Parliament has passed a bill which earmarks EUR 780 million in additional defence spending in a six-year period between 2021 and 2026. The bulk of the money will be spent on purchasing armoured personnel vehicles and setting up a medium infantry battalion group, while an aircraft and two helicopters are also to be bought.

The police have arrested seven and filed criminal complaints against 12 persons in total following an 18-month long investigation of a suspected international migrant smuggling ring which is also believed to have involved Slovenian citizens in charge of security at Ljubljana's Asylum Home.

Slovenia's daily coronavirus case count dropped to 1,546 on Thursday from over 2,000 recorded on the previous two days, as the test positivity rate dropped slightly, fresh data from the government show. With another 31 fatalities, the Covid-19 death toll rose to 995.

The energy group Petrol saw its revenue drop by 30% year-on-year in the first nine months of the year to EUR 2.29 billion. Its net profit was at EUR 40.5 million, a 49% drop compared to the same period in 2019, the core company said in a press release on Friday following a supervisory board meeting.

Insurance group Sava Re, Slovenia's second largest, reported a net profit of EUR 47.6 million for the nine months to the end of September, an increase of 26.4% year-on-year, as gross premiums written rose by 12.4% to EUR 527.1 million.

Prime Minister Janez Janša has assessed the government opted for remote schooling too late into the second wave of coronavirus, but he also told TV Slovenija in an interview aired last night that reopening schools and kindergartens would be a priority now, but classes would have to be held under stringent conditions.

The junior opposition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) is starting an election congress on Friday to elect a new president following the resignation of Aleksandra Pivec. Karl Erjavec, who headed the party for 15 years before losing to Pivec in an election congress in January, seems to be the favourite for the post.

Slovenia celebrates Slovenian Food Day on Friday in a changed format due to Covid-19. Instead of a traditional Slovenian breakfast featuring honey and apples in schools and kindergartens, children are in for online presentations on the importance of local food.