News roundup - Thursday, 16 January, until 3pm

Ljubljana, 16 January - Below is a roundup of major events on Thursday, 16 January, until 3pm local time:

Govt delays Energy Agency dismissal request

LJUBLJANA - Contrary to last week's announcement, the government decided against proposing that the National Assembly dismiss members of the Energy Agency council over the body's insistence on a new grid charge system. The decision was delayed after the European Commission threatened with an infringement procedure should the regulator's independence be impaired. "We are taking more time," chief government spokesman and Minister for Slovenians Abroad Matej Arčon told the press.

Slovenia welcomes Gaza ceasefire

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's top state representatives welcomed the ceasefire agreement reached between Hamas and Israel. Prime Minister Robert Golob said the deal was a long awaited and positive step, which, I hope, paves the way to peace and stability in Gaza. President Nataša Pirc Musar hopes that the peace process, in which the Palestinians will finally have their own state and the people will regain their dignity, continues. Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon the deal marked a new beginning for Palestine and Israel and paved the way for a two-state solution.

Slovenia endorses resolution against Houthi attacks in Red Sea

LJUBLJANA - As the UN Security Council on Wednesday passed a resolution demanding that the Houthi movement in Yemen cease attacks on ships in the Red Sea and calling for regular reporting of those attacks, Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Žbogar once again condemned the attacks and demanded that they stop immediately. Welcoming the resolution Žbogar, said that "we continue to condemn the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, which undermine international maritime security and threaten the key flows of food, fuel and humanitarian aid."

Analyst says international protectorate best solution for Gaza, West Bank

LJUBLJANA - The best solution for Gaza and the West Bank now that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire would be an international protectorate, political analyst Klemen Grošelj said as he commented on the deal to end hostilities and release the hostages taken by Hamas on October 2023. The defence studies professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana told Radio Slovenija that the deal is a result of the fatigue of all the players in the conflict, Iran's desire for the pressure on it to be eased, as well as Donald Trump soon taking over as the US president.

Ljubljana Airport passenger numbers up 13% in 2024

BRNIK - Ljubljana Airport welcomed 1.4 million passengers in 2024, up 13.3% year-on-year, shows data from Fraport, the airport's operator. According to the portal EX-YU Aviation, the airport has achieved 83.6% of the numbers recorded during the pre-pandemic year of 2019 when flag carrier Adria Airways declared bankruptcy, and 79% of 2018 figures, the last full year of the airline's operations. In December 2024 alone, passenger traffic was at 85,793, which was down 1.8% from the same month in 2023, but December and November were the only two months last year for which a decline was reported.

Strong wind destroys Basovizza monument to victims of fascism

BASOVIZZA, Italy - The strong bora wind that has swept across the western region of Primorska in recent days has not spared the monument to the Basovizza heroes near Trieste. Erected in memory of four Slovenian victims of fascism executed in 1930, the monument suffered extensive damage when gusts of wind toppled a nearby tree, causing it to fall on the structure. While the financial estimate of the damage to the monument, which was desecrated by Italian neo-fascists multiple times, is still pending, the Primorski Dnevnik paper has suggested it will be significant.

Inspection finds several violations at poultry farm

LJUBLJANA - An inspection at a poultry farm where alarming footage was shot by an animal rights group and released by the public broadcaster last week, has shown several violations of the rules on animal breeding, including overcrowding of cages, mite infestation and other animal welfare failures. However, none were grave that emergency measures would be required, the Food Safety Administration said.

Slovenia in miniature at Šenčur museum

ŠENČUR - Slovenia's landmarks, icons and historical milestones have been recreated in scale models and dioramas in a museum in Šenčur, a town near the northwestern city of Kranj. The Slovenia in Miniature Museum, arguably the first such in the country, will open to the general public on 25 January, but is already open for school groups. The models have been made by Igor Grabnar, who put some 50,000 hours of work into them with the help of assistants. He has been making scale models of historic milestones since 2012.

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