News roundup - Wednesday, 14 August, until 3 pm

Slovenia's economic growth slows to 0.7% in Q2

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's GDP slowed down considerably in the second quarter of the year, posting 0.7% annual growth in real terms, which compares to 2.1% in quarter one. Economic growth was largely hindered by foreign trade. Annual growth in the first six months meanwhile reached 1.4%, the Statistics office said. EU-compatible de-seasoned data shows the country's economy grew by 0.8% between April and June year-on-year, and was 0.2% higher compared to the first quarter.

Slovenia condemns strike on Gaza school, accuses Hamas of sacrificing Palestinians

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia categorically condemned a recent Israeli strike on a school in Gaza at a session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday. At the same time Ambassador Samuel Žbogar accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields and sacrificing fellow Palestinian citizens.

Civil society groups call on govt to suspend ties with Israel

LJUBLJANA - The Maribor-based City Assembly Initiative and the Movement for the Rights of Palestinians called on the government to suspend all ties with Israel due to a genocide in Gaza and to join South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel. They urged the authorities to immediately suspend all political, economic, academic and cultural ties with Israel and to respect international law.

Telemach taking over T-2, reaches reaches debt settlement with state

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) said it had reached an agreement with the telecommunications companies T-2 and Telemach Slovenija on the repayment of the debt owed by T-2 to SSH. As part of the EUR 90 million settlement, Telemach Slovenija, which is taking over T-2, will pay EUR 37 million to SSH now, and the rest by the end of July 2027. The announcement from the SSH came just before Telemach said it signed a takeover contract for T-2, with the deal pending regulatory approval.

Earliest grape harvest to date starting in NE Slovenia

ORMOŽ - Puklavec Family Wines, the biggest winery in north-east Slovenia, started this year's harvest, the earliest date for a harvest so far. "Lab samples showed that the grapes were optimal for harvest, so we had to react quickly," Branimir Žličar, head vineyard manager said. However, he hopes that the weather conditions will stabilise and the harvest will slow down.

Tuesday hottest day so far this year

LJUBLJANA - Tuesday was the hottest day recorded in Slovenia so far this year, as the Environment Agency said that temperatures hit 38 degrees Celsius in a village near Črnomelj in the south-east. This exceeds the previous record of 37.8 degrees Celsius, recorded just the day before. The current heatwave will persist until the end of the week. The absolute record in Slovenia is 40.8 degrees Celsius, recorded in Cerklje ob Krki in 2013.

EU funds for project for bilingual education approved

LJUBLJANA - The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development said it had cleared EU funds for a project to raise the quality of bilingual education for the Italian ethnic community in Slovenia and the Slovenian in Italy. The project is part of cohesion policy programmes in 2021-2027. It is worth nearly EUR 380,000 with the EU chipping in some EUR 152,000.

Croatia's Monika Herceg to receive CEI award for young authors

LJUBLJANA, 14 August - The Central European Initiative (CEI) award for up-and-coming writers will this year go to Croatian poet, playwright and editor Monika Herceg. She will receive the award, given out by the CEI and the Slovenian Writers' Association, at the opening of the International Vilenica Literary Festival in early September.