News roundup - Thursday, 25 July

Tourist arrivals, nights up in H1

LJUBLJANA - Almost 2.6 million tourists visited Slovenia in the first six months of the year, which is up 4.5% compared to the same period last year. Almost 6.4 million tourist nights were recorded or 2.2% more than last year. Almost 70% of all nights were spent by tourists from abroad, mostly from Germany, followed by guests from Austria and Italy, the Statistics Office said.

Novič seeking EUR 1.5m in damages after being acquitted of murder

LJUBLJANA - Milko Novič, a former employee of the National Chemistry Institute, is seeking more than EUR 1.5 million in damages from the state after he was fully acquitted in a murder trial but spent more than three years in prison, several newspapers reported. He was tried for the 2014 murder of the institute's director Janko Jamnik. The criminal procedure against Novič lasted seven years while he spent more than 1,200 days in prison.

Slovenia underlined Ukraine's right to self-defence in UN

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia once again underlined Ukraine's right to defend itself against Russian aggression, as Deputy Ambassador to the UN Security Council Ondina Blokar Drobič addressed a session called by Russia. In signing a security agreement with Ukraine, Slovenia fortified its support for Ukraine's self-defence, she added. Slovenia sees aid in weapons to Ukraine as support to protecting civilians against Russian drones and missiles and protecting the UN Charter.

Slovenian researchers converting harmful gasses into useful chemicals

LJUBLJANA - Two Slovenian research institutions, the National Institute of Chemistry and the Centre of Excellence: Low-Carbon Technologies (CO NOT), are taking part in e-CODUCT, an EU-funded international project designed to develop innovative technology to convert greenhouse gas and acid gasses into green end products such as fuels and useful chemicals, including green methanol, in a bid to make chemical plants more environmentally friendly.

Business sentiment deteriorates in July

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian businesses are slightly less upbeat in July; the country's sentiment has decreased by 0.5 percentage points to -2.4 points from June as three out of five indicators deteriorated. The index is nevertheless 3.9 points higher than a year ago, fresh statistics data showed. At the monthly level, the sentiment has deteriorated in retail (-0.8 points), among consumers (-0.2 points) and in services (-0.1 points). It has improved only in manufacturing (+0.7 points) while staying flat in construction.

Gorenjska Banka's net profit slightly down in H1

KRANJ - Gorenjska Banka, a Slovenian bank owned by Serbian businessman Miodrag Kostić through his Cyprus-based Agri Europe, generated a net profit of EUR 22.8 million in the first half of the year, down 1.5% year-on-year. Net interest meanwhile rose by 10.5% to EUR 45.7 million, as positive revenue trends from 2023 continued into 2024.

IJS wins EU funds to develop Slovenian quantum science hub

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS), one of the leading Slovenian research institutions, will develop a Slovenian Quantum Science Hub (SQUASH), a EUR 12 million project, for which it has won EUR 5.7 million in EU funds. The aim of the project is to attract top quantum technology experts. The remaining EUR 5.3 million will be contributed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation.

Pogačar receives warm welcome in Ljubljana, Komenda

LJUBLJANA/KOMENDA - Tadej Pogačar was given a warm welcome by fans in Ljubljana and his home town Komenda on Wednesday as he returned to Slovenia after winning the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France double, the first rider to achieve the feat in the same season in 26 years. A huge crowd of fans greeted Pogačar with a big applause in Congress Square. "Everything is easier when you have people around you who believe in you and when you have fans like I have. Thank you all for coming, you're the best," he said.

Golob travels to Paris for Olympics opening ceremony

PARIS, France - President Nataša Pirc Musar and Prime Minister Robert Golob travelled to Paris for the opening of the Olympic games. They will attend several events, as well as sports events featuring Slovenian athletes. Golob will stay in Paris until Saturday and Pirc Musar until Sunday.

Slovenian women's handball team lose Olympic opener

PARIS, France - The Slovenian women's handball team opened their first ever Olympic tournament with a loss, going down 19:27 (11:14) to Denmark in Group A. Slovenia will next face South Korea on Sunday. Their group also includes Norway, Sweden and Germany. Only the top four teams will advance to the knock-out stage.