News Archive - October 2012

A sprightly Barack Obama bounded onstage in Florida, kicking off the final two weeks of campaigning before the US presidential election.

Slovenj Gradec will host an assembly of peace messenger cities on Thursday and Friday as the culmination of events marking United Nations Day, observed worldwide on 24 October.

Six Italian scientists and an ex-government official have been sentenced to six years in prison over the 2009 deadly earthquake in L'Aquila.

Presenting the budget bills for 2013 and 2014 in parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Janez Janša said they sent a clear signal to domestic and foreign partners that Slovenia is adopting serious and prudent measures.

Former EU Health Commissioner John Dalli denies corruption allegations and says he resigned under pressure from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

The yield on the Slovenian ten-year bond has fallen below 6% in trading on the secondary market as the government is expected to adopt pension and labour market reform proposals.

The Syrian passenger plane diverted to the Turkish capital, Ankara, due to concerns over its cargo, has continued its journey on to Damascus.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was adamant in a televised interview last night that his government would not step down, even if reforms proposed by his government failed and Slovenia had to ask for a bailout.

Turkey’s parliament has voted by 320 to 129 in favour of authorising foreign military operations for a period of one year. This permits action in Syria if Ankara deems it necessary. The move comes following an attack by Syrian forces on the town of Akcakale on Wednesday that killed five civilians.

Prime Minister Janez Janša met the chairman of the industrial group Hitachi, Takashi Kawamura, on Wednesday to discuss economic cooperation. "We can expect good business cooperation in the future," Kawamura said after the meeting, mentioning nuclear technology and railways.

News that the six-party Georgian Dream coalition had won the parliamentary election in Georgia was welcomed in the capital, Tbilisi.

The head of the IMF mission concluding its regular autumn visit to Slovenia, Antonio Spilimbergo, labelled on Tuesday Slovenia's recession as one of the worst in the euro area, saying it would also persist next year. Although painful, short-term fiscal consolidation is urgent, he said.

Greece is going for pain now in an attempt to produce a budget surplus in 2013 for the first time in a decade, but the economy is likely to shrink for a sixth successive year by up to four percent.

The Slovenian economy is expected to contract by 1.8% this year and a further 0.7% in 2013 before rebounding, the central bank forecast on Monday. This is a significant downgrade from its spring projections, when it forecast that the economy will shrink by 1.2% this year and return to growth in 2013.

A judicial commission of inquiry into the fatal August shootings of 34 striking miners at the Marikana mine is due to begin.

The Centre of Excellence for Polymer Materials and Technologies (CE PoliMaT) successfully brings together polymer knowledge, research, technology and innovation in Slovenia. It is now on the way to harnessing the power of biopolymer materials and technology by fostering international science, technology and engineering cooperation.