of sinking to a "new low" having demonstrated before "he doesn't care about Ljubljana people's health".

Both Orač and Janković urged residents and visitors to comply with precautionary measures and get vaccinated against Covid-19 even as Janković criticised restrictions imposed on Christmas markets.

Commenting on a tweet in which PM Janez Janša accused him of trying hard to get as many people as possible sick, Janković said the city administration had recently received a letter from the local branch of the National Institute of Public Health thanking them for their contribution to the combat against the pandemic.

08 Dec 2021, 14:50 PM

Ban on Gay Male Blood Donors Ruled Discriminatory

STA, 8 December 2021 - Equal Opportunities Ombudsman Miha Lobnik has noted that the permanent ban on blood donations for all homosexual men is discriminatory, as they are excluded from taking part in this important philanthropic activity despite the fact that the safety of blood donations is also ensured by additional testing for viruses.

Although HIV and other blood-borne viruses are also transmitted during heterosexual sex, blood donation is only prohibited in advance and permanently for homosexual and bisexual men, the office of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality said on Wednesday.

According to Lobnik, the Health Ministry and the Blood Transfusion Centre are responsible for this, and the ombudsman already warned them in 2018 about the potential inadequacy of the current regulation.

Meanwhile, the centre said that Slovenia was due to change regulations in 2022, under which only temporary bans on blood donations will remain, while donors will be selected on the basis of the riskiness of their sexual behaviour, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

Lobnik found that the general permanent ban on blood donations for men who have sexual relations with other men in Slovenia was originally meant to ensure that the donated blood was safe, as these men were generally more prone to HIV infection risks, according to statistical data.

But the data by the National Institute of Public Health for the period between 2009 and 2018 show that newly diagnosed HIV infections were not only detected among men who have sexual relations with other men, as around 16% of newly infected persons got the virus through heterosexual sex.

A permanent ban on blood donation only for homosexual and bisexual men is therefore not an appropriate means of ensuring the safety of donated blood, as the risk of contracting HIV or other blood-borne viruses depends primarily on sexual behaviour, Lobnik said.

In addition, all donated blood has been tested for the presence of certain viruses for many years, which further confirms the assessment that the currently established system is not the only possible way to ensure the safety of donated blood, he said.

In his assessment of the proportionality of the blood donation ban, Lobnik also noted that this measure perpetuated and spread prejudice against same-sex relationships as such and reinforced the stigmatisation of homosexuality.

The measure causes more harm to society and individuals than it brings benefits, as it infringes on the rights of individuals and unnecessarily denies their blood while spreading stigma. In Lobnik's view, the regulation is therefore not in line with the principle of proportionality.

Few countries in the EU permanently ban all men who have sexual relations with other men from donating blood. In addition to Slovenia, only Croatia, Greece and Lithuania have such regulations.

In other EU countries, there is no such permanent ban on blood donation, or it is only temporary and depends on whether the potential donor has had risky sex within a certain period of time before donating blood.

Interested in giving blood in Slovenia? Learn more here, in English

08 Dec 2021, 09:53 AM

Slovenia Saw EU’s Biggest Fall in Air Passenger Numbers in 2020

STA, 7 December 2021 - Slovenia saw the biggest drop in air passenger transport in the EU in the 2020 pandemic year, fresh Eurostat data show. While the number of total passengers in the EU dropped by 73% to 277 million, in Slovenia it plummeted by 83% year-on-year.

Slovenia is followed by Slovakia and Croatia, where 82% fewer air passengers were recorded.

The busiest airport was Charles De Gaulle in Paris, which recorded 22 million passengers, while Slovenia's Jože Pučnik Airport Ljubljana ranked 147th with 288,000 passengers, of whom 159,000 travelled within the EU and 129,000 to countries outside the EU.

In the past year, the country's main airport saw 4,000 passenger aircraft movements, which is down 81% from 2019.

The most important connection was that with Frankfurt, followed by Istanbul, Paris's Charles De Gaulle, the Belgrade airport and London's Stansted.

The smallest drop in passengers in the EU was recorded by the Sofia airport, where the volume of passenger transport was down by 60%.

More on this data

08 Dec 2021, 09:40 AM

LTH Castings Starts Production of Parts for BMW Electric Powertrains

STA, 7 December 2021 - The foundry LTH Castings officially launched a new production line for aluminium components for powertrains of all-electric BMW cars on Tuesday in its Ljubljana facility. The company said on the occasion that the new line brought new jobs, and labelled it as a new step towards transition to e-mobility and digitalisation.

Since 2019, LTH Castings has invested more than EUR 50 million in the expansion of production facilities for components of e-powertrains in the Ljubljana plant alone, the company said.

The new production line will produce and process various lightweight aluminium parts for powertrains of the fifth generation BMW eDrive technology.

The production technology follows the demands of BMW Group for reducing carbon dioxide emissions and resource consumption in the entire car production chain, LTH Castings said.

No rare earth elements are used in the production process, which is fully digitalised and follows the product from the beginning to the end of its lifecycle.

Today's ceremony was attended by Frank Wimmer of the BMW Group and Gertrud Rantzen, the head of the management board of the Slovenian-German Chamber of Commerce.

LTH Castings director Andrej Megušar said on the occasion that the company was a long-term partner of the BMW Group, adding that "we systematically follow market requirements and progress in e-mobility".

The new production line brings "additional long-term and sustainable jobs". It currently employs around 50 people, while up to 150 employees are expected to work in the production of components for e-powertrains by 2023.

LTH Castings notes that the expansion of the plant in Ljubljana is an example of a successful transformation of the former production complex of the company Litostroj towards e-mobility and digitalisation.

The building that is more than 70 years old has been fully renovated and expanded, adding 20,000 m2 of production space to more than 50,000 m2 of the existing production space at the Ljubljana facility.

The LTH Castings group, which is based in the Slovenian town of Škofja Loka and also has a facility in nearby Trata, employs almost 2,000 people in Slovenia, and an additional 1,200 people in its subsidiaries in Croatia and North Macedonia.

08 Dec 2021, 09:12 AM

Ljubljana Mayor Janković, Six Others Plead Not Guilty in Stožice Sports Park Case

STA, 7 December 2021 - Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković and six co-defendants pleaded not guilty in a case concerning alleged wrongdoing related to the air conditioning engine room of the Stožice Sports Park at Tuesday's pre-trial hearing. The defence was critical of the evidence presented by the prosecution and proposed certain pieces of evidence be excluded.

In addition to Mayor Janković, the co-defendants include his son and director of the company Electa Damijan Janković, former director of the power distributor Energetika Ljubljana Hrvoje Drašković and Zlatko Sraka, the retired former director of the construction company Energoplan.

Also being charged in the case are Uroš Ogrin, a former employee of the bankrupt construction company Gradis, Boštjan Stamejčič of the company Baza Dante and the company Electa Inženiring.

The indictment says that Energetika Ljubljana, following an intervention by Janković, purchased the premises for the air conditioning engine room at Stožice for EUR 3 million from Grep as the builder of the sports park, although the latter was not the owner, but only the holder of the right of superficies.

It adds that the contract signed prior to this arrangement stipulated that Energetika Ljubljana will get these premises free of charge.

The price for the premises had first been set at EUR 1.2 million, after which it was decided to additionally charge Energetika Ljubljana for the premises for the air conditioning engine room that had already been paid for.

An annex was added to the original purchase contract, with the cost ballooning to more than EUR 3 million, and the complicated circle of financial transactions that followed included companies connected with the Janković family.

According to the prosecution, some of the money has ended up directly on the mayor's account.

All six individuals and representative of the indicted company pleaded not guilty at the Ljubljana District Court, with Janković's lawyer Janez Koščak saying that the evidence was unclear.

He asked the court to order the prosecution to specifically elaborate what was being proven with each piece of evidence and, like the majority of representatives of the defendants, he submitted a request for exclusion of evidence.

"Of course the defence claims that everything is unlawful," prosecutor Blanka Žgajnar said after the pre-trial hearing, adding that the prosecution would reply to the proposal, "and then we will carry on with the proceedings.

All our stories on corruption and Slovenia

08 Dec 2021, 05:48 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Wednesday, 8 December 2021

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:

Logar supports ICC on behalf of EU

LJUBLJANA - As a representative of the Slovenian EU presidency, Foreign Minister Anže Logar expressed strong support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) on behalf of the EU and its member states as he addressed via video call on Monday the 20th session of the assembly of states parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC. Logar also emphasised the role of the ICC's independence and integrity.

Kovesi: Slovenian delegated prosecutors to be very busy

LJUBLJANA - After Slovenia's two delegated prosecutors Tanja Frank Eler and Matej Oštir assumed their offices on 1 December, the bloc's chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi told the STA that a more detailed analysis of the situation in Slovenia regarding the prosecution of crimes against the EU's financial interests was yet to be conducted. However, given the statistics so far, she has no doubts that the pair will be kept "very busy".

EU finance ministers agree rules for reduced VAT rates

BRUSSELS, Belgium - EU finance ministers, meeting in Brussels under the chairmanship of Slovenia's Andrej Šircelj, reached political consensus to upgrade the EU rules on reduced VAT rates, updating the list of goods and services for which reduced rates or exemptions are allowed. The new rules give member states more flexibility to choose which products will be subject to reduced, super-reduced or zero VAT rates. Meanwhile, the meeting failed to clinch agreement on review of the 1997 Code of Conduct on Business Taxation, with Šircelj saying a new proposal would now have to be drawn up.

EU health ministers for fast and coordinated action to contain Omicron

BRUSSELS, Belgium - EU health ministers, meeting in Brussels on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Slovenia's Janez Poklukar, called for fast and coordinated action to tackle the surge in coronavirus and the spread of the Omicron variant. They supported the general applicability of the EU digital Covid certificate and emphasized the importance of vaccination and booster jabs. Poklukar said the ministers did not discuss mandatory vaccination, which he believes should be a last resort measure.

Tonin and Lenarčič address EU Civil Protection conference

LJUBLJANA/BRUSSELS, Belgium - Defence Minister Matej Tonin and Slovenia's EU Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič hosted a virtual event on knowledge exchange and dialogue in civil protection and disaster management at the EU level, which accompanied the launch of the Knowledge Network online platform. The platform will bring together existing programmes - training, exercises, existing experience, knowledge dissemination - and offer centralised access to all information relevant to civil protection.

Tonin discusses innovation in defence at EDA conference

LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister Matej Tonin took part in the 2021 annual conference of the European Defence Agency (EDA), which focused on innovation in the field of defence. Addressing the event by video link, he highlighted the role of defence innovation for the development of strategic and technological sovereignty, said the Defence Ministry. He also highlighted the role of small and medium-sized companies, saying they can be the driving force of progress in innovation.

Slovenian community calls on Nehammer to update minorities law

KLAGENFURT, Austria - An umbrella organisation of the Slovenian minority in the Austrian state of Carinthia has urged new Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and his government to immediately initiate reform legislation on ethnic minorities. In the call issued on Monday, the National Council of Carinthian Slovenians (NSKS) congratulated Nehammer on taking over and also thanked the former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz for significantly raising the financial support for the minority last year.

Slovenia sells share of former Yugoslav embassy to Serbia

BERN, Switzerland - Slovenia sold to Serbia its stake in a property in the Swiss capital of Bern which used to house the embassy of the former Yugoslavia and is currently home to the Serbian embassy in Switzerland, for 1.089 million Swiss francs (EUR 1.046 million), the Foreign Ministry announced. The successor countries to Yugoslavia agreed in 2016 to jointly sell five of its former properties, including the home of the diplomatic mission of the former Yugoslavia in Bern.

New daily coronavirus cases down week-on-week

LJUBLJANA - The number of new daily coronavirus cases in Slovenia continued its week-on-week decline, as 1,950 infections were confirmed on Monday, down over 530 compared to a week ago. Currently, 1,005 patients need hospital treatment, down 45 from yesterday, including 266 in intensive care, down by two. Another 17 people died, government data show.

Medical ethics committee approves of anti-Covid drug Lagevrio

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's national medical ethics committee has no reservations towards Lagevrio, a medicine also known as molnupiravir. The committee maintains that the drug brings significant progress in fighting the coronavirus epidemic, as it prevents a severe course of Covid-19 or death. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended the drug for coronavirus treatment on 19 November even if it is not yet registered.

Janković, six others plead not guilty in air conditioning case

LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković and six co-defendants pleaded not guilty in a case concerning alleged wrongdoing related to the air conditioning engine room of the Stožice Sports Park at the pre-trial hearing. The defence was critical of the evidence presented by the prosecution and proposed certain pieces of evidence be excluded.

Prosecutor suggests justice might not be done in Balkan Warrior case

LJUBLJANA - Prosecutor Blanka Žgajnar does not know why the Supreme Court has annulled the verdict in the Balkan Warrior drug trafficking case and released the defendants, as she is yet to get the ruling. However, she doubts a retrial could be completed in two years before the case becomes statute barred. The Supreme Court took the decision just before statute-barred deadlines will be extended from two to five years when the changes to the penal code enter into force on 15 December.

Slovenian Caritas raises over EUR 40,000 for Haiti

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Caritas announced having raised nearly EUR 41,000 in aid for the earthquake-stricken Haiti since the start of November in a campaign as part of a three-year strategic humanitarian partnership with the Slovenian Foreign Ministry. As part of the campaign, the ministry has contributed EUR 30,000 and the Slovenian Catholic charity EUR 10,808.

State forestry company holds first auction of valuable timber

KOČEVSKA REKA - The SiDG state forestry company held its first public auction of valuable timber in Kočevska Reka on Monday, with almost the entire offering of around 650 m3 of timber being sold. The auction was visited by Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek, who endorsed this method of selling wood from the state-owned forests.

LTH Castings launches production of parts for e-BMW powertrains

LJUBLJANA - The foundry LTH Castings officially launched a new production line for aluminium components for powertrains of all-electric BMW cars in its Ljubljana facility. The company said on the occasion that the new line brought new jobs, and labelled it as a new step towards transition to e-mobility and digitalisation.

Slovenia saw biggest drop in air passengers in EU last year

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Slovenia saw the biggest drop in air passenger transport in the EU in the 2020 pandemic year, fresh Eurostat data show. While the number of total passengers in the EU dropped by 73% to 277 million, in Slovenia it plummeted by 83% year-on-year. Slovenia is followed by Slovakia and Croatia, where 82% fewer air passengers were recorded.

Civil initiative files suit against Third Development Axis section

NOVO MESTO - A civil initiative is challenging a building permit for the first section of the southern part of the Third Development Axis, a north-south expressway currently under construction. The lawsuit will push back the start of construction in the Novo Mesto area, the national motorway company DARS said.

News

Editorial

Gourmet

Photo of the Month

Photo galleries and videos

Real Estate in Slovenia