News roundup - Wednesday, 31 July, until 3pm

Annual inflation drops to 1.3% in July

LJUBLJANA - The annual inflation rate in Slovenia dropped to 1.3% in July, which is the second lowest rate after March 2021, when it was 0.1%, the Statistics Office said. Annual inflation decreased for the fourth month in a row. On average, the prices of services increased by 4.4% on an annual basis, while the prices of goods dropped by 0.3%. Contributing 0.4 percentage points to the annual inflation rate in July was a 6.1% increase in the prices of services in restaurants and hotels. On a monthly basis, consumer prices were on average 0.1% lower in July, mostly due to lower prices of clothing and footwear.

Dnevnik assembly confirms separation of publishing activities

LJUBLJANA - The shareholders of the media company Dnevnik, which publishes one of the leading Slovenian dailies, approved on Tuesday a plan to spin off the company's publishing business. The new company will be named Dnevnik Mediji and will absorb all of Dnevnik's employees. Based on a counterproposal from the largest shareholder, publisher DZS, a higher dividend for shareholders was also approved, amounting to EUR 1.80 gross per share.

Slovenian-French forum stresses competitiveness in car industry

PARIS, France - The global automotive industry is facing important challenges, the impact of which will be felt by automotive industries in Slovenia, France and the EU, heard a Slovenian-French forum organised by the SPIRIT agency and the Manager Association. If there are no swift measures to electrify transport and cut red tape, the EU will fall behind in competitiveness, heard the event, held at the Slovenia House on the sidelines of the Paris Olympics.

Pundit says Haniyeh assassination reflects poorly on Iran

LJUBLJANA - The assassination of the political leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh in his residence in Tehran reflects badly on Iran, and the Iranian authorities will have to respond due to its political position in the region, researcher Faris Kočan of the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana has assessed for the STA. The new leadership in Iran risks being seen as weak if it does not respond, he added. Kočan doubts, though, that there will be an immediate and drastic response either from Iran or Hamas.

Calls against extremism as Roma Holocaust Memorial Day is marked

MARIBOR - Roma Holocaust Memorial Day was marked in Maribor on Tuesday evening with a lecture on the opportunities regarding the Roma cultural heritage in Slovenia, a concert and an address by Jožek Horvat Muc, the head of the Slovenian Roma Association, who took the occasion to warn against various forms of extremism. Horvat Muc said that it is very important to remember the tragic events of eight decades ago, referring to the Romani genocide, or Porajmos, during World War II.

Celje ousted from Champions League qualifying

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - Slovenian football champions Celje were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League qualifying by the Slovak champions Slovan Bratislava in the second round with an aggregate score of 1:6. Celje suffered a humiliating 0:5 defeat in Bratislava on Tuesday evening in the second leg, after playing out a 1:1 draw at home last week. They have now been relegated to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League and the match-up with the Irish champions Shamrock Rovers.