Seven-week high in Covid cases reported
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia logged 4,068 coronavirus infections that are picked up through testing on Tuesday, the highest daily case count since mid-November, as the Omicron variant fuels another wave of infections. The 7-day average of daily cases topped 2,000 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 people exceeded 1,000, show fresh official data. Hospitalisations rose slightly, but ICU cases kept falling.
Minister urges organisational changes to cope with Omicron
LJUBLJANA - Health Minister Janez Poklukar urged those in charge of critical infrastructure, companies and the rest of society to organise work and other processes in a way to minimise contacts among people so as to prevent certain activities from grounding to a halt at one point due to Omicron infections and quarantines. He announced the quarantine would be cut from 10 to 7 days on epidemiologists' guidance.
Minister promises schools to remain open despite Covid spread
LJUBLJANA - Education Minister Simona Kustec does not expect schools to switch to distance learning in the wake of rapidly rising Covid infections. "If need be, only individual schools would switch to distance learning," she told the press, adding that health experts would be asked to propose tightening Covid measures before proposing closing schools.
Pahor not to attend Olympics opening due to pandemic
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor announced he would not attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing on 4 February due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Pahor received Chinese Ambassador to Ljubljana Wang Shunqin to hand him a letter informing Chinese President Xi Jinping of his decision. In the letter he expresses the hope that after the health crisis calms down he and Xi Jinping would meet sometime this year.
Slovenia issues EUR 1.75 billion in bonds
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia issued EUR 1.25 billion in four-year bonds and half a billion euro worth of 40-year bonds. The yield on the 4-year bond is negative at -0.241%. "This means the budget will get EUR 12.3 million," the Finance Ministry announced, adding: "It also proves the government polices are effective and successful". The yield on the 40-year bond is 1.183%, which the ministry said proved the sovereign's excellent position in the capital markets.
Minimum wage to rise by 4.9%
LJUBLJANA - The statutory minimum wage in Slovenia is to increase by 4.9% to EUR 1,074 gross as of 1 January, reflecting the increase in inflation last year. Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj decided the minimum wage for 2022 would be adjusted in equal amount to the rise in consumer prices in the past year after a second round of talks with social partners. Unions deem the rise too low and employers too high.
Slovenia's jobless total down 24.4% y/y in December
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia had nearly a quarter fewer jobless persons in December year-on-year, as the usual seasonal increase did not materialise towards the end of the year, show the latest data by the Employment Service. At 65,969, the jobless total reached the lowest level since before the economic crisis in late-2008.
Slovenia ranked 2nd among 23 OECD countries in coping with Covid crisis
LONDON, UK - The Economist ranked Slovenia second among 23 selected member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of how well it has coped with the economic aspects of the Covid-19 crisis. Analysts at the UK weekly used criteria such as growth in GDP, debt, investment and household disposable income, comparing values the last quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2021, or the latest available data.
Education, culture ministers present presidency achievements
LJUBLJANA - Education Minister Simona Kustec and Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti presented the key achievements of the Slovenian EU presidency, with Kustec noting the achievements in the field of the European Research Area and the adoption of the European model of sport. Simoniti noted the decisions in support of the European audiovisual sector.
Court of Audit rejects UKOM's initiative over STA audit
LJUBLJANA - The Court of Audit rejected the initiative by the Government Communication Office (UKOM) to expand the audit into the STA public service to the 2018-2021 period and not just the 2019-mid-2022 period, and to check compliance with EU regulations, UKOM said. The court said audits were being conducted based on a plan of work set by the court's president for each year.
High energy prices force food company into suspension
PIVKA - Slovenian companies have been sounding the alarm over high electricity prices for months, warning that production may become unviable for energy-intensive industries. One company, the fish processing firm Delamaris, has decided to suspend production for a week to weather the price spike.
Vanja Lombar new general manager of Geoplin
LJUBLJANA - Vanja Lombar, who has previously served as director of fuel retailer OMV Slovenija, has been named the general manager of Geoplin, the country's largest natural gas trader. Effective on 3 January, Lombar succeeds Boštjan Napast, who left the company at the end of last year for the top job at state-owned port operator Luka Koper. Geoplin is in majority ownership of energy group Petrol.
Alternative to plastic developed with help of Slovenian know-how
LJUBLJANA - A Slovenian-led project has developed a sustainable alternative to solve the problem of disposable plastic by creating a new material made from recycled plastic and fibres from discarded newsprint, which has been named ceplafib. The project coordinated by the Toolmaking Development Centre of Slovenia - TECOS also involves Slovenian motorhome manufacturer Adria Mobil and the plastic recycling company Omaplast, as well as Spain's Aitiip, Finland's Ecopulp and Poland's ITB.
Student attacks teacher at Celje secondary school
CELJE - A first-year student at a secondary school in Celje caused minor injuries to his teacher, as he allegedly stabbed her with a pair of blunt-tipped scissors after the teacher failed him during an oral examination in mathematics, according to unofficial information. The teacher, who sustained minor abrasions, was examined at the emergency room, said the Celje Police Directorate.
