News roundup - Monday, 18 November, until 3pm

Olena Zelenska paying two-day visit to Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - Olena Zelenska, Ukraine's first lady, arrived in Slovenia for a two-day visit at the invitation of Aleš Musar, the spouse of Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar. The main purpose of the visit is to present Ukraine's needs regarding humanitarian aid to war victims. Zelenska, who is accompanied by Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, will meet Musar and Pirc Musar at the Presidential Palace, the president's office announced. The Ukrainian delegation will also be received by PM Robert Golob.

Fajon advocates for just, lasting peace in Ukraine

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, who is attending a ministerial meeting in Brussels, said that it was the EU's duty to continue supporting Ukraine as she called for efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace there. She expressed concern over the support that third countries are providing to Russia, the Foreign Ministry wrote on X. The EU needs to do more to achieve a just and lasting peace which will be based on the UN Charter, Fajon wrote, adding that supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles could have the opposite effect.

PM says gas will be cheaper in the future

LJUBLJANA - The price of natural gas in Slovenia will be going down, PM Robert Golob said during questions time in the National Assembly two days after the Russian gas company Gazprom cut off supply to Austria. Austria gets 80% of its gas from Russia, while nearly 70% of gas imported by Slovenia came from Austria last year. However, the government relaunched supply from Algeria at the start of the energy crisis, noted Golob.

Pahor to receive German SocDem award

ERFURT, Germany - Slovenia's former President Borut Pahor has been awarded the German Wilhelm-Bock-Preis for his exceptional commitment to social and democratic engagement in Central and Eastern Europe. The award, named after German social democrat Bock, will be presented today in Gotha by the city authorities in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) The ceremony will take place this afternoon at the historic Gothaer Tivoli, the site where Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) were founded in 1875.

Mercator withdraws from the purchase of Engrotuš

LJUBLJANA - Mercator, a Slovenian retailer owned by the Croatian group Fortenova, has withdrawn from the purchase of Engrotuš, which operates retail shops under the Tuš brand. The key conditions from the contract will unfortunately not be fulfilled, "so we decided to withdraw from the contract", Mercator said. A year after signing the contract, the deadline for extending the contract's exclusivity period expired. Since the "buyer has not been able to obtain the approval from the competition watchdog, it has notified the sellers of its withdrawal from the contract instead of unilaterally extending the deadline," wrote Andraž Tuš, CEO of Tuš Holding.

Former ally accuses Logar of pursuit of self-interest

LJUBLJANA - Anže Logar, the leader of the newly founded Democrats, was accused by his former ally Dejan Kaloh of exiting Slovenia's largest opposition party, the SDS, to form his own out of "sick desire" for power and in pursuit of self-interest. Kaloh, one of the three MPs to quit the Democratic Party (SDS) in October, had been expected to join Logar and Eva Irgl at the new party, but was absent from the founding congress on Saturday. Logar denied the allegations, saying: "This letter is further proof of our incompatibility, of how we see politics differently."

NGOs call for fossil fuel subsidies to be abolished

LJUBLJANA - Environmental NGOs called on the government to include a commitment to gradually remove subsidies for fossil fuels into the climate bill in the final stages of its drafting. The relevant provision was already included in the first draft of the bill but has been removed from the latest draft. The NGOs highlighted Slovenia's international commitments and stressed the negative impact of fossil fuels on public finances and health.

Irregularities found with intercity bus transport providers

LJUBLJANA - The public company that manages the new system of intercity bus transportation, which was introduced on 1 September, established numerous violations by the concessionaires, in particular by the two largest operators, the N1 web portal reported. The providers Arriva and Nomago have been fined after the Public Passenger Transport Management Company (DUJPP) introduced internal control in September based on complaints by passengers targeting new timetables for intercity bus transport.

Price of regular petrol down, diesel up on Tuesday

LJUBLJANA - The price of regular petrol sold at service stations outside the Slovenian motorway network will drop by 0.4 cents to EUR 1.482 per litre on Tuesday, while the price of diesel will increase by 2.4 cents to EUR 1.542 per litre. Heating oil will be 2.2 cents dearer at EUR 1.137 per litre. The prices will be in effect until 2 December, the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy said as it announced the price changes.

Police bust eleven paedophiles

LJUBLJANA - Police have busted a number of paedophiles as part of a massive international criminal investigation. A total of eleven adult Slovenian citizens are suspected of distributing and obtaining footages of sexual abuse of children on various online networks. Eight underage victims have been identified, but none of them are Slovenian children, Robert Tekavec, head of the unit for juvenile crimes at the General Police Administration, told the press. So far, there are no indications of any connections among the suspects.

Media: TikToker gets two years for possession of pornographic material

NOVA GORICA - The Nova Gorica District Court has sentenced TikToker Irenej Bizjak to two years in prison for possession of pornographic material and for urging young girls to send him explicit photos. The court also extended his custody, media reported. Bizjak, who went by the name of Vegan on TikTok, had made contact with underage girls on TikTok as well as on other social media, urging them to send him explicit photos of themselves.