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This summary is provided by the STA:
Supreme Court orders competition watchdog to release Mercator shares
LJUBLJANA - The Supreme Court ordered the Competition Protection Agency (AVK) to release 70% of shares of retailer Mercator it seized from Croatian Agrokor in December 2019. The Supreme Court said that the AVK did not have legal grounds to seize Mercator shares. In line with the minor offences act, seizure of shares is only possible if there is suspicion that the perpetrator would go into hiding or abroad before the offences procedure is completed, which is impossible for a legal entity, the Supreme Court said. Agrokor's successor Fortenova, which has been taking over Agrokor's viable businesses, plans for Mercator to become a part of the new group by the end of the year.
Fourteen new infections for second day running
LJUBLJANA - Out of 919 tests for Sars-CoV-2 performed in Slovenia on Tuesday, 14 came back positive, as many as the day before when 874 people were tested. The national case count increased to 2,115, out of which 237 remain active. Two of the latest cases were recorded at the Hrastnik care home, a major hotspot in the country. Twelve more municipalities saw one new case each. Government statistics show no new Covid-19 fatalities, but the number of hospitalisations rose to 21, including four in intensive care.
Uroš Lepoša takes over as acting NBI director
LJUBLJANA - Uroš Lepoša was appointed new acting director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to replace Igor Lamberger after less than three months on the job. The appointment was made by acting Police Commissioner Andrej Jurič as he decided against picking any of the candidates who applied for the call for applications. Lepoša has been with the police force for 28 years. A crime investigator, he most recently worked at the development and system task division in the service attached to the police commissioner.
Alfi acquires more than 80% of grocer Tuš's debt
LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Delo reported that Alfi, a Slovenian equity fund, had acquired over 80% of the debt owed by Tuš, one of the largest grocers in Slovenia. The paper, which obtained confirmation on the acquisition of the last block of claims against Tuš from Alfi, says a framework restructuring agreement to deleverage the grocer is to be signed this week. Once the debt is converted into equity, Alfi is to hold a 75% stake in Tuš, with the Tuš founder, Mirko Tuš, preserving 15-20%.
Talum expects 20% drop in production and revenue this year
KIDRIČEVO - The Kidričevo-based aluminium maker Talum, which has recently also been focusing on products from remelted and waste aluminium, has operated disruption-free despite the coronavirus pandemic. However, CEO Marko Drobnič told the STA in an interview the company was expected to see a 20% drop of production and revenue this year. The management estimates the company will generate around EUR 60 million less in revenue than the originally planned EUR 325 million, but will break even.
STA's article-tracking tool makes EU list of best innovations
LJUBLJANA - An advanced article-tracking tool developed by the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) made the European Commission's list of the best European innovations as part of the Innovation Radar platform. The platform, available at the web address https://www.innoradar.eu/, features around 3,600 top innovations whose excellence and potential has been recognised by independent experts.
Court stays early dismissal of RTV Slovenija supervisors
LJUBLJANA - The Administrative Court stayed the government decision to dismiss early three members of the supervisory board of public broadcaster RTV Slovenija. Matjaž Medved, one of the dismissed supervisors, is seeking annulment of the government decision and a ban preventing the government from further interfering in the terms of the supervisory board's members. The court has decided to stay the government decision until a final decision is made to ensure effective judicial protection of Medved's constitutional rights, which were allegedly infringed by the replacement.
Competition watchdog opposes media act reform
LJUBLJANA - The Competition Protection Agency (AVK) warned about the drawbacks of changes to the media act regarding media concentration monitoring. The agency advocates a strict separation of monitoring the public interest in media, which should not be in the domain of the AVK, and assessing concentration in line with the competition law. The AVK believes that the proposed changes envisage an unnecessary and unclear interlinking of concentration procedure under the prevention of restricting competition act and monitoring concentration under the media reform. The separation between the two procedures is necessary, the AVK said in a press release.
28-year-old Austrian killed in paragliding accident
TOLMIN - A 28-year-old Austrian paraglider was found dead in the Julian Alps in the early hours of the morning. The man took off from the Kobala paragliding takeoff in western Slovenia alongside a friend at 1pm yesterday but when he was still missing in the evening, a report was made to the police. A search and rescue campaign was launched immediately and the man was found dead at about 3am in steep and inaccessible terrain on the mountain of Vršič above the Predolina pasture.
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