Pahor nominates Robert Golob for prime minister-elect
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor announced he would nominate Robert Golob, the head of the election-winning Freedom Movement party, for prime minister-elect after holding consultations with deputy groups. He said he had established during the consultations that Golob undoubtedly enjoyed the necessary support to be elected in parliament. The new coalition, which supports Golob unanimously, has 53 deputies. The vote on the candidate for prime minister is expected to be held on Wednesday.
Slovenia advised to reduce dependency on fossil fuels
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission recommended Slovenia and all the other EU countries to diversify their imports of fossil fuels and reduce their dependency by increasing the use of renewable sources of energy and by strengthening power distribution networks. In its European Semester Spring review, the Commission told the countries they could strengthen the use of renewables by simplifying licencing procedures, urging them to boost public investment in green and digital transition and energy security.
Slovenian corporate sector highly profitable in 2021
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian corporate sector recorded a strong rebound in 2021, with overall revenue increasing by 24% to EUR 120.3 billion and net profit totalling EUR 5.7 billion, almost double the figure over the year before, shows an annual report by AJPES, the agency for public legal records. The overall net profit, the cumulative difference between companies' net losses and net profits, reached 4.7%, its highest level since these records began in 2008 measured as a share of overall revenue.
RTV Slovenija staff on strike: We're fighting for public media
LJUBLJANA - RTV Slovenija staff went on an hour-long strike to reiterate their demands for journalistic and editorial autonomy and an end to politicisation of the public broadcaster, while highlighting its role in a democracy. They also demand decent working conditions, a clear staffing policy, democratic social dialogue, and withdrawal of all harmful Programme Council decisions. Protesting over the lack of social dialogue, they expect their strike demands to be addressed by 30 May.
RTV Programme Council does not back candidate for TV Slovenija director
LJUBLJANA - The Programme Council of public broadcaster RTV Slovenija did not back the proposal to appoint Natalija Gorščak director of TV Slovenija, the broadcaster's TV arm. Director general Andrej Grah Whatmough nominated her after having dismissed her from the job in August last year. Gorščak was the only candidate to apply for the job in line with the terms of the call by the 13 May deadline. She needed at least 15 votes in the 29-member Programme Council to be appointed, but only seven members backed her.
Report: NBI wrote criminal complaint against Počivalšek
LJUBLJANA - According to unofficial information by webportal 24ur.com, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) wrote a criminal complaint months ago against Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek over suspected abuse of office in the purchase of Covid protective equipment. But the complaint has so far not been sent to the Specialised State Prosecutor's Office. Reportedly, an employee at Počivalšek's office and a supplier of medical ventilators are suspected of acting as accomplices.
Wages up in private sector in March, down in public sector
LJUBLJANA - Slovenians earned an average EUR 1,306.68 in take-home pay for March, up 1.2% compared with the net earnings a year ago. Net salaries in the public sector in fact fell by 6.2% as those in the private sector rose by as much on average, shows fresh data from the Statistics Office. The reason for lower pay in the public sector is that Covid-19 hazard bonuses had been phased out. Compared with the month before, net pay was up 5.3% in nominal terms and up 6.5% in real terms.
Poclain Hydraulics posts record sales growth
ŽIRI - Poclain Hydraulics, the Žiri-based maker of hydraulic valves, saw revenue grow 24% to EUR 41 million last year to return to the sales level achieved in 2018 on the back of a rebound in global demand and expansion to the US market. The company, which is the third largest production site in the France-based group by number of employees, achieved the result with 7% fewer employees than in 2018, which CEO Aleš Bizjak said confirmed the success of their measures to permanently increase productivity.
Paradajz produced record 5,200 tonnes of tomatoes last year
TURNIŠČE - The greenhouse tomato grower Paradajz from Renkovci in north-eastern Slovenia last year produced a record 5,200 tonnes of tomatoes, up from the average annual figure of 4,500 tonnes. Compared to 2020, sales were up by 30% to EUR 12.4 million, while net profit remained level at EUR 1.6 million. The company, best known for its tomato brand Lušt, said the increased production was facilitated by a new greenhouse in Mala Polana, near Renkovci, which produced its first tomatoes in January 2021.
Immunologist finds debate about Swedish model pointless
LJUBLJANA - The new government has indicated it will follow the Swedish model in managing a potential new Covid-19 wave in the autumn. However, Alojz Ihan, a respected immunologist, says it makes little sense talking of the Swedish model because the country is now in a different phase of the epidemic. He says the Swedish model can mean several things, including a high vaccination rate, which appears to be out of reach, it can mean the population trusting and following epidemiological measures and can also mean a catastrophe in care homes.
Historian Vodopivec honoured by Austria
LJUBLJANA - Historian Peter Vodopivec received Austria's Grand Decoration for Services for his contribution to the strengthening of the Slovenian-Austrian relations and cooperation between Slovenian and Austrian historians. In 2010, he received the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class. Austrian Ambassador to Slovenia Elisabeth Ellison Kramer said it was not frequent that a single person received two Austrian state decorations.
Minister honours member of Slovenian minority in Argentina
LJUBLJANA - Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch presented Argentinian Slovenian Alenka Prijatelj with a certificate of appreciation from the Government Office for Slovenians Abroad. Prijatelj received the honour for her long-standing efforts in fostering education and culture among her compatriots in Argentina. The minister also honoured ten Slovenian minority members or emigrants who have returned to their homeland in the last 30 years with commemorative medals marking the 30th anniversary of Slovenia's independence.
Architects of New Gallery and Casemates in Austria win Plečnik Prize
LJUBLJANA - The architects that have designed the New Gallery and Casemates in Austria's Wiener Neustadt have been honoured with the Plečnik Prize, Slovenia's top award for outstanding achievements in architecture over the past five years. Matija Bevk, Vasa J. Perović and Johannes Paar got the award at an awards ceremony in Ljubljana. The New Gallery and Casemates, completed in 2019, was lauded by the jury as one of the best architectural projects by Slovenian architects in the area of renovation and revitalisation.
Slovenian film wins main Tik Tok prize in Cannes
CANNES, France - Love In Plane Sight, a short film by Slovenian arts student Matej Rimanić, has won one of the two main prizes of the Tik Tok competition organised at the Cannes Film Festival for the first time this year. The short comedy by Rimanić, a third year student at the University of Nova Gorica School of Arts, tells the story of a future couple who talk across balconies. The Tik Tok section involved contributions from 44 countries and was viewed by 4.5 billion people worldwide.
Cukrarna wins Life Challenge architecture award
VALENCIA, Spain - Cukrarna, a new gallery in Ljubljana transformed from a dilapidated 19th century sugar factory, has won the Baumit company's Life Challenge international architectural competition. The project was selected as the best architectural solution and facade for 2022, winning the Historic Renovation segment, one of the six categories in which awards were presented in Valencia last week. Ljubljana will host the next awards ceremony in 2024.
Lighting Guerilla festival gets under way
LJUBLJANA - The 16th Lighting Guerilla Festival will open in Ljubljana's Vžigalica Gallery tonight with a group exhibition of new production by Slovenian artists. The theme of this year's iteration of the contemporary visual and new-media art is Shadows and Reflections. Running until 18 June, the festival will also feature international guests and outdoor light installations in selected locations around the capital.
Maribor claim 16th national football championship title
MURSKA SOBOTA - Maribor defeated the defending champions Mura 3:1 in Murska Sobota on Sunday to claim their 16th national championship title. They turned things around in the last round, leapfrogging Koper, who played a goalless draw with Bravo in Ljubljana. Maribor finished the 36-round premier league competition with 70 points, three more than Koper, who had been hoping for their second national championship title.
Cedevita Olimpija fail to make it to ABA League final
BELGRADE, Serbia - Slovenian basketball club Cedevita Olimpija lost against Serbia's Crvena Zvezda 78:88 in Belgrade in what was the decisive third game of the semi-final of the regional first-tier ABA League. The Ljubljana-based club thus missed out on the three-match final where Crvena Zvezda will now play its city rival Partizan. Cedevita Olimpija's top scorers were Yogi Ferrell with 25 points and Zoran Dragić with 21 points.
Supreme Court annuls sentence in cannabis-laced cookie incident
MARIBOR - The Supreme Court has annulled the 15-month suspended sentence handed out to a confectioner from Hoče for baking THC-laced cookies to a health inspector back in August 2017 and offering them to unsuspecting customers, who got sick. The court found the trial failed to prove the defendant had known the cookies contained THC. It thus ordered a retrial. The man allegedly baked the cookies for a retired health inspector, who told the first trial the defendant agreed to bake cookies with THC for him.
Covid situation stable during the weekend
LJUBLJANA - Two more Covid patients died in the last three days and currently 43 patients are in hospital with Covid as their main condition, including four in intensive care, the Health Ministry said. On Friday, 289 infections were confirmed, on Saturday another 156, and 86 on Sunday. The National Institute of Public Health estimates there are still 6,530 active cases in the country.
