Janša warns against elections during EU presidency
LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša warned against an early election that would be held during Slovenia's EU presidency in an interview with public broadcaster TV Slovenija on Friday evening. This would mean being amid an election campaign dealing with itself when the country should be dealing with others' problems, Janša said.
EU justice commissioner urges Počivalšek to appoint delegated prosecutors
BRUSSELS, Belgium/LJUBLJANA - European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders urged on Friday Economy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Zdravko Počivalšek to appoint Slovenia's European delegated prosecutors (EPDs). Počivalšek said on Twitter the issue was not as clear cut as it may seem, and said Slovenia should consider first appointing just one prosecutor.
FMs of Slovenia, Austria, Czech Republic express support to N Macedonia's EU path
SKOPJE, North Macedonia - Foreign minister of Slovenia, Austria and the Czech Republic, Anže Logar, Jakub Kulhanek and Alexander Schallenberg expressed support to North Macedonia's EU path at a working visit to the country on Saturday. Macedonian FM Bujar Osmani thanked for their support and called for EU accession talks to start as soon as possible.
Support to companies must not be withdrawn too fast, finance minister says
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Finance Minister Andrej Šircelj took part on Saturday in an informal session of the EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council, focussing on efforts to ensure a balanced and inclusive post-pandemic recovery. He said that despite the recent improvement in the economic forecasts support should not be lifted too quickly.
Two apprehended at Friday's anti-government protest
LJUBLJANA - Friday's anti-government protest escalated into a mass violation of public order, police said on Saturday, adding that physical force had to be used to restore order. Two people were apprehended to be identified and later released. According to preliminary data, one person sustained mild injuries during the incident and was rushed to the UKC Ljubljana hospital. Police are investigating the circumstances. According to police, about 800 people gathered for the unannounced protest in the Republic square in Ljubljana yesterday.
Shots fired in Ljubljana's old town on Friday evening
LJUBLJANA - Police are investigating reports about shots being fired in Ljubljana's old down on Friday evening. The incident happened near the Mini Teater theatre and the Jewish Culture centre. According to the information gathered so far, nobody was injured. Police have found the fired cartridge cases and are now checking which type of weapon was used. They do not have a suspect yet, but an investigation is under way.
383 new coronavirus infections on Friday, one death
LJUBLJANA - A total of 3,805 PCR tests were conducted in Slovenia on Friday to confirm 383 infections for a positivity rate of 10.1%, fresh government data show. Hospitals are treating 319 Covid-19 patients, of whom 102 need intensive care. One more patient died. The rolling seven-day average of new cases dropped from 372 to 356. The share of positive tests is slightly higher than on Thursday, when it stood at 8%, but 331 fewer tests were conducted on Friday.
