News roundup - Friday, 7 February, until 3pm

Slovenia critical of US sanctions against ICC

LJUBLJANA - The sanctions imposed by the US against the International Criminal Court (ICC) are a complete denial of history and they ignore law as a foundation of international relations, President Nataša Pirc Musar said in a press release, condemning the sanctions. She finds the US undermining international criminal law concerning. The president expressed her support for the initiative of Rome Statute signatories to defend the ICC and its employees, including the Slovenian ICC judge Beti Hohler. The Foreign Ministry also responded, saying that Slovenia regretted the decision of the US.

Report says Turkish partner withdraws from Koper-Divača rail track, company running project denies this

LJUBLJANA - One of the two Turkish partners building a 27km rail track between Divača and Koper in consortium with the Slovenian company Kolektor CPG has withdrawn from the project, the news portal Necenzurirano reported. A new annex is expected to be signed, raising the price of the EUR 1.1 billion project by some EUR 20 million, according to the report. The company managing the construction of the new railway denied the report that Yapi Merkezi is pulling out of the project. 2TDK also said that the cost of the project remained in the scope of the amended investment plan.

Ministry rejects telcos' criticism of media bill

LJUBLJANA - The Culture Ministry rejected criticism of the new media bill that was recently voiced by telecoms operators. It says the bill, which is in parliamentary procedure, does not envisage copyright compensation for telecoms operators. The Agency for Communication Networks and Services will not have free hands in granting special status to media, it added.

Culture expands our horizons, minister says

LJUBLJANA - In her message ahead of Culture Day, observed on 8 February, Culture Minister Asta Vrečko wrote that "culture expands the borders of our world", builds community and encourages openness and solidarity. Culture should be borderless, Vrečko said, tying her message to the slogan of the 2025 Nova Gorica-Gorizia European Capital of Culture, which will officially open on Saturday. Culture is the foundation of dialogue, connectedness and the search for answers to today's challenges, she added.

Trade unions spotlight precarious work in culture

LJUBLJANA - In Slovenia art is becoming a hobby of the rich, while others are left with generic, imported mass culture, the trade union confederation of cultural workers Glosa-Zasuk said in its message ahead of Culture Day. It stressed the importance of unions for culture and highlighted the difficult situation regarding precarious employment in the sector.

Report shows improvement in Slovenia's energy efficiency

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's energy efficiency index has improved by 36% from 2000 to 2022, ranking 14th among the 27 EU countries, researchers at the Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS) have found as part of the European ODYSSEE-MURE project. Households have contributed the most to the improvement. "Slovenia has been working actively on improving energy efficiency in recent years," the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy wrote in a press release, noting that the efforts are key to meeting a number of challenges.

Jernej Barbič wins SciTech Oscar for 3D software in animation

LOS ANGELES, US - Slovenia's Jernej Barbič has won a SciTech Oscar for Ziva VFX, a software that simulates realistic movements under the skin in character animation. Since 2016, Ziva VFX has been used in more than 60 films, including Hollywood blockbusters. The University of Southern California where Barbič works as a professor of computer science wrote on X that the award was a huge win for cinematic innovation. It described the software as a tool that gives CGI characters muscles, fat and skin that move just like human tissues.

Exhibition on Slovenian women in concentration camps opens in Maribor

MARIBOR - A documentary exhibition on Slovenian women in concentration camps opened at the Maribor Synagogue as part of a memorial ceremony marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day. During WWII around 21,000 people were deported from what is today Slovenia to German concentration camps, of which around a quarter were women. The exhibition was first put on display last year at the National Museum of Contemporary History in Ljubljana, but its latest iteration has seen some changes.

Slovenia makes Virtuoso list of top luxury experiences for 2025

LJUBLJANA - Virtuoso, the leading global network specialising in luxury and experiential travel, has picked Slovenia as one of nine must-have experiences of luxury travel for 2025. Virtuoso's 2025 Luxe Report describes Slovenia as a "rising European gem" and an "adventure lover's playground". The list is based on inputs from more than 2,200 travel advisors across 48 countries who identify top trends in luxury tourism.