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This summary is provided by the STA:
New coronavirus case count up 25% week-on-week on Thursday
LJUBLJANA - The new coronavirus case count in Slovenia was up 25% week-on-week to 2,510 on Thursday, with positivity rate at almost 37%, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) said. A total of 558 Covid-19 patients were in hospital this morning, 11 more than on the day before, with the number of ICU patients increasing by three to 134. Seven Covid-19 patients died. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 people rose by 65 to 1,190. The number of newly-admitted patients in the past week was up by 64% on the previous week, Health Ministry State Secretary Franc Vindišar said, noting increasing pressure on hospitals.
DuluxGroup confirms Jub acquisition plan
LJUBLJANA - DuluxGroup, an Australian paints group, confirmed entering into a binding agreement to acquire Jub, a Slovenian paints company, for EUR 194.5 million. It plans to turn Jub into a hub for Central and Eastern Europe, preserve its existing brands, and make it part of Nippon Paint's R&D community. "Under the auspices of DuluxGroup, Jub will enjoy autonomy and independent growth, while at the same time leveraging the advantages of access to a global market, technologies, capabilities and abundant capital resources of Nippon Paint Group," the company said.
Slovenia's inflation at 3% on higher fuel prices
LJUBLJANA - Higher fuel prices have pushed Slovenia's annual inflation rate to 3% in October from 2.4% in September, as the monthly increase in consumer prices hit 0.9%, the Statistics Office said. Oil derivatives were the single highest contributor to the headline rate, as various types of fuel were 30-40% more expensive than in the same period last year, contributing 1.6 percentage points to the overall rate. The harmonised index of consumer prices, an EU benchmark, hit 3.5% compared to 2.7% in the previous month.
National budget records EUR 2.5bn deficit in first nine months
LJUBLJANA - The national budget recorded EUR 7.97 billion in revenue in the first nine months of the year, or 19.6% more than in the same period last year, while expenditure increased by 15.3% to EUR 10.42 billion. The deficit thus amounted to EUR 2.45 billion and was slightly higher than at the same point last year. The Finance Ministry noted that the higher deficit was a consequence of growth of expenditure, in particular for wages, transfers to individuals and households, other current domestic transfers and investment spending.
Agreement signed between 2025 European Capitals of Culture
NOVA GORICA - The Nova Gorica municipality alongside Italy's Gorizia signed a cooperation agreement with another 2025 European Capital of Culture, Germany's Chemnitz. The agreement aims to facilitate the cities' development of the arts programme and implementation of the cultural strategy, said a press release by the municipality. The agreement was signed by Nova Gorica Mayor Klemen Miklavič, Gorizia Mayor Rodolfo Ziberna and Chemnitz Mayor Sven Schulze.
Health committee debates doctors' afternoon work
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Health Committee continued its debate on the matter of doctors working in private clinics while also being employed within the public health system. The opposition Left proposed several resolutions for limiting such practices, but the committee did not endorse them. The debate dealing with this topic first started in September, but had to be cut short due to a regular parliamentary session. Once again, committee members expressed different views on the issue.
Friday protesters announce new mass anti-govt protest for 12 November
LJUBLJANA - Bicycle protesters, who have been protesting against the government every Friday for 80 weeks, gathered for another rally, this time to address the issues of green infrastructure, green mobility, public transport and housing. The protest's organisers announced that on 12 November there will be another "mass, pan-Slovenian protest". The protesters sent letters to PM Janez Janša and Defence Minister Matej Tonin, calling for their resignation and a snap election.
