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This summary is provided by the STA:
Record 5,164 coronavirus cases on Monday
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia reported a record 5,164 new cases of coronavirus for Monday, the highest daily figure since the start of the pandemic. This pushed the 14-day case notification rate stood to 1,879, and the seven-day case average to 3,891. Three Covid-19 patients died, while total hospitalisations fell to 553 as intensive care cases rose by three to 160, according to the government.
Slovenian politicians express condolences upon Sassoli's death
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's senior politicians and MEPs took to Twitter to express their condolences on the death of David Sassoli, the president of the European Parliament, lauding him as a great democrat, and a proud and sincere European. National Assembly Speaker Igor Zorčič said he was honoured to have been able to work with Sassoli during Slovenia's EU presidency in the second half of last year.
Recovery, resilience at the forefront of ECOFIN presidency
LJUBLJANA - Finance Minister Andrej Šircelj said fighting the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic had been at the forefront of Slovenia's EU presidency in the field of finance and noted that during this time, the EU had approved 22 national recovery and resilience plans and paid out EUR 54 billion in funds to 20 member states.
Vrtovec discusses logistics digitalisation at Expo
DUBAI, UAE - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec visited the Slovenian Expo pavilion to address a business forum accompanying the visit by a delegation of Slovenian logistics companies. He discussed the need for digitalisation in logistics and Slovenia's ambition to become a green nexus of Europe. The forum discussed ways to shorten the maritime route to Europe, reduce the carbon footprint and promote Europe's tourist attractions.
Centre-left willing to talk cooperation with Golob
LJUBLJANA - The alliance of four centre-left opposition parties, the Marjan Šarec Party (LMŠ), Social Democrats (SD), the Left and the SAB discussed election campaigning and their joint efforts. They expressed willingness to discuss the potential cooperation with ex-GEN-I director Robert Golob, but will not decide on the matter until they get acquainted with the programme of his new potential party. Meanwhile, unaffiliated MP Janja Sluga is tipped to be forming a party with Golob.
Ljubljana Mayor Janković, sons acquitted in tax evasion case
LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković and his two sons were acquitted of tax evasion concerning the sale of shares of the retailer Mercator in 2006 as the court handed down its ruling after a month-long trial. Janković, a former CEO of Mercator, was charged with tax evasion in the sale of 47,000 Mercator shares to the family company, and his sons, Jure and Damjan, were charged with abetting. Janković said he had expected an acquittal, accusing the prosecutor of bullying, while the latter announced an appeal.
Committee approves bill to regulate medical procurement prices
LJUBLJANA- The parliamentary Home Affairs Committee endorsed a coalition-sponsored proposal to regulate the prices of medical supplies and equipment under a system of reference prices comparable with those in other EU countries. Medical equipment could only be procured in agreement with suppliers when a specific item could not be procured at the reference price, not even with a legally permissible variation of up to 10%. The centre-left opposition argued the solution would increase corruption risks.
Covid-related spending up by 40% last year
LJUBLJANA - After tackling the Covid-19 epidemic cost the state EUR 2 billion in 2020, expenditure rose by a further EUR 800 million in 2021. The bulk of expenditure in 2020 was on job retention and liquidity measures, but last year most went for hazard bonuses in the public sector. The direct cost of the epidemic-related measures from the spring of 2020 to the end of 2021 amounted to EUR 4.8 billion, as another EUR 2.8 billion was added to the cost last year.
Doctors' union demands own wage system for healthcare
LJUBLJANA - The annual conference of FIDES, the trade union of doctors and dentists, gave the union's leadership the mandate to apply all forms of industrial pressure to implement the rise in the wage ceiling for doctors enacted in the latest Covid law and extract healthcare from the single public sector wage system. The union sees the step as the only way to prevent doctors from leaving for better paid jobs in the private sector and abroad. They also call for a sweeping health reform.
Primorska university awarded UNESCO chair
KOPER - The Faculty of Humanities at the University of Primorska has been awarded the UNESCO chair in partnership with the Škocjan Cave Park, joining another three UNESCO chairs in Slovenia. The Škocjan Cave has been on UNESCO's world heritage list since 1986. The main goal of the Chair for Interpretation and Education is to develop heritage interpretation and education for professionals and the general public through a comprehensive approach to heritage.
Online grade book target of phishing attack
LJUBLJANA - A popular online grade book used by hundreds of Slovenian schools and an estimated 35,000 teachers has been compromised in an apparent phishing attack that has affected an as yet unknown number of grades. The developers said the system, called eAsistent, had been compromised via a fake website with the help of which teachers' login credentials were stolen and then used to log into the genuine system. The phishing site has already been taken down.
Nataša Kovačević becomes Woman Engineer of the Year
LJUBLJANA - Nataša Kovačević, a research project manager at Kolektor Group company, was named the Woman Engineer of the Year. The title was declared for the fourth year to encourage young women to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics at a hybrid event at the Presidential Palace. She has done research on corrosion and passivation processes on the surfaces of metal materials.
Zdenka Badovinac to head Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art
ZAGREB, Croatia - The Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List reported that Zdenka Badovinac, the former long-serving director of Moderna Galerija, the Ljubljana Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, won the open call to head the Museum of Contemporary Art (MSU) in Zagreb. The vetting commission's pick now needs to be endorsed by Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević. Badovinac served as director of Moderna Galerija from 1993 to 2021.
Novel about National Hall arson shortlisted for Italian literary prize
TRIESTE, Italy - Fiamme Nere, the Italian translation of the Slovenian novel Črni obroč (Black Ring) by Trieste-based writer and poet Marijo Čuk, has been nominated among the 11 finalists for the Italian national literary prize named after Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov. Črni obroč gives an account of the arson of the Slovenian National Hall in Trieste by Italian fascists. The winner of the Nabokov Prize will be announced on 5 February.
Czechia helps Slovenia reach renewables goal
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia met its EU-committed target for renewables to account for 25% of its gross final energy consumption in 2020 after statistical transfer with the Czech Republic, the Statistics Office said. In 2020, 24.14% of gross final energy consumption actually came from renewables, with the remaining part transferred with the Czech Republic for almost EUR 5 million.
Triglav Glacier campaign to plant 13,000 trees in Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - The Triglav Glacier to Beijing campaign, which is bringing a small piece of ice from the glacier on Mt Triglav to the Winter Olympics venue in Beijing, will plant a tree in Slovenia for every kilometre travelled. At least 13.000 new trees will be planted, the Slovenian Olympic Committee (OKS) said. The Triglav Glacier to Beijing campaign raises awareness about the need to preserve glaciers.
