News roundup - Friday, 29 March, until 3pm

Fajon says recognition of Palestine coming soon if fighting continues

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia, in agreement with at least three other EU member states, is ready recognise Palestine in a relatively short time if it is not possible to reach the first objective, which is a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, a normalisation of the situation and the start of talks on a two-state solution, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said. The prime ministers of Slovenia, Spain, Ireland and Malta adopted a joint statement last week, expressing their readiness to recognise Palestine.

Public broadcaster's website targeted by hackers

LJUBLJANA - Public broadcaster RTV Slovenija detected on Thursday afternoon a cyber attack on its website, which was made temporarily unavailable by the hackers. There have been several similar attacks in the last few days, which are likely politically motivated, said the Government Information Security Office. A Russian hacker group has accepted responsibility for the attacks.

Annual inflation rate up again in March, to 3.6%

LJUBLJANA - Annual inflation rate in Slovenia increased slightly in March, reaching 3.6%. Compared to February, prices were up by 0.2%, mostly due to changes in seasonal collections of apparel and shoes, which added 0.5 percentage points to the headline inflation rate, the Statistics Office said.

General govt deficit at 2.5%, debt at 69.2% of GDP last year

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's general government deficit amounted to EUR 1.587 billion or 2.5% of GDP last year, which is EUR 114 million or 0.5 percentage points less than in 2022, the Statistics Office said. Despite increasing in nominal terms, general government debt decreased in terms of GDP share, amounting to EUR 43.67 billion or 69.2% of GDP.

Disposable income up 9% y/y in final quarter, savings rate climbs above 15%

LJUBLJANA - The gross disposable income of Slovenian households was 9% higher in the fourth quarter of 2023 year-on-year, while consumption grew by 6.2%, as favourable labour market conditions continued. The gross household savings rate reached 15.1% last year, according to a preliminary estimate by the Statistics Office.

Three-year quarterly growth of commercial property prices ends

LJUBLJANA - The prices of commercial real estate dropped by 4.2% in the final quarter of 2023 on a quarterly basis to end a three-year period of continuous growth of prices. The prices meanwhile increased only slightly on an annual level, the Statistics Office said.

Survey unemployment down again in February

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's survey unemployment rate stood at 3.1% in February, down by 0.1 percentage points from the month before and by 0.5 percentage points year-on-year, Statistics Office data shows. This is the lowest rate so far on record. The office estimates some 33,000 people aged 15 to 74 were jobless in January, 53% of whom were men and 47% women.

Slovenia celebrating General Rudolf Maister

KAMNIK/MARIBOR - A number of events are taking place as Slovenia celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of General Rudolf Maister (1874-1934), who established the first Slovenian army in 1918 and captured territory around Maribor to set what would become Slovenia's northern border. Among other things, President Nataša Pirc Musar laid a wreath in Maister's home town of Kamnik.

Unexploded WWII aerial bomb unearthed in Maribor

MARIBOR - A 250-kg unexploded areal bomb from the Second World War was found on Thursday as part of earthmoving work in Ledina Street in the southeastern Maribor borough of Tezno. The area of the find has been secured, the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration said, adding that the bomb would be deactivated on 7 April.

Woman of God documentary picked for Toronto's Hot Docs

TORONTO, Canada - Maja Prettner's Woman of God (Duhovnica), a documentary film that received glowing reviews at the 2023 Festival of Slovenian Film, has been selected for the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, scheduled in Toronto from 25 April to 5 May, the Slovenian Film Centre said.