News roundup - Monday, 7 October, until 3pm

Pirc Musar says both Hamas and Israel must be held accountable

LJUBLJANA - Marking the first anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel, President Nataša Pirc Musar said the attack by the Palestinian militant group on Israel and those by Israel on Gaza caused tragedy on both sides and both must be held accountable for their actions. "Sadly, one year on, we are watching helplessly a much worse tragedy that the Palestinians, in Gaza and elsewhere, have been experiencing for decades, and which has escalated to incomprehensible proportions this year," Pirc Musar said.

Golob calls for decisiveness in Middle East ceasefire efforts

LJUBLJANA - The international community has to respond more decisively to the expanding conflict in the Middle East and do more to reach an immediate ceasefire, said Prime Minister Robert Golob on the anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel. He called on Israel to stop the violence. He believes the extent of the killing of civil population in Gaza is completely disproportionate to the right to self-defence.

Addressing root causes key to Middle East peace, Fajon says

LJUBLJANA - Addressing the root causes of the conflict is a prerequisite for lasting peace in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said on the anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel that triggered an Israeli offensive on Gaza. The situation in Gaza is not calming down - on the contrary, there is no end in sight to the war and the intensification of the conflict." People on both sides deserve peace and security, she said, and action must be taken now as the conflict in the region is spreading dangerously.

FinMin takes over as interim digital transformation minister

LJUBLJANA - Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič will take over as interim minister of digital transformation until a permanent replacement is found for Emilija Stojmenova Duh, who resigned in late September in the face of mounting irregularity allegations against her. Announcing his decision, Prime Minister Robert Golob said he was talking to potential ministerial candidates. The reason why he picked Boštjančič is "relatively simple", said Golob, explaining that Slovenia was in the final stages of talks about EU funds for a new super computer and data centre in Maribor and Boštjančič has been involved in the talks so far.

MP Bogovič Avšič to take over as Freedom Movement deputy head

LJUBLJANA - The head of the council of the Freedom Movement, Nataša Avšič Bogovič, will take over as the party's deputy group leader after the National Assembly will have appointed Borut Sajovic defence minister in the afternoon. She told the STA that she would have big shoes to fill and believed herself to be an acceptable choice for all. Avšič Bogovič has served as Sajovic's deputy and believes she has learned a lot from him. She does not intend to change the workings of what is the largest group of MPs in the National Assembly.

Deputy mayor Košir elected Kočevje mayor

KOČEVJE - Gregor Košir, Kočevje deputy mayor, has been elected mayor as the municipality held a by-election on Sunday after Vladimir Prebilič became a member of the European Parliament earlier this year. Košir, who stepped in as mayor when Prebilič assumed his new job, has won just over 69% of the vote on a good 35% turnout. The 41-year-old economist, who is a former director of the Kočevje community health centre, said he would like to continue Prebilič's work. He also vowed efforts to tackle Roma-related issues.

Slovenian rescuers arrive in flood-stricken Bosnia, get down to work

MOSTAR - A team of 46 Slovenian rescuers and six dogs arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and have already joined the rescue efforts, including the search for the missing persons. In the afternoon, Slovenian Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Damijan Sedar is due to visit the flood-stricken area. The convoy of 16 vehicles left for Bosnia on Sunday around midday, just hours after the government responded to Bosnia's request for aid through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Builder CGP takes over Croatian Aquaterm

NOVO MESTO - The Novo Mesto-based construction company CGP has taken over Aquaterm, a Croatian sewerage construction and microtunneling company, to expand its development potential and reduce risks linked to an over-dependency on the local market. "With this takeover the CGP group is becoming a more important part of the construction industry also in Croatia, which creates new opportunities to expand business on the Croatian market," CGP wrote. According to an analysis by the business portal Finance, CGP is Slovenia's largest construction company by various criteria.

Regulated fuel prices up on Tuesday

LJUBLJANA - The prices of fuel sold outside Slovenia's motorway network will increase on Tuesday. The price of regular petrol will go up by 1.2 cents to EUR 1.469 a litre, while diesel will be 1.4 cents dearer at EUR 1.499 a litre, the Environment, Climate and Energy Ministry announced. Heating oil will go up by 1.3 cents to EUR 1.105 a litre. The prices will be in effect until 21 October.

Comics festival celebrates female authors

LJUBLJANA - The Tinta Comics Festival will open in Ljubljana on Wednesday, featuring some 50 comic book authors at more than 20 events across eight venues. Running until Sunday, this year's rendition will celebrate original female voices in the world of comics. Part of the programme is the WOMCOM project, centred on the Balkan region, which creates a reflection on the representation of women in comics and on the position of female authors.

Ljubljana Fashion Week to feature record number of designers

LJUBLJANA - The 15th Ljubljana Fashion Week, starting today, celebrates its 10th anniversary by featuring a record number of designers whose creation will be presented on the runway at Centre Rog. Slovenia's premier fashion event will bring 46 fashion shows in the next five days. The biggest Ljubljana Fashion Week so far will feature Slovenian as well as Hungarian, Austrian, Macedonian, Croatian and Serbian designers and will wrap up on Friday with an awards ceremony.

First Slovenian nano-satellite ends space mission early

MARIBOR - The first Slovenian nano-satellite Trisat, developed by experts at the Maribor Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the company SkyLabs, ended its mission last week, the Maribor University said, adding that despite ending its mission prematurely the satellite had made a great contribution to science. According to the calculations of its electronic and information systems lab, the satellite burned somewhere above Africa on 29 September.