News roundup - Monday, 11 November

Pirc Musar stresses need for global governance reform

PARIS, France - Sustainable development goals will not be achieved without the social and economic empowerment of women, President Nataša Pirc Musar said at the Paris Peace Forum. She also stressed the need to reform global governance, and increase public funds to fight poverty and protect the planet. "I always say that the world will only be a truly prosperous place when everyone on the planet can live a decent life," said Pirc Musar was quoted by her office as saying. She moreover urged initiatives that direct funding where it is most needed - not as a one-off handout, but as an investment.

Slovenian partners joining EU project on critical infrastructure resilience

LJUBLJANA - Six Slovenian partners will take part in Endurance, a three-year EU project designed to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure as part of the European Commission Horizon programme. The project aims to improve cooperation in critical infrastructure with the EU at all levels, especially in data sharing and risk assessment. With a budget of EUR 6.48 million, the project comprises 22 partners from six EU countries. Slovenia's are Telekom Slovenije, ELES, the Institute for Corporative Security Studies, Agency for Telecommunication Networks and Services (AKOS), the Government Information Security Office, and risk management firm Silver Bullet Risk.

Three charged over deadly train accident last December

KOPER - Three Slovenian Railways employees have been charged in relation to the accident in which two maintenance workers were killed by an oncoming train in December 2023 near Rakitnik in the area of Postojna, SW. The employees, whose identity was not revealed, are suspected of endangering special types of public traffic, which carries a prison sentence of up to eight years, the police said. The accident took place in a narrow cutting as a passenger train on the Koper-Sežana line ploughed through a group of workers as the driver apparently could not see them in time to stop the train. Two workers were killed on the spot, one was gravely injured.

Top court rules tiny part of Foreigners Act unconstitutional

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court announced it had found that a section of the Foreigners Act dealing with the justification of movement restrictions and appeals in such cases is not in line with the constitution. It ruled that this part of the law is inconsistent with the principle of clarity, as it is unclear which court has jurisdiction to rule on the appeals. The country's lawmakers now have six months to change the legislation.

Case against Sartorius Bia Separations CEO thrown out

LJUBLJANA - The Public Prosecutor's Office in Eisenstadt, Austria has called an end to a criminal investigation against Aleš Štrancar, director of the Slovenian company Sartorius Bia Separations, Štrancar told the STA. What launched the investigation was a criminal complaint filed by the receiver of the Austrian firm Bia Separations, which used to be the company's majority owner and suspects Štrancar of fraud and misuse of creditors' interests due to gross negligence. But the Austrian prosecutor's office established that the alleged offence had not been proven.

Size of Prapretno solar plant to be tripled in EUR 11m project

TRBOVLJE - The state-owned power utility HSE announced an upgrade of the Prapretno solar power plant in eastern Slovenia to almost triple of its current capacity in a EUR 11 million project, to make it once again the largest solar power plant Slovenia. CEO Tomaž Štokelj said Prapretno, located southwest of Hrastnik, will be expanded from 3.3 megawatts to 9.8 megawatts until October 2025. He also announced the upgrade of the battery storage to up to seven megawatts, which will enable electricity supply in periods without sunlight. Parapretno was inaugurated in April 2022, is around EUR 11 million.

Lack of long-term projects hampers academia-business collaboration

LJUBLJANA - Despite Slovenia's successful research ecosystem and increasing investment in R&D, the country still faces issues in the transfer of knowledge between science and industry, heard a roundtable discussion in Ljubljana. The main challenge is the lack of long-term strategic projects dedicated to new breakthroughs, University of Ljubljana Rector Gregor Majdič said. "I see the main problem in industry where there is no interest in long-term projects that would last 10-15 years and, once completed, would bring about new breakthroughs, long-term innovation and competitiveness."

Industrial output in September down 0.4% at annual level

LJUBLJANA - Industrial output in Slovenia in September was up 1.7% compared to August, while it was 0.4% lower year-on-year. In the first three quarters of the year, it dropped by 1.8% compared to the same period in 2023, the Statistics Office said.

Man suspected of killing woman at Ljubljana airport apprehended in Austria

KLAGENFURT, Austria - A 39-year-old suspect of the murder of a 33-year-old woman, whose body was found in one of the car parks at Ljubljana Airport area on Friday morning, was apprehended in Austria on Saturday by the Austrian police in collaboration with the Slovenian police. Extradition to Slovenia could take several weeks. The pair was initially reported to be Iranian, but the latest media reports suggest the victim had Turkish and Austrian passports. The victim is said to be the suspect's ex-wife and both lived in Klagenfurt. The police will present more details on Tuesday.

Body of baby boy found among waste

LJUBLJANA - Police said on Sunday evening that a body of a baby boy had been found in the Šiška borough. An investigation into the circumstances of his death is under way, the Ljubljana Police Department said. Web portal 24ur.com reported that the boy had been dead for a while and that the body was found wrapped in a towel among waste that was to be collected on Monday.

Delo poll: Support for Freedom Movement record low

LJUBLJANA - The public's support for the ruling Freedom Movement has drooped to the lowest point yet, to 12.4%, having halved since September 2023, shows a poll published by the newspaper Delo. The party's was the most affected by the fiasco surrounding the referendum on a second reactor at the Krško nuclear plant, which was called and then cancelled, wrote Delo. Compared to September 2023 when 24.3% of the respondents supported the party, the Freedom Movement has lost nearly half of its supporters. PM Robert Golob is the lowest rated politician in November, while 57% of the respondents rated the government's work negatively.

Military Schools Centre restructured

MARIBOR - The Military Schools Centre, an institution that handles military education and training in Slovenia, has restructured into the Doctrine, Development, Education and Training Command, which will allow the military to better adapt to the complex and quickly changing global situation. The Command involves the headquarters and four centres: a training centre, a centre for education and training of officers, a centre for education and training of NCOs and a centre for doctrine and development. The transformation follows the strategy for the development of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Defence Minister Borut Sajovic said on the occasion.

Education among Roma improving, but still much to do

LJUBLJANA - Poor education comes up frequently in discussions about the Roma community in Slovenia. There is little hard data, but that which is available shows a wide gap between the majority population and the community, and also massive gaps within the community. "The myth that the Roma are ill-educated is false," Jože Horvat Muc, head of the Roma Association, told the STA. But the reality is much different in the southeast of the country, where many Roma do not finish primary schools, he added.

Designer Žvokelj gets Red Dot for two Olympic stamps

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian designer Robert Žvokelj has received the prestigious international Red Dot award for his designs of two Slovenian postage stamps celebrating the Olympic Games. His winning designs feature origami-inspired illustrations that represent two sports in which Slovenian athletes excelled at the Tokyo Olympics: sailing and sport climbing. Commenting on the accolade, Žvokelj, a 58-year-old lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, noted the responsibility he felt in designing postage stamps, which act as a visual representation of a country's literacy in design and communication.

Slovenian community in Hungary inaugurates tourist accommodation

SZENTGOTTHARD, Hungary - The Andovci Cultural and Tourism Association of the Slovenian minority in Hungary opened on Saturday a tourist apartment house in Orfalu/Andovci, a village on the Slovenian border. The facility Triglav was built with the help of the Hungarian economic development programme, which provided the community with EUR 380,000 to build it. Karel Holec, head of the association, believes the Raba Valley, home to the Slovenian minority, is a promising tourism destination. The association is thus already planning to build a glamping village nearby.

Week of Slovenian Food to stress benefits of eating local

LJUBLJANA - All those seeking opportunities to discover or rediscover typical Slovenian dishes are in for a treat this week, as events are taking place around the country to underline the benefits of eating locally grown produce. A new addition to such campaigns, the Week of Slovenian Food will culminate on Friday with a traditional Slovenian breakfast, a tradition introduced in 2011 in a bid to instil the habits of eating local food and eating breakfast in children.