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This summary is provided by the STA:
Almost 400 Ukrainian refugees seek asylum in Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 381 Ukrainian citizens have stated their intention to ask for international protection in Slovenia, police data shows. Meeting Ukrainian Ambassador Mykhailo Brodovych, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs said Slovenia was prepared for increased numbers of Ukrainian refugees and would provide capacities as needed. He reiterated Slovenia's support for Ukraine as the Ukrainian ambassador thanked Slovenia for its aid, a release from the ministry said.
Queues at petrol stations in expectation of fuel price hikes
LJUBLJANA - After media reports that fuel prices will go up significantly on Tuesday due to the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia, queues formed at service stations around the country. Some stations temporarily ran out of diesel fuel. The newspaper Finance reported the price of diesel could reach a new record on Tuesday, at EUR 1.65 a litre. PM Janez Janša said there was no need to panic as Slovenia had sufficient supplies, announcing additional government measures in case of radical retail price hikes.
Poll shows Slovenians deeply pessimistic over Ukraine war
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian public see the war in Ukraine as a much bigger cause for concern than they did Covid-19 at any time of the pandemic. A poll conducted by Valicon in Slovenia and three other countries in the region puts the rate of people being personally concerned about the war and its impact at 85, which compares to the high of 72 during the Covid-19 pandemic. 71% of respondents in Slovenia blame Russia for the war, 37% the US and 22% NATO, 17% Ukraine and 11% the EU. Several answers were possible.
Facade of Russian-owned mill causes upset over Ukraine war
JESENICE - The facade of the steel maker SIJ Acroni's cold rolling mill in Koroška Bela has upset some employees and residents. They believe the building's yellow and blue facade with a red star and sickle on top is a provocation related to the war in Ukraine. The SIJ group, owned by the Russian Zubitsky family since 2017, rejected the allegation. It said the star had been placed on the building's roof as a workers' symbol a few decades ago, with the facade painted last year to match the auxiliary facility.
RTV Slovenija staff protest against increasing pressure
LJUBLJANA - RTV Slovenija journalists held a news conference to demand full editorial independence and protest against deteriorating working conditions, mobbing and political pressure. They pointed to unwarranted criticism from the Government Communication Office. TV Slovenija journalists also protested after Jadranka Rebernik was appointed editor-in-chief of TV news programmes instead of a candidate backed by the staff. The journalists' association DNS and trade union labelled the appointment unlawful.
Opposition boycotts session on diplomatic appointments
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee held a session to hear the remaining presentations by candidates for Slovenia's future ambassadors. After the first six candidates for ambassadorial positions, who are expected to be posted abroad in the summer, were presented to the committee in mid-February, today's closed-door session heard another five. The centre-left opposition staged a walk-out because they received the relevant documents only at the session itself.
SDS moves back to top spot in latest Mediana poll
LJUBLJANA - The ruling Democrats (SDS) gained 3.3 percentage points to 18.3% in the latest poll conducted by Mediana to return on top, leapfrogging the Freedom Movement, the party of Robert Golob. The latter lost 2.2 points to 18%. The Social Democrats (SD)are in third at 7.7%, up by 1.1 points. The government's rating improved compared to the previous month as President Borut Pahor continues to top the list of the most popular politicians, followed by Golob and National Council Speaker Alojz Kovšca.
SDS withdraws lawsuit against Šarec
LJUBLJANA - The Democrats (SDS) have withdrawn a lawsuit against Marjan Šarec, the leader of the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), over comments he made in March 2020 concerning the party's methods and financing. Layer Franci Matoz did not provide the grounds for the withdrawal. The Mladina magazine, which first reported the news last week, said the party was certain to lose the suit given that a court had previously cleared sociologist Rudi Rizman, who was sued by the party over similar comments.
No more face masks at schools
LJUBLJANA - Kids and staff at schools no longer have to wear face masks from today. Masks remain obligatory in all other indoor public spaces. The relaxation, approved by the government last week, applies to kindergartens, schools and universities. Slovenia phased out a number of coronavirus restrictions on 21 February, including mandatory self-testing at schools and the Covid pass in most settings, with the latter remaining applicable at health organisations, care homes and prisons.
Cases up 16% week-on-week on Sunday
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 746 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, a week-on-week increase of 16% that comes two weeks after a substantial relaxation of restrictions. This was the third day in a row that cases were up on the weekly basis. The 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 continued to drop and stood at 1,140, whereas the seven-day average of new daily cases rose slightly to 1,656. Covid-19 hospitalisations dropped to 255, of which 74 in intensive care. Six patients died, shows official data.
Fewer cancer cases detected during epidemic
LJUBLJANA - Launching a five-day cancer awareness campaign, Sonja Tomšič, the coordinator of the Slovenian cancer management programme, said that 30% fewer cancer diagnoses than usually were set during the first wave of Covid-19 and about 10% fewer in the next waves. However, fewer diagnoses do not mean less cancer. Now that the epidemic is waning, the number of newly discovered cases is again as expected but "we still haven't made up for the delay in discovery" caused by the epidemic, she said.
Violence against women on the rise during epidemic
LJUBLJANA - Experts taking part in an online debate on femicide organised by SOS Telephone, a helpline for victims of domestic violence, ahead of International Women's Da, said that five to seven murders of women within a family or partnership are recorded in Slovenia every year. They also warned of a rise in femicide during the Covid-19 epidemic. Mirjam Kline from the Supreme State Prosecutors' Office said in about half of the cases, victims decided not to file charges.
Exports up 20.5% y/y in January as imports surge 52%
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia exported EUR 3.5 billion worth of goods in January, or 20.5% more than in the same month last year, while imports surged by 52.1% to EUR 3.9 billion, the Statistics Office said. A trade deficit of EUR 400 million was thus recorded for the exports-to-imports coverage of 89.2%. Exports to the EU member states were up by 28.8% year-on-year to EUR 2.4 billion, while imports from these countries increased by 38% to EUR 2.4 billion.
Bad bank again selling its 13% stake in Cinkarna Celje
LJUBLJANA - The Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC) is soliciting binding bids for its 12.83% stake in the chemical company Cinkarna Celje. The deadline for submissions in what is a new attempt by the state-owned bad bank to sell the stake is 6 April, shows the announcement published in the business newspaper Finance. BAMC has been without its voting rights in the Celje-based company since January, as the statutory deadline for the bad bank to sell the assets it had acquired before 2016 is expiring.
Ljubljana refuge of Syrian writer Souzan Ali
LJUBLJANA - Syrian author Souzan Ali has been living in Ljubljana since last summer after she sought refuge in Slovenia's capital under the UNESCO City of Literature programme and the ICORN network of cities helping persecuted writers and other artists. Ali is on a writing residency at the Slovenian Pen Centre. Her work was presented on the eve of International Women's Day. Ljubljana has so far welcomed six refugees in cooperation with the ICORN network, which includes 75 cities, mostly in Europe.
Križnar wins Raw Air, Bogataj third
OSLO, Norway - Nika Križnar won the Raw Air ski jumping tour in Norway after placing fourth in the final event on Sunday. Olympic champion Urša Bogataj finished second in the final event for third place overall, behind Sara Takanashi of Japan. "I'm not too pleased with my jumping since I made quite a few mistakes. But winning the tour is something special, I'm really happy about that," said Križnar, the second ever winner of Raw Air after back-to-back wins by Maren Lundby.
