News roundup - Friday, 9 February, until 3pm

Industrial output down 5.3% last year, with major December drop

LJUBLJANA - Industrial output in Slovenia dropped by 5.3% last year compared to 2022, the Statistics Office said. The 10.2% year-on-year drop in output in December largely contributed to this after more favourable autumn trends. Industrial output was down on an annual basis in all main activities, with the largest drop recorded in electricity, gas and steam supply (-31.9%), followed by mining and quarrying (-15.7%) and manufacturing (-4.1%). The total sales revenue in industry in 2023 was 1.1% lower than the year before, dropping by 1.3% on foreign markets and by 0.5% on the domestic market.

Days of Comedy arrive in Celje

CELJE - The SLG Celje theatre will host the 32nd Days of Comedy festival between 10 and 25 February featuring eight theatre productions in competition and, for the first time, an accompanying programme bringing plays from Slovenia and abroad, round table debates and workshops. Seven of the plays competing for the jury awards and the audience darling award come from five Slovenian public theatres and one is a private production. According to SLG Celje manager Miha Golob, the competing plays are mostly not based on Slovenian texts, except for one original project and one adaptation of a Slovenian novel.

German hiker missing since August confirmed dead

BOVEC - A 55-year-old German citizen who went missing last August in the mountains above Bovec in northwestern Slovenia has been confirmed dead as his remains, found at the end of December, have been positively identified by means of a forensic analysis. His body was found on 26 December by a local on the rugged terrain at an altitude of 900 metres, and the police later found personal items on the spot, based on which it was assumed that they most likely belonged to the missing German. He most likely fell down a precipice and suffered fatal injuries. There is no evidence of foul play, the police said.