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A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here
This summary is provided by the STA:
NLB bank sells life insurer NLB Vita to Sava Re
LJUBLJANA - Bank NLB and Belgian KBC, NLB's former owner, sold their life insurance company NLB Vita to the country's second biggest insurer Sava Re. The sale means that NLB has met the last of several conditions upon which the European Commission approved the 2013 bailout. The cost of the deal has not been disclosed, but the business paper Finance recently reported that NLB and KBC expected to get EUR 20-30 million. Stocks of Sava Re gained ground on the news on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.
Agrokor reports Mercator share seizure to EU authorities
LJUBLJANA/ZAGREB, Croatia - Bankrupt Croatian conglomerate Agrokor, the owner of Slovenian retailer Mercator, turned to the EU to complain about the seizure of Mercator stock by the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency. In a letter to Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager and the Commission's directorate general for competition, Agrokor chairman Fabris Peruško says the procedures contrary to EU and Slovenian law and motivated by "national political reasons".
Obrežje crossing closed for an hour due to bomb threat
OBREŽJE - The Obrežje border crossing with Croatia was closed for around an hour after a device, resembling a bomb was detected by an x-ray machine in a suitcase belonging to a Russian citizen travelling by bus. The device turned out to be a piano tuner with a charging device.
Embassy in Egypt honours Aleksandrinke
ALEXANDRIA/CAIRO, Egypt - Slovenia's Ambassador to Egypt Mateja Prevolšek unveiled on Christmas Eve a restored tomb and memorial plaque honouring Aleksandrinke, thousands of Slovenian women who worked for European and Arab families in Egypt as wet nurses and household help in the 19th and 20th century, many leaving behind their families and newborns. The tomb renovation was a joint effort of the Slovenian Culture Ministry and the Nova Gorica Municipality.
Basketball star Dončić joins Jordan Brand
DALLAS, US - Slovenian NBA star Luka Dončić has signed a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike Jordan Brand. After months of speculations, the shoe brand confirmed the news on Thursday, with unofficial sources saying it is a seven-figure deal. Nike and its Jordan Brand announced on Twitter that the 20-year-old was the latest contribution to their family. Dončić confirmed this on his official web page, adding that he had signed a five-year deal and that more details are to follow.
PM Šarec critical of coalition partners
LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec criticised some of his coalition partners in an interview for Dnevnik, displeased both with how he was put in the spotlight in the run-up to the vote on a new cohesion policy minister, and the way he is seen as having to act on the alleged transgressions by the agriculture minister. He does not agree with the opinion of the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) the onus was on Šarec to provide the votes in parliament for the candidacy of Angelika Mlinar, saying that he personally would have opted for a technocrat. He also suggested he would not yield to pressure by DeSUS president Karl Erjavec to act against Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec, who is suspected of having made money on the side with a publicly-funded project before she became minister and in the initial months in office.
Over thirty films at Bovec Outdoor Film Festival
BOVEC - The 13th Bovec Outdoor Film Festival (BOFF) will got under way today, bringing 32 mostly short films that deal with sports and the outdoors until 30 December. Topic-specific films are grouped together for the screenings, starting with environmental and female-focused films, while Slovenian films will be shown on Monday. "I'm glad the festival is developing and that we have so many films," BOFF director Jan Maček told the STA. Two audience awards will be conferred, for the best foreign and best Slovenian film.
Visiting Ljubljana? Check out what's on this week, while all our stories on Slovenia, from newest to oldest, are here
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